Wicomico County Unanimously Passes $135.2M Budget

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The Wicomico County Council unanimously adopted its FY 2017 budget of $135.2 million on June 7, 2016. The budget focuses on education and placed $252,000 in a contingency account to allow it more time to consider a tuition scholarship plan for Wor-Wic Community College students.

According to the Salisbury Independent,

The budget also funds the Board of Education, library and Wor-Wic Community College.

It contains a 3 percent raise for county employees and funding of the collective bargaining agreement with the Sheriff’s Office and FOP.

The Sheriff’s Office will have cash to purchase 10 new vehicles.

The county’s contribution to the school board’s budget will increase 1.21 percent to $52.44 million, including $10.5 million more in capital contributions.

There’s an additional $626,648 for the school board’s general fund, including increases in the state’s Maintenance of Effort formula.

The school board requested $42.5 million for general funds use and received $41.9 million.

The county school system’s budget proposal for the coming year is just under $200 million, up from about $191 million in the current year. While the county’s contribution to schools funding is less than 25 percent of the system’s total budget, schools spending is 43 percent of the county’s budget.

There’s more money for the MAC Center and Humane Society of Wicomico County. In the category of new spending, a budget item was included to address the county’s opioid addiction problem.

Cannon said Wicomico County is fortunate because there has been an increase in property values and revenues.

“We held back for many years because the revenue wasn’t there. All across the United States, everybody has been waiting for some kind of recovery. The important thing is that we are always fiscally responsible,” Cannon said.

As Tuesday’s meeting ended, he thanked those who attended, saying, “It’s nice to see a full room,” and assuring constituents that council members listen to their concerns.

To read the full article, please visit the Salisbury Independent online.