Cheverly council previews FY27 budget, agrees to advertise 62.99¢ tax rate and higher apartment, business rates

CHEVERLY, Md. — The Town of Cheverly’s council and staff spent much of their April 16 special budget meeting parsing proposed spending and revenue for fiscal 2027 and gave staff direction to advertise a set of tax-rate increases that officials said are intended to close a budget gap.

Town Administrator Delaine Galloway opened the meeting by saying staff would present public works followed by general government and a revenue outlook; Public Works Director Bremen told the council, “This year is a tight year,” as he reviewed capital needs, ongoing road and sidewalk projects, bridge maintenance and recent grant awards. Town accountant Diane Mok said the revenue recommendation — which includes a 5¢ increase on single-family real property, raising multifamily rates and boosting personal property rates — would produce total projected revenues of $11,459,000.

Why it matters: the proposals affect homeowners and local businesses directly and are intended to reduce a projected FY26 shortfall. Council members stressed the need to balance service levels, the town’s fund balance and the political and economic impacts of rate changes. Diane Mok told the council the combined proposed increases would add about $768,000 in revenue; she summarized the bottom line: “The revenue totals $11,459,000.”

What staff presented - Public works: Director Bremen reviewed completed projects (a new Boyd Park gate and playground surfacing), ongoing street and curb work (Wayne Place, 63rd Avenue) and a federally funded stormwater design award. He said the town received approximately $1,668,000 in FEMA design funding and matched design work through CIS and the Clean Water Partnership, noting that the grant is for design and study, not construction. - Grants and parks: Miss Prahm described a $400,000 Kim Lanphier Bikeways award with a 20% local match to extend a bike-path connection toward the Anacostia River Trail and a CDBG/DHCD Boyd Park resurfacing grant of about $178,000 to refurbish three courts (including pickleball lines). - Operations and staffing: Bremen outlined several frozen positions in public works, a higher temporary-labor allocation ($200,000) to cover seasonal need, and about $35,000 in maintenance agreements tied to the new Ealy building’s systems.

Revenue options and council response Town accountant Diane Mok reviewed a set of rate options and constant-yield calculations to offset falling apartment assessments and other FY26 pressures. Her recommendation raised single-family real-property by 5¢ (to 62.99¢), the apartment rate to about $1.03 and business/utilities (personal property) to $1.45 per $100 of assessed value. Mok said those three line changes together would add roughly $768,000 in revenue over FY26.

Council members asked for concrete impacts on typical households and for hybrid approaches (for example, keeping the single-family rate constant while increasing the multifamily rate). Administrator Galloway and Mok ran through examples: using a $500,000 assessed value, the single-family tax bill changes were quantified for council members during discussion.

Council direction and schedule After extended discussion about service levels, fund-balance targets and potential expenditure cuts, Mayor Michael Watson moved the practical decision about what to publish for the required tax‑increase notice: “Let’s go with $62.99, and that’ll be the advertisement.” The council directed staff to advertise the proposed rates (single-family 62.99¢, multifamily near $1.03, and personal-property $1.45) and scheduled a public hearing for May 7 at 6:30 p.m. Staff were asked to prepare clear “if/then” scenarios (what cuts or fund-balance draw would be required for different adopted rates) so the council and the public can evaluate options before the council’s final vote.

Votes and formal actions - Motion to excuse Council member Garces — passed 5-0. - Motion to approve the meeting agenda — passed 5-0. - Council agreed (consensus) to advertise the proposed tax rates and set the May 7 public hearing; staff to prepare budget scenarios tied to different adopted rates. - Motion to adjourn — passed 5-0.

What’s next The council will hold the advertised public hearing on May 7 at 6:30 p.m.; staff will then present a final budget review and the council expects to take a vote on rates and the first reading of the FY27 budget at the next scheduled meeting sequence (first-reader timing discussed). Staff were also tasked to return detailed options that show the spending cuts or fund-balance draw that would correspond to each alternative rate the council might adopt.

Reporting notes The transcript repeatedly spells the town name as “Chevrolet.” Official town references in this article use the correct local spelling, Cheverly, per town documents and the known community name.