College Park council adopts FY2026 budget with small amendment; consent items approved

The College Park City Council on May 20 adopted Ordinance 25‑04, the city’s fiscal year 2026 budget, after approving a late amendment that reduced an additional business attraction/retention allocation by $10,000 and moved $40,000 into the city’s business façade and improvement grant fund.

The budget vote culminated a multiweek review and a public hearing the council held earlier in the process. Finance staff told the council the net effect of the changes the council agreed to last week and the amendment approved May 20 was a $201,000 increase to the originally proposed budget, funded in part by $76,023 of the city’s fund balance; the finance director said that left the city’s reserve at about 35.9 percent of operating expenditures, essentially unchanged from the proposed budget.

Council members and staff said the ordinance packages modest new spending while preserving a healthy reserve. City Manager Mr. Young and Finance Director Mr. Fields reviewed the numbers for the council before the motion to adopt.

Discussion and amendment

A council amendment proposed during floor debate reduced the additional one‑time allocation for business attraction and retention from $50,000 to $40,000 and increased the additional funding for the business façade and improvement grant by $40,000. The sponsor described the change as an effort to balance larger attraction incentives with smaller, more widely distributed façade grants. The amendment was seconded and approved on a voice vote.

Finance staff said the budget document will be finalized after tonight’s votes; staff will update narrative text, some informational tables and the pay plan to reflect adopted amounts and recent personnel decisions. The finance director told the council those editorial updates do not change the budgeted dollar totals in the ordinance.

What the budget includes and next steps

Councilmembers praised the budget for adding staff capacity in key areas and for maintaining the city’s reserve. The approved ordinance covers the general fund, an ARPA allocation fund, debt service and capital projects. Staff said the budget includes funding for economic development work, additional public safety staffing and small capital projects, and that ARPA funds remain available for specific programs such as aging‑in‑place home repairs.

Votes at a glance

- Ordinance 25‑04 (FY2026 budget, general fund, ARPA allocation fund, debt service and capital projects fund): Adopted (motion to adopt as amended). The council approved a motion to adopt the ordinance as amended the evening of May 20. The budget amendment reduced one additional business attraction/retention allocation by $10,000 and added $40,000 to the business façade and improvement grant fund; staff said the net change increased the budget by about $201,000 and used $76,023 of fund balance. (Recorded in the official minutes of May 20.)

- Consent agenda: Approved. The council approved the consent agenda, which included 25G‑53 (Adoption of the Lakeland neighborhood plan) and 25G‑49 (two legislative action requests to the Maryland Municipal League). The consent motion passed on a voice vote.

- 25G‑54 (Approval of property‑use agreement in support of transfer of a Class A beer, wine and liquor license): Removed from the action items by motion of Councilmember Rigg; the removal passed and staff said the applicant asked to delay their Board of License Commissioners hearing to conduct additional community outreach.

Implementation and context

Staff will prepare the final adopted budget document that incorporates these amendments and minor technical fixes and will publish the final documents after assembly. The finance director said the final document will include updated departmental performance measures to support transparency and future award eligibility.

Councilmembers emphasized the budget’s support for economic development, walkability and expanded services and thanked staff for the work required to produce a balanced plan.

Ending

The council’s adoption of FY2026 clears the way for staff to begin implementation of the newly funded programs and for the city to publish the final adopted budget documents. The city’s finance office will post the final budget once the editorial and tabular updates are complete.