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Hagerstown council reviews FY27 budget, highlights $13.3M in general‑fund capital spending
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Summary
City staff presented the proposed FY27 budget and CIP at a work session, emphasizing a $13.3 million general‑fund capital program, a $2.9 million CIP fund balance, planned investments in fire vehicle replacements and a new ERP system, and a FY28 projected revenue shortfall estimate the city plans to address through structural growth strategies rather than immediate tax hikes.
City Administrator Michelle Heffer led an extensive review of the proposed fiscal year 2027 budget and the capital improvement program at the Hagerstown mayor and city council work session on April 21.
Heffer said the budget book’s Section 7 lists capital projects across all funds and showed a $13.3 million general‑fund CIP for FY27. She said the CIP fund balance is about $2.9 million, of which roughly $1.4 million is new project funding and the remainder represents previously authorized or restricted funds. “When you look at the projects by funding source, you’ll see there’s no bond financing included for FY27 — that line is zero,” Heffer said. She added the budget book includes project sheets that present multi‑year justifications and funding sources for each project.
Among the higher‑dollar items Heffer walked the council through were fire department vehicle replacements (project C0010), shown with a FY27 general‑fund transfer of $1.3 million, CIP fund balance support of $1.3 million and $400,000 from general‑fund reserves. She said that project sheets in the packet display only the portion funded from each source, not the entire multi‑fund project cost.
Heffer also highlighted project C0739, the city’s first major enterprise resource planning (ERP) replacement in many years. The ERP project includes capital costs and an increase in recurring operating and maintenance costs (subscriptions, cybersecurity and GIS enhancements) on the operating side. “We’ve had our ERP for 16 or 17 years; upgrading it requires investment in both capital and ongoing subscriptions,” she said.
On the revenue side, Heffer reviewed the financial projections in Section 6 and noted FY27 is a reassessment year for property tax base calculations. The packet lists total property tax revenue in the FY27 proposed budget near $47.5 million; out‑year projections show higher totals depending on development and reassessment assumptions. Heffer cautioned that the city’s five‑year projections include inherent uncertainty but are intended to illustrate structural trends.
Scott Nyswander, who participates in budget strategy, summarized options to address a projected structural gap in future years: raise taxes, reduce expenses, or expand revenue through growth initiatives. “Our job is to present ways to shrink that structural deficit structurally, not by recurring tax or cutting essential services,” Nyswander said.
Heffer reminded the council that FY27 is balanced as presented and that the council will hold a public hearing and proceed with ordinance introduction and adoption steps in May for both the budget and the property‑tax rate. She encouraged councilmembers to identify follow‑up questions and noted departments would attend future meetings if council wants deeper detail on specific projects.
The council did not take any formal votes during the work session; staff said they will return with required ordinances and a public hearing notice for the May schedule.
