<div>Friends and Neighbors,</div>
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<div>I want to provide some information about the budget proposal I have sent to the council and provide you with some tools so you can understand what it would mean for you. </div>
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<div><strong><em>How Will Your Taxes Change</em></strong></div>
<div>To get a close estimate to what the change in your personal tax will be if the Council accepts my proposed tax rates you can do this quite easily</div>
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<div>1. go <a onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)" href="http://sdatcert3.resiusa.org/rp_rewrite/searchtype.asp?form%24=SelectCounty&county=17&SearchMethod=Street" target="_blank">http://sdatcert3.resiusa.org/rp_rewrite/searchtype.asp?form%24=SelectCounty&county=17&SearchMethod=Street
</a> and enter your street address. <br clear="all"><br>2. In the results go down to the Value Information and if you have been in your house for one year or more multiply the 2006 total by .1 and then plug the result into the the formula (Answer/100) X .687=annual tax change. For my house the answer is $144 or about a $12 addition to my monthly mortgage payment.
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<div>If you have not lived in your house for a year, or for property that is not your personal habitation subtract the 2006 total from the 2007 total and again use the formula (Answer/100) X .687=annual tax change.</div>
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<div>As part of the research of getting a budget proposal out, I did a number of calculations for random houses around town. What I found was that almost no owner occupied property saw more than a $15 per month personal increase. The vast majority were below $13.
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<div>Is this important? Of course it is. Is this a significant burden on most? You will have to answer that for yourself. </div>
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<div><strong><em>What Can You Do If Your Property Taxes Are a Significant Burden?</em></strong></div>
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<div>Whether or not there is any town tax increase this year, if your total household income is less than $60,000 per year you should visit <a onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)" href="http://www.dat.state.md.us/sdatweb/htc.html" target="_blank">
http://www.dat.state.md.us/sdatweb/htc.html </a> for information about the Homeowners Property Tax Credit Program. It is particularly important to share information about this program with our seniors and those with health or related problems. There is relief for those who are stretched, but they do have to file.
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<div><strong><em>Constant Yield Tax Hearing and Budget Hearings</em></strong></div>
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<div>On Monday the 21st we will hold our first meeting in the process that will culminate in the budget for FY 2008. This meeting will consist of two basic parts. 1) I will make a presentation to the public about what the Constant Yield Tax requirements are and an overview of my budget proposal; 2) questions and comments will be taken from the public about the tax rates and financial maters of the town.
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<div>While the few emails so far suggest that this meeting might get a little bit contentious I want to extend a hearty welcome to everyone. Frankly having some folks show up will be a nice change from the last two years. No one from the public showed up either year.
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<div>There will then be a series of Finance Committee meetings through June to arrive at our final budget no later than June 30. The Council will ultimately decide what the budget will be, based on testimony from myself, the staff, and the public. All meetings are open to the public and will be posted on Town Announce and outside the Town Hall.
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<div><strong><em>Budget Outline Is Attached</em><br clear="all"></strong></div>
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<div>Attached you will find a copy of my budget proposal. Please take some time a review it. In particular you might note the following:</div>
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<div>On the Revenue Page: </div>
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<div>State resources (such as State Aid for Police, State Highway Funds, etc) are flat when comparing FY 2007 and 2008.</div>
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<div>Business tax resources/licenses and fees are flat or have declined. The biggest hit we took was from the withdrawal of PNC Bank Tangible Property. In addition we will likely take a $270,000 hit from that bank as they seek a refund of taxes they claim to have overpaid in years past. This won't come out of this years budget per say, but it makes a big whole in our operating reserves.
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<div>Almost all other resources are flat. </div>
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<div>In the cost categories you will will notice:</div>
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<div>That benefits in particular have gone up, and that is a reflection of unexpectedly high workman's compensation rates. </div>
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<div>Also, in doing the civilian classification system we found several positions were compensated substantially under regional averages, so this year the salaries show increase beyond the 4% increase based on the merit system and COLA.
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<div>Fuel and Utilities place upward pressure on budget.</div>
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<div>Capital Budget. When you look at the last page you will see that only one item is for new spending and it represents a tax of 1.6 cents. All other items were passed in previous years. What is somewhat deceiving is that last year we only made one half an annual payment on both our street and building projects, so this year the rate almost doubles since we have to make a full year's payment.
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<div><strong><em>Options?</em></strong></div>
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<div>There are always other options. </div>
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<div>We still have a substantial reserve fund that we can utilize. However, I see reserves as something to utilize during economic distress, not the relatively good economic times we are in now. Therefore, I only suggest spending reserves (unappropriated surplus) down to a point that is roughly three months worth of operating expenses.
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<div>Also, we can start reducing services. From what I can tell, most of us want at least the level of service we currently have, if not more still. </div>
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<div>Best wishes,</div>
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<div>Vern</div></div>
<div><br>-- <br>Vernon Archer, Mayor<br>Town of Riverdale Park, Maryland </div>