Wicomico County Council approves budget for FY24

June 9, 2023

Han Cechini,

WICOMICO COUNTY, Md. – Wicomico County Council recently approved its budget for Fiscal Year 2024.

County Budget for FY24

The $193 million budget is 11.7% percent higher than last year’s. It also includes a decrease in real property tax rate of about 2 cents. Most county employees will receive a 6% pay bump.

“I think we couldn’t have asked for a better budget. We presented a balanced budget to the County Council. They did some reallocation of funds, which was okay,” said Wicomico County Executive Julie Giordano. “I feel pretty comfortable with the number.”

The Executive’s initially office proposed a 3% increase for county employees’ salaries. However, after determining that local fire departments were more in favor of property tax credits than the Length of Service Award program, more money was freed up, says Giordano.

Capital Improvement Projects, Education, Community Resources

$17 million of the budget will support capital improvement projects, like completing Mardela Middle and High School, and the new Wicomico County public safety complex. “That was more so just one-time spending, so we’re not going to see those capital projects next year,” said Giordano.

Another proposal to provide $1.3 million above maintenance of effort for Wicomico County Public Schools (WCPS) was rolled back some by Council. WCPS will receive $58 million, reaching $800,000 above maintenance of effort.

“While I know that there were some people upset, we need to look at the glass half-full, where they were able to get $800,000 over maintenance of effort,” said Giordano. “That freed up about $500,000.”

Another way Council was able to bring back extra money, was by cutting a grant opportunity with the Tri County Council. Giordano says it required matching county funds, and another county was not able to provide them. “We were able to reallocate that $360,000,” she said.

Wicomico County Public Libraries will also see a boost in buying power. The system will receive $1.7 million, a funding increase not seen for about 20 years, says Giordano.

“I hope to continue doing that. I think the library is important,” said Giordano. “Coming from the education world, I know how important reading is, so we always want to promote that. And, the library is more than just a building filled with books. There are a lot of programs, people utilize the space there.”

Paying For Public Safety

Back in February, Giordano says Wicomico County Sheriff Mike Lewis, and members of his command staff, make an appeal; they were “bleeding deputies,” says Giordano, and requesting higher wages. It was decided that starting pay for deputies would be increased from $45,000 to $55,000.

“We were kind of able to finagle some numbers,” said Giordano. “We had actually presented it for a fourth quarter budget amendment to start it early. Council didn’t want to go down that route, so we ended up doing it for July 1st.”

When it comes to funding for fire service, “I think there were a lot of false conceptions that we weren’t giving any money at all,” said Giordano. “We’re a year in the rear. The way that the fire service agreement works, is we utilize a year of the service, with the city coming and helping out county residents, and serving them, and then we pay the bill.”

Giordano says the county allocated $787,000 for the fire service agreement in Fiscal Year 2021. $1 million was approved for Fiscal Year 2022. As city and county leaders hammer out the Fiscal Year 2023 agreement, Giordano says the cost may go up.

“2023 is not finished yet. They go by calendar year, and we pay in fiscal years. So, you’re kind of almost 18 months behind in making that payment,” said Giordano. “Everything is going up right now, so we understood that. There will be a new fee set for Fiscal Year 2023. We’ll see what that looks like.”

Looking Ahead

Giordano says the county’s revenue cap is a frequent topic of discussion, and source of concern. However, she doesn’t foresee any decreases in revenue coming the county’s way.

“I know that there’s always talk about the revenue cap and how it’s going to affect us,” said Giordano. “But, so far, we’ve done a really good job, and I feel really confident in my finance team. They keep me aware of different things that are going on, so I feel really confident.”

Looking ahead, Giordano says Wicomico County citizens can rest assured that their tax dollars are being spent wisely.

“In this time, and inflation period that we’re in right now, when we’re able to lower taxes, and able to put more money, not just in my employees’ pockets, but also our citizens, is always a good thing,” said Giordano. “I feel very confident going into this year, moving forward.”