SALISBURY – County leaders this week voted to postpone the adoption of Wicomico’s annual budget.
On Tuesday, the Wicomico County Council voted to extend the date for the adoption of the annual budget and appropriation bull from June 1 to June 15.
While the county charter calls for the council to adopt a budget and appropriation bill by June 1, Council Administrator Laura Hurley noted it also included a provision to extend the adoption date by two weeks if needed.
“Extending the date of adoption will allow council to further review and discuss the executive’s budget,” she said.
Hurley added that the council held its meetings on Tuesdays, and that June 1 fell on a Wednesday.
“This will allow the council to adopt the budget at a regularly scheduled meeting,” she said.
With no further questions, the council voted 6-0, with Councilman Josh Hastings absent, to approve the extension. As it currently stands, the proposed operating budget totals $173,908,637, a 7.6% increase over the current year’s spending plan. Once approved, the fiscal year 2023 budget will take effect on July 1.
The council this week also voted to approve two amendments to the fiscal year 2022 budget.
Finance Director Pam Oland told officials she was seeking a $35,000 increase in the law department budget to cover unanticipated legal expenses.
“In making sure we’re monitoring our accounts, we looked at the current run rate of our monthly bills and found we’ll be over budget by the end of the fiscal year …,” she said. “We’re trying to be proactive.”
Oland told council members the increased costs within the law department were the result of several projects.
“It’s the police accountability act, the charter review, redistricting, and the Village Down River,” she explained. “Those were four major projects that weren’t considered in the making of the fiscal budget last year.”
Oland said she was also seeking a $400,000 increase in funding to the asphalt paving contract budget.
“With the escalator built into all our contracts, due to the cost of oil the cost to pave the number of roads we had in the budget has gone up,” she said. “If we don’t do this, we can stop paving and postpone projects to fiscal year 2023, but it just shuffles us further down the line.”
Councilman Joe Holloway questioned if that amount was enough.
“It sounds like a lot of money …,” he said. “But do you think we’re going to get through with that?”
Roads Superintendent Lee Outen said it would be sufficient.
“We think it will allow us to do what we planned to do,” he replied.
After further discussion the council voted 6-0 to approve the two budget amendments, with funds coming from the county’s contingency account.
