VIDEO: Council Holds Annual Planning Retreat, Gets Positive News

The city is estimating that it will have about $2 million more in revenue for fiscal year 2012 than previously projected, Finance Director Harold Belton told the Gaithersburg City Council and city staff at the council's annual Strategic Planning Retreat Monday night.

Belton said that staff originally projected revenue for fiscal 2012 at about $44.1 million and about $44.7 million in expenditures, resulting in a net loss, in January 2010. Now the city is projecting it will have an estimated $47 million in revenue, with about $45.9 million in expenditures, for a net gain.

Even as he stressed he is making the estimates with "guarded optimism," Belton's report came as welcome news for the council and department directors amongst talk of the State's $1.6 billion shortfall for fiscal 2012, which is expected to increase to $1.9 billion in fiscal 2013, and a possible federal government shutdown looming in the near future.

City Manager Angel Jones said that despite the sluggish recovery from the recession nationwide, this is the best she's felt about the City's budget in a while.

The increase in projected revenue is due in large part to the real property tax rate remaining flat. In the five-year plan, the city expected Maryland to make a 10 percent cut to the tax rate.

Belton also noted that despite predicting in 2010 that revenue from parking and speeding tickets would decrease, it has instead continually increased.

The retreat, held at the Gaithersburg Upcounty Senior Center, was devoted in large part to revising the city's Strategic Plan, continuing a process begun at a Jan. 25 work session. Many of the suggestions made at the work session were reflected in the latest draft of the Plan, such as adding an 11th "strategic direction" that focused on city services. The directions are broad categories with specific goals, and are each assigned to a department director.

Much of the council's suggestions at the Jan. 25 work session focused on the language of the plan, and the discussion at the retreat was no different. Council members, however, also suggested new ways to address certain goals, labeled "action items." For example, Council member Cathy Drzyzgula said that the city needs to address Olde Towne's parking problem as part of its goal to implement Olde Towne's master plan.