SNOW HILL – Local municipalities are asking the county for more financial support as the budgeting process for the next fiscal year begins.
Representatives from Berlin, Ocean Pines, Snow Hill and Pocomoke presented budget requests to the Worcester County Commissioners Tuesday. All of the municipalities are asking for an increase in funding.
“The town is committed to maintaining our greatest assets — public safety, economic vitality and quality of life — but we need your help to continue to do this,” Berlin Mayor Gee Williams said.
Williams told the commissioners demands on his town’s budget had increased in recent years, particularly because of fire and EMS needs.
“We are here today to ask for ongoing financial support but I also need to be very frank in that the Town of Berlin, even after having the largest property tax increase in our history, even having the largest increase in our water and sewer rates in our history, is still under financial stress because of the increasing cost of essential services,” Williams said.
He said the town was seeking a 3.2% increase — or $15,000 — to its typical county grant of $465,000.
Snow Hill Mayor Gary Weber focused on the water and sewer infrastructure repairs needed in his jurisdiction. He pointed out what made Snow Hill different than the other county municipalities was the fact that it served as the county seat. Weber said that the town’s wastewater treatment plant served the town’s residents as well as county, state and federal employees.
He said Snow Hill was seeking a county grant of $500,000 as well as a $100,000 contribution toward the replacement of water and sewer infrastructure on Purnell Street. Weber also asked for the town to receive $42,854 — the equivalent of 10% of the table games revenue received by the county.
Jeremy Mason, interim city manager in Pocomoke, was seeking a grant of $465,000 as well as $42,854 to represent table games revenue. Like Snow Hill, he said Pocomoke needed water and sewer infrastructure repairs. The town’s lift stations are outdated and need to be replaced.
“If they continue to fail and we can’t maintain bypassing these services to keep them running, we could run into some serious overflow problems,” Mason said.
Doug Parks, president of the Ocean Pines Association, told the commissioners the community was seeking funding to help with public safety, roads and bridges, and tourism/parks and recreation. He said the association was seeking $525,000 for police, $100,000 for roads, $25,000 for tourism and $40,000 for recreation.
Ocean City officials, who were unable to attend this week’s meeting, are expected to present the resort’s funding request March 17.
