Jimmy's Ward Report - Thursday, June 12, 2008

Final Budget Meeting – Tuesday June 17th



There will be a second and final reading of the budget and tax rate at next Tuesday’s Council meeting. The proposed budget keeps the tax rate the same (people will still see increases in their taxes because of higher evaluations), expands the hours the police station will be open (until 11 PM on weekdays – closed on weekends), and adds a public works employee to pick-up trash in the downtown area. The Council also wants to budget money for debt payment for the possible purchase by the City of property downtown. There is not enough money for that so the Council will have to make some decisions on what to cut out of the budget. Please come if you’re interested in letting the Council know how you feel on the issue of the City’s priorities.



City is In Good Financial Shape – I did a little research about how Mt. Rainier compared to other Cities on our cash reserves and debt levels.



Reserves: Our reserves are about $1.5 million (averaged over the year) which is 30% of our annual revenue. One Federal Government Committee recommends that reserves should be no less than 5-15% of revenues. Hyattsville’s reserves are between $2.8 and $3.5 million with an operating budget of about $12 million which is about 25%.



Debt Service: Our total debt payments each year are $180,000 which is about 4% of our annual expected revenue of $4.5 million. (Hyattsville debt service is between 10-15%.)



The Institute for Government Service suggests that a municipality’s level of debt should not exceed:



1) 10-15% of the assessed value of all real property (that would be $30-45 million for Mt. Rainier)

2) Debt service should not be more than 25% of total operating revenues ($1 million for Mt. Rainier)

3) Total debt should not exceed $1,000 per capita (which would be $9 million)



So according to the guidelines we should not have over $9 million in debt (we have $1.3 million in debt) and our debt payments should not be over $1 million according to these guidelines (out debt payments are $180,000).



The bottom line for me is that we have a good cushion in reserves and also have pretty low debt payments.





Crime Statistics Show A Decrease But Even One Killing is Too Much for Our Community – The Police Chief’s monthly report showed that incidents of crime in Mt. Rainier are down close to 15% from 2007. But those statistics do not mean much when we hear of another killing in our neighborhood. This shooting occurred on the 3700 block of 36th St. on Friday night June 6th.



This continued violence in our community is unacceptable. I do not have any answers but feel that we can’t ignore what is going on in our community and we have to make it our top priority to see how it can be maintained.



Crime Reports – The Police Department is now posting its crime data on the web. You can view up-to-date crime maps on a daily basis by going to www.crimereports.com.



New Lights on 34th St. - Check out the new street lights across the street from the Glut Food Co-op.



Two Great Concerts – Tinsmith the Band - The first concert is Sunday June 15, 2008 featuring the fantastic group Tinsmith. Bring your instruments, a chair, swimming apparel (there’s a pool) and your favorite dish. Jamming starts at 1:00pm. Concert starts at 4:00 pm. A $15.00 donation to attend the concert is requested. 100% of all donations will go to the Tinsmith band. This will be an outdoor event, location of in Glenn Dale Maryland (12200 Daisy Lane). Check out tinsmith.net for more info on the band.

Robin Bullock Multi-instrumentalist - The second concert will be here in Mt. Rainier (4009 36th St.) on Saturday June 28, 2008. Guitar wizard Robin Bullock will be playing for us. Bring your instruments, a chair and your favorite dish. Jamming starts at 1:00pm. Concert starts at 6:00 pm. Jamming will continue shortly after the concert and carry on until! A $15.00 donation to attend the concert is requested. 100% of all donations will go to Robin. This will be an indoor event, location in Mount Rainier Maryland. Please check out robinbullock.com for more info pertaining to Robin.



For reservations, information and directions contact Andy Bryson on 301-277-5258 or 301-351-8087. He can also be contacted via email on bryca137@aol.com or myspace.com/caderb. RSVP PLEASE - SEATING IS LIMITED