Budget Transfer To Cover Wicomico Civic Center Shortfall

SALISBURY – A transfer of $530,000 to the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center is expected to cover a shortfall in last year’s budget.

On Tuesday, the Wicomico County Council voted unanimously to amend the fiscal year 2020 operating and capital budget. The amendment will allow the county to transfer $200,000 from the recreation and parks prior year fund balance, $75,000 from the recreation and parks current year budget savings and $255,000 from general fund contingency to account for a $530,000 shortfall at the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center.

Each year, the civic center – which operates under the umbrella of the county’s recreation, parks and tourism department – receives appropriations from the county to fund salaries, benefits and other expenses and to balance the budget. As a special government fund, the facility also relies heavily on event revenue to make the overall budget work.

In March, Recreation, Parks and Tourism Director Steve Miller came before the council to discuss revenue challenges at the facility. In recent years, he noted, net revenues have been increasingly difficult to achieve. And each year a larger percentage of county appropriations is used to cover employee benefits.

But when the facility was forced to close earlier this year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said it only exacerbated the civic center’s financial problems.

Since that time, several positions have been left vacant and operational expenses have been reduced. But with no user fees or ticket sales to cover day-to-day expenses, the civic center was left with a $530,000 shortfall in fiscal year 2020.

While the county has since entered a new fiscal year, the council last month introduced a legislative bill to transfer funds that would cover the loss. But before the council took action, officials questioned if revenue shortfalls in 2020 would impact the current fiscal year.

“The amounts we carried forward in fiscal year 2021 are no longer the same amounts,” Councilman John Cannon said. “Wouldn’t that also require us to go back and amend the operating budget for fiscal year 2021?”

Pointing out provisions from the county’s charter, council attorney Bob Taylor said he believed it would. However, Recreation, Parks and Tourism Deputy Director Pam Oland disagreed.

“In my years working in government, between here and my prior employer, the fiscal year itself is not closed until the audit is complete and you’ve paid all of your bills and you’ve completed your audit associated with those bills for that fiscal year,” she said at the time. “So you have the ability, if the council so desires, to make changes to the budget because the budget is part of the audit process that then gets presented in your audit report.”

Back on the agenda this week, the council voted 7-0 to approve the legislative bill on second reading.

“I’ve expressed earlier my concerns that I don’t think the way it’s prepared is appropriate under the charter,” Taylor told council members.

About The Author: Bethany Hooper

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Bethany Hooper has been with The Dispatch since 2016. She currently covers various general stories. Hooper graduated from Stephen Decatur High School in 2012 and the University of Maryland in 2016, where she completed double majors in journalism and economics.