Hello Ward One residents,
This week the City Council will meet at 7:30 PM on Wednesday, December 11 in the Community Center Auditorium at 7500 Maple Ave. Here is a link to agenda; Topics to be covered:
- Presentation on legislative priorities: Session with the District 20.s3 Delegates & 1 Senator
- Voting Session: (1) Resolution Adopting City Council Budget Priorities; (2) Resolution for Council Winter Holiday Recess
- Work Session: (1) Library Construction Project Update; (2) Sustainability Program Update
Documents related to the meeting: https://takomapark.ompnetwork.org/sessions/304271?embedInPoint=1&embedOutPoint=17051&shareMethod=link
As always, you are welcome to offer public comment, either in person or via Zoom; for Zoom, register here by 5 PM on Wednesday for IT preparations.
At the 12/4 meeting we heard from the City’s Annapolis lobbyist, Anne Ciekot: after a brief intro to the State legislative process, she previewed the anticipated session. In a nutshell, budget prospects in Annapolis are grim, with a large anticipated deficit in the governor’s budget that will need to be tackled since a balanced budget is mandatory. Translation: a tough year to obtain State funding.
We discussed last session’s priorities, and updated TkPk’s list based on progress made and roadblocks encountered. In general, we agreed to take forward to our delegation and the State Municipal League the following priorities (to be refined and voted on by us next week):
- Protections for the vulnerable: legislation to protect immigrants, transgender people and the federal workforce – based on what is determined most needed as the new Administration unfolds – e.g., clarify that health care access is not limited to citizens
- Revenues: enable cities like us to levy sales or food/bev taxes; protect our share of Highway User $ from State fund; get reimbursement for sidewalks on State roads; possibly seek bond funds to design (not build) updated facilities for Public Works. [Note: a bill to enable us to raise the income and assessment numbers that apply to tax breaks for people whose home values have vastly outpaced their incomes, died last year and likely won’t move this year, unfortunately.]
- Sustainability: (We heard that this is expected to be a slow year for environmental bills.) Support legislation to speed EV infrastructure; support a TkPk initiative to allow foraging in food forests and on other public lands.
- Community quality of life: legislation to enable TkPk to put cameras on stop signs in school zones, and to allow liquor boards to consider density of liquor stores in licensing proceedings.
If you know of other legislation deserving our support, please attend next week’s session!
Next, we turned to the CM’s FY 2026 budget projections, which are spelled out here. In brief, assuming that there are no changes in our tax rate (which would still bring in about $775,000 more in revenues due to higher assessed property values,)and no new hires, but existing vacancies are filled, the City’s ‘general fund’ spending would still rise by over 8% — and a budget deficit of about $3.2 M would exist. This is a gross simplification, but basically, we would have a deficit in our ‘unassigned reserve’ cushion (which experts say should be at $5.4M, given our budget size) but we would not literally be spending in the red, because that’s illegal.
So tough decisions lie ahead, because I sensed zero appetite for tax rate increases – but also zero inclination to lower the rate to keep our tax bills flat.
We had a spirited discussion about spending priorities, based on the survey results from both Council and community. At the most general level possible, we saw that both council and survey responders put their highest priorities on housing (affordability, quality, tenant support) and community safety (including peds/bikes/traffic and crime), with economic development and recreation next in line. In our discussions it was evident that there is Council support, as well, for maintaining library services and tackling the challenge of the Rec Center’s deficiencies. (Less discussion of stormwater, separately financed via the Stormwater Fund, occurred.)
On the 11th we will vote on a write-up of a Resolution expressing Council priorities which the CM will then use to develop a budget. While he is exploring additional revenue sources such as a tax increase on commercial properties, and a fee on vacant properties, and maybe higher fines and fees, there will likely still be a need to make budget cuts. So buckle up, and weigh in with your views! Check the City website for when the draft resolution comes out.
Now, some housekeeping notes:
1. If you want to respond to this email, please write to me at my email address and don’t simply reply to your listserv; this will hasten my ability to respond.
2. These reports go to all the neighborhood listservs in Ward One that allow me to post; I am also sending them directly to anyone who requests to be put on my mailing list. Please let me know if you’d like to be added to my list, and please pass the word to neighbors who are not on listservs (or are on a closed list) and thus are not likely to hear this directly from me!
3. You can subscribe to the City Clerk’s mailing list to receive the Council meeting agendas and reminders, and thus be less dependent on me for weekly reports — here!
And finally, some ‘news you can use’! Did you know:
TkPk operates two ‘alert’ systems that can update you on time-critical information, and on general information about crime, traffic and other topics. The two systems overlap on some topics — for instance, both include alerts for ongoing criminal activity — but you can customize your subscriptions to suit your needs. You can sign up for each of them, as follows:
1. Takoma Park Alert: TP Alerts notify City subscribers about active road and facility closures, hazardous conditions, and all emergency situations currently underway. It is part of a County-wide system used by other municipalities and MoCo. You can sign up here, and customize the alerts you wish to receive. Unlike the TPPD bulletin (see 2 below):
- Text alerts share updates over time as a single event evolves
- Alerts can originate from Public Works as well as Emergency Management/Police
- Alerts can prompt subscribers to confirm receipt of messages, and can poll subscribers to determine the effects of an event as well as additional needed response and resources
- Alerts regarding criminal activity are only sent if there is a risk to the public (e.g., police activity/active scene, road closures, shelter-in-place/evacuation advisories)
2. The Takoma Park Police Department’s bulletin: This system includes some overlap, e.g. time-critical crime alerts, but also includes lost pets, weekly crime and traffic reports, and other topics. You can request to receive only the topics you want. Sign up here and customize your subscription.
Best,
Jessica
PS City Council will be in recess from the 11th of December until Jan. 8.