Sykesville council introduces FY2025 budget revision increasing revenues and expenses by $488,005

The Sykesville Town Council on Monday introduced Ordinance 2025-01, a fiscal year 2025 midyear budget revision that increases both recognized revenues and planned expenses by $488,005 and schedules a public hearing and adoption vote for the council’s next meeting on Feb. 24, 2025.

Joe (staff member) told the council the revision adjusts revenues primarily on the capital side and by re-estimating recurring receipts. “This is budget revision number 1 for f y 25. It does show an increase of 488,005, dollars, to our revenues and expenses,” Joe said. He said the revenue increases include an approximately $80,000 upward adjustment to income tax receipts based on now-available data to compute a three‑year rolling average, a reduction in state police aid tied to the state’s calculation, and stronger-than-expected interest income that the town now projects at just under $200,000 for the year.

The revision also recognizes use of restricted fund balance for the Gatehouse Museum porch work and allocates additional unassigned fund balance toward the Sykesville Station project. Joe said the town previously authorized $350,000 for the station project; the ordinance and supporting detail show a $71,000 outflow already charged to utility relocation for that work.

On the expense side, Joe said the revision raises professional services—driven by litigation and legal support costs—general government property and capital spending tied to the station project, and several operational line items across public works and parks. He cited these specific adjustments in his presentation: $15,000 for public works equipment maintenance (including dumpster replacements and trash-cart purchases), about $26,000 for park maintenance (sediment-pond/weed control and repairs at South Branch Park), a $60,000 allocation for Gatehouse Museum porch work and related curator hours, an approximately $30,000 increase in the streets and roads capital outlay (paid from highway user revenues reserved for paving), and a $225,000 increase in the general government property category to offset use of fund balance for station-related payments.

Council members asked for clarifications about how income tax projections are set and the timing of receipts; Joe explained the town receives the final, larger income‑tax deposits later in the fiscal year (often May–July) and that the three‑year rolling average is now possible because the town has a full three years of data. The council also discussed ARPA funds: Joe said about 95% of ARPA allocations are committed to the streetscape project and that actual spending will appear when invoices arrive once the project begins.

Treasurer Jen (Treasurer) presented the January cash report alongside the budget presentation and confirmed a $590,000 property tax deposit and the $71,000 station project outflow in the month’s activity. Jen said the town remains invested and that those station project expenditures are reflected in the treasury report's detail.

Council member (name not specified) moved to introduce Ordinance 2025-01 and schedule the public hearing and adoption for Feb. 24, 2025; another council member seconded the motion. The council voted in favor; the motion passed. The ordinance introduction will be followed by the public hearing at the council’s Feb. 24 meeting, where the council will consider final adoption.

The town manager and staff emphasized that the ordinance text shows category-level changes and that line-item adjustments that offset one another may appear only in the detailed backup; council members were urged to review the detailed schedule accompanying the ordinance rather than relying solely on the ordinance’s summary figures.

If adopted on Feb. 24, the revision will be recorded as Budget Revision No. 1 for FY2025 and will be used to finalize accounts before the fiscal year-end process and preparation of the FY2026 budget.