Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Leonardtown council adopts FY2027 budget, keeps property tax rate steady
Loading...
Summary
The Leonardtown Town Council adopted Ordinance No. 232, approving the FY2027 budget and maintaining the town's real property tax rate at 0.1203; the budget includes proposed utility rate increases for water, sewer and trash and a set of capital projects including a new parking-lot build and meter replacement plan.
The Leonardtown Town Council voted to adopt Ordinance No. 232, approving the town's Fiscal Year 2027 budget and keeping the real property tax rate at 0.1203.
Treasurer Sharon Strand said income tax is the town's largest revenue source, estimated at $1,200,000 and representing about 40.4% of operating revenue, and that real-property receipts are just over $1,000,000. "We're still in pretty good shape," Strand said while walking council members through the revenue and grant worksheets.
The ordinance sets the town's operating plan across four funds (general, enterprise, capital projects and grants) and funds ongoing services and several capital initiatives. The council was told the enterprise fund, which covers water, sewer, the wastewater treatment plant and the town's trash contract, faces cost increases that will require rate changes to meet FY27 operating needs.
Strand outlined projected utility impacts included in the budget materials: residential sewer bills are projected to increase roughly $2.70 per month, commercial sewer rates about $4.42 per month per equivalent development unit, residential water about $1.28 per month, and the proposed trash-service increase is about $2.58 per month; detailed rates and tables were referenced in the town's budget packet. Strand also noted example quarterly billing figures discussed at the meeting.
The FY27 capital program includes a variety of projects highlighted in the budget document: painting the Tudor Hall tower, a planned water-line expansion, a meter-replacement program planned for 2028'029 to enable remote reads, continued grinder-pump purchases for the sewer system, and a Wharf parking-lot project supported by a prior $250,000 award and a proposed local match to build a new lot.
Council members asked procedural and technical questions during the public hearing and then closed the hearing before adopting the ordinance by voice vote. The council did not record a roll-call tally in the transcript; the motion passed as announced by the presiding official.
The council indicated staff will continue consultations on capital prioritization and review rate schedules in the materials posted with the budget book.
