OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Finance Committee Special Budget Hearing - May 5, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, May 5, 2026
BodyAnnapolis, Maryland
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, May 5, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:35:23

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

2026 at 9 47 a.m.

0:03

Um is uh this time I'll take a roll call.

0:05

Alder Roman O'Neil Alderman Thorpe and I am here.

0:10

Uh is there a motion to approve the agenda with the amendment of moving our FT 1126 and FT1226 above general discussion.

0:23

So we're just swapping general discussion and fund transfers in this.

0:27

So moved.

0:28

Second.

0:29

All those in favor, please say aye.

0:31

Aye.

0:32

Thank you.

0:33

Motion carries.

0:34

Sir, a motion to approve the minutes from yesterday's meeting as written.

0:39

So moved.

0:41

Second.

0:41

All those in favor, please say aye.

0:43

Aye.

0:44

Beautiful.

0:45

Motion carries.

0:46

All right.

0:47

We got a couple fun transfers from our good friends, or one's from our good friends of public works.

0:52

I guess the others from our pal over in the finance department.

0:54

But uh you want to come on up.

0:59

New Alder Roman O'Neill is going to have some questions about this important sidewalk project.

1:03

So wanted to make sure we actually gave an opportunity to talk about it.

1:06

Sure.

1:07

I think it's it's actually pretty straightforward as Director Vogel explained it to me.

1:10

But why don't you go ahead?

1:12

Uh yes, sure.

1:13

So the uh as part of the that Cedar Park Sidewalk project, um, based on the size of the project and the disturbance, um, there was a stormwater management um requirement for that project that required uh a certain without getting too technical, a certain volume of stormwater that needed to be treated.

1:30

Um and it was designed, there's a plan, but as this project was progressed, there was just site limitations and utility conflicts where it wasn't practical to install the stormwater on site.

1:44

So um the the dollars allocated to make sure that that stormwater is still being treated.

1:50

The plan is to transfer it to the MS4 account where it can supplement the stormwater management in that same subwatershed so that we still we don't just not do the requirement that was required based on the disturbance of the project.

2:03

Um so um we don't know exactly what yet, but um again, it'll be uh we'll it's more of an accounting.

2:11

We'll make sure that any restoration or projects we do in that subwatershed, you know, we'll still basically say, well, a lot of it was based on the additional impervious we added for the Cedar Park Sidewalk project.

2:21

So that's kind of in a nutshell what the situation is.

2:26

Thank you.

2:28

Aldo Roman O'Neill, you want to ask some questions?

2:30

Yes, please.

2:31

Go ahead.

2:32

Thank you very much.

2:33

Um, so just to be clear, so Cedar Park sidewalks is really two phases.

2:39

Um there's a phase from Window to Halsey that was completed in 2024.

2:46

And then there's the phase two that is from Taylor Avenue to Fair to uh locust that hasn't started.

2:54

Right.

2:54

So this is taking it out of the phase one because phase one was not able to adequately get the stormwater right.

3:07

The the project, the sidewalk was still installed for phase one.

3:11

It's just the stormwater management component of it.

3:14

The I believe it was a filter inlet.

3:17

The design just wasn't gonna work where there were conflicts that we that weren't done in the survey that just happened when you start digging up the road.

3:25

Um, so they couldn't do it on site there.

3:28

Um they still have to evaluate what the stormwater requirements gonna be for phase two, and hopefully, likely there might be some more open space area in that section where we could actually still do the stormwater.

3:37

The goal is to do the stormwater management on site, you know, as is directly to the point source of where you're putting your impervious uh location, but there's just times where it's practically difficult.

3:47

Um still acknowledging that there's still a volume requirement that we have to manage in that subwatershed.

3:52

So we're still gonna do and it's largely these redevelopment projects are pollution-based, so we need to do water quality improvements to the subwatershed.

3:59

So we as a city have opportunities to look elsewhere in that subwatershed to do water quality improvements.

4:05

All right, so you're moving this money out of that, but will it be moved back in when you do phase two, or will it be needed when you do phase two?

4:12

Phase two is budgeted based on what phase two is to do stormwater.

4:17

That budget should have enough to, or at least it's budgeted to do stormwater on site for that phase.

4:22

Um so that's already included in the phase two part.

4:26

It's just this stormwater part for phase one.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Fiscal Sustainability█████████████████████████████████████████████50%
Engineering And Infrastructure████████████████18%
Parks and Recreation█████████10%
Community Engagement█████5%
Public Safety████4%
Budget Equity Analysis███3%
Technology and Innovation███3%
Water And Wastewater Management██2%
Procedural██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Finance Committee Special Budget Hearing - May 5, 2026

The Finance Committee of the Annapolis City Council met on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at 9:47 AM in a special budget hearing to deliberate the FY2027 budget. The committee reviewed fund transfers, discussed budget priorities, and set timelines for amendments. The meeting adjourned at 12:22 PM.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Minutes (FC 5.4.26): Alderman Thorp moved to approve the previous day's special meeting minutes. The motion was seconded and carried on a voice vote.

Public Comments

No public comments were heard at this meeting.

Discussion Items

Fund Transfers

  • FT-11-26: Transfers $156,974 from Bonds - Cedar Park Sidewalks project to Bonds-Watershed - Stormwater MS4 Permit Compliance. Director of Public Works Vogel and Stormwater Project Manager Rossberg explained that stormwater installation was not possible during Phase I due to site limitations, and the funds will be used for stormwater management in the same subwatershed. Alderwoman O'Neill moved to recommend favorably; carried on voice vote.
  • FT-12-26: Transfers $195,000 from Finance Department Salaries and Benefits and $143,000 from Nonallocated Debt Services to Finance Department Contractual Services to cover consulting expenses. Acting City Manager Buckland and Acting Finance Director Pallikal answered questions about debt service estimation and the master capital lease for fleet replacement. Alderman Thorp moved to recommend favorably; carried on voice vote.

General Discussion - FY27 Budget Deliberations (ID-97-26)

The committee engaged in extensive discussion on the FY27 budget. Key topics included:

  • Community Grants: Alderwoman O'Neill emphasized the need to fund an LGBTQ organization (Annapolis Pride) that received no funding. Alderman Thorp called for more results-oriented focus on grant outcomes.
  • Central Services: Alderwoman O'Neill expressed interest in funding additional positions (real estate administrator, facility maintenance tech) while Alderman Huntley expressed skepticism about the risk management specialist and security guards. Acting City Manager Buckland explained the logic behind proposed positions. The committee discussed potential swaps between positions.
  • Parks and Recreation Fees: Alderwoman O'Neill and Alderman Huntley supported increasing fees for non-residents, particularly for boat ramps and park facilities, to avoid raising resident fees.
  • Infrastructure Investment: Alderman Thorp stressed the need to focus city resources on streets, sidewalks, and parks maintenance. Alderwoman O'Neill suggested shifting a greater percentage of the streets operating budget to sidewalks. Alderman Thorp argued for prioritizing external-facing services over internal administrative growth.
  • Communications: Alderman Thorp highlighted the need for better public communication, citing complaints about the boat show traffic and lack of information. The committee discussed consolidating public information officers.
  • Vacancy Savings and Contingency: Alderman Huntley proposed applying vacancy savings analysis to large departments (similar to police) to free up funds for contingency and other priorities. Acting Finance Director warned about potential impact on future fund balance.
  • Capital Budget Review: Alderman Huntley noted insufficient time to review capital projects and suggested sending questions to directors about impacts of reducing funding for major projects like fire station planning.
  • AI and Software: Alderman Huntley supported investing in AI for efficiency gains in planning, public works, and IT.
  • Revenue Ideas: Discussion included potential revenue from a new medic unit (fire department), increased short-term rental fees, and liquor license fee adjustments.

Key Outcomes

  • FT-11-26 and FT-12-26: Both fund transfers were unanimously recommended favorably.
  • Legislation (O-8-26, R-10-26, R-11-26, R-12-26): The committee took no action on the annual budget ordinance, fees schedule, fines schedule, and pay plan. These items will proceed to the full City Council without committee recommendation.
  • Budget Process Timeline: Questions for departments must be submitted by close of business May 5; department responses due May 6; amendments due by May 11 (Monday). The Finance Committee report is due May 11.
  • Continued Deliberations: The committee will reconvene in closed session on May 6 to continue budget discussions and finalize recommendations.

Meeting Transcript

2026 at 9 47 a.m. Um is uh this time I'll take a roll call. Alder Roman O'Neil Alderman Thorpe and I am here. Uh is there a motion to approve the agenda with the amendment of moving our FT 1126 and FT1226 above general discussion. So we're just swapping general discussion and fund transfers in this. So moved. Second. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Thank you. Motion carries. Sir, a motion to approve the minutes from yesterday's meeting as written. So moved. Second. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Beautiful. Motion carries. All right. We got a couple fun transfers from our good friends, or one's from our good friends of public works. I guess the others from our pal over in the finance department. But uh you want to come on up. New Alder Roman O'Neill is going to have some questions about this important sidewalk project. So wanted to make sure we actually gave an opportunity to talk about it. Sure. I think it's it's actually pretty straightforward as Director Vogel explained it to me. But why don't you go ahead? Uh yes, sure. So the uh as part of the that Cedar Park Sidewalk project, um, based on the size of the project and the disturbance, um, there was a stormwater management um requirement for that project that required uh a certain without getting too technical, a certain volume of stormwater that needed to be treated. Um and it was designed, there's a plan, but as this project was progressed, there was just site limitations and utility conflicts where it wasn't practical to install the stormwater on site. So um the the dollars allocated to make sure that that stormwater is still being treated. The plan is to transfer it to the MS4 account where it can supplement the stormwater management in that same subwatershed so that we still we don't just not do the requirement that was required based on the disturbance of the project. Um so um we don't know exactly what yet, but um again, it'll be uh we'll it's more of an accounting. We'll make sure that any restoration or projects we do in that subwatershed, you know, we'll still basically say, well, a lot of it was based on the additional impervious we added for the Cedar Park Sidewalk project. So that's kind of in a nutshell what the situation is. Thank you. Aldo Roman O'Neill, you want to ask some questions? Yes, please. Go ahead. Thank you very much. Um, so just to be clear, so Cedar Park sidewalks is really two phases. Um there's a phase from Window to Halsey that was completed in 2024. And then there's the phase two that is from Taylor Avenue to Fair to uh locust that hasn't started. Right. So this is taking it out of the phase one because phase one was not able to adequately get the stormwater right. The the project, the sidewalk was still installed for phase one. It's just the stormwater management component of it. The I believe it was a filter inlet. The design just wasn't gonna work where there were conflicts that we that weren't done in the survey that just happened when you start digging up the road. Um, so they couldn't do it on site there.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com