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Wicomico County executive proposes $237M FY2027 budget with 3-cent tax-rate cut
Summary
County Executive Billy Garrett submitted a $237 million proposed operating and capital budget for FY2027 that uses fund balance for capital, reduces the property tax rate by three cents, increases education maintenance-of-effort funding and boosts emergency-services pay; finance officials stressed the plan relies on one-time reserves for capital.
County Executive Billy Garrett submitted Wicomico County's proposed FY2027 operating and capital budget on April 21, saying the plan balances available resources while making targeted investments in schools, public safety and county services.
The proposal estimates $237 million in revenue, a roughly $21 million increase over the prior year driven largely by higher income-tax receipts, and calls for about $33 million of fund-balance use for capital and PAYGO projects. Garrett and Finance Director Pam Olin said the plan reduces the county's real-property tax rate by three cents while increasing funding for the Board of Education's maintenance-of-effort request and allocating money to begin school weapons-detection implementation at tier-one schools.
Olin said income-tax receipts are forecast at about $84 million and noted the county will use prior-year fund balance to support capital needs rather than recurring operating costs. The budget proposes a 2% general COLA plus a 3% step for most employees and an 8% pay-scale increase for emergency-services staff to address retention. The administration also proposed an increased pension payment of $1.5 million to strengthen funding levels.
The plan funds PAYGO capital of more than $25 million, includes forward funding for school projects at Fruitland, and recommends rate increases for selected recreation and solid-waste services to cover rising program costs and required post-closure landfill obligations. Olin said the county remains under policy limits for debt service and expects to issue debt borrowing in the fall.
Garrett framed the budget as a mix of operational funding and strategic capital investments, but council members pressed for details on the planned use of reserves and asked for work sessions to review exhibits and position-control documents. The council will schedule follow-up sessions to examine the revenue assumptions and capital program before adopting the budget later this spring.
