Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Rising Sun proposes balanced budget with new hires, $950,000 paving plan and stormwater design funds
Summary
Town officials unveiled a proposed FY2021–22 budget that aims to restore and add public‑works and police positions, raises police starting pay to $45,000, bids $950,000 in paving work and sets aside $69,000 to begin engineering for stormwater‑mandate compliance.
The town presented a proposed budget that town staff say will remain balanced while restoring and expanding municipal services. The town administrator told the board the proposal is driven by 11 months of financial data and moves accounting into a new MIP software format.
The administrator said the staffing plan includes filling a vacant fourth public‑works position, adding a fifth, and filling two police vacancies. “So this budget includes filling the vacant fourth position and adding a fifth position,” he said. To help recruit officers, the town has moved the starting police salary to $45,000 and applied a 5% across‑the‑board base salary adjustment for existing officers.
Capital work is a central element of the proposal. “We have put out the bid for about $950,000 worth of street repaving,” the administrator said, identifying Valley View and parts of Summer Hill among priority streets. He said bids are scheduled to open June 23 and that the board will be asked to ratify contract awards at the next meeting, though supply‑chain constraints could delay start dates.
On environmental compliance, staff described a state‑mandated stormwater reduction target of 20% to be met by 2025 and estimated the town’s cheapest path to compliance at about $1.8 million. The budget includes roughly $69,000 for design and engineering now so the town can position itself for future funding opportunities.
Officials also reviewed proprietary funds for water and sewer operations and noted the wastewater plant’s operations have qualified the town for operator grant funding from MDE in recent years. The administrator said the general fund shows a modest positive balance (about $29,416) and that staff plan further line‑item reconciliation before final adoption.
The board did not adopt the budget at the June 8 meeting; staff said they will revisit details over the next two weeks and return with a final proposal for adoption at a subsequent meeting.
