town meeting Minutes
April 14, 2010

The meeting was called to order at 7:34 p.m. Present were Mayor Calvo, Mayor Pro Tem Lofgren, CMs Ahrens, Dennison, and Wilkinson. Also present were Town Administrator Murphy, Treasurer Lape, Clerk Harper, Detective Kenneth Antolik and citizens.

Mayor Calvo led the Pledge of Allegiance.

1. Budget Hearings

Mayor Calvo noted that this year, there will not be a constant yield tax rate hearing, as real property tax revenues are lower than in previous years. He then gave an overview of the FY 2010 Town budget. Overall revenues are expected to come in at $2,226,000, which represents an 8.9% decline over last year. The operating budget is projected at $2,344,000, which represents a 5% decline. The most notable development in this budget is the unprecedented 7% decline in real property tax revenues, after the triennial reassessment in January 2010, and the slashing of Highway User Revenues by 90%. Together, these losses amount to $234,000. Some revenue increases are projected from the recycling fees, permits and fines & forfeitures.

On the expenditure side, the budget eliminates a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA), while restoring $15,000 for merit increases. A number of targeted reductions have been made throughout Town departments, while the rest of the budget is flat. 

CM Wilkinson reported that TA Murphy cut 3% did a good job in holding the line in administration expenditures. He cut the Town Administration Department budget by 3%, the Municipal Building budget by 4% and the Town Center budget by 2%.

Mayor Calvo reported that the Police budget was reduced by 5%., most of which comes from eliminating a currently vacant police officer position. However, the Council has made it a priority to find funds to reinstate the 8th officer, if only for part of the next fiscal year. While the budget includes funds to buy a new police vehicle, the Council is considering skipping the purchase this year. Other adjustments include a reduction of the gas & oil appropriation and setting aside $5,000 for the recruitment of a new police chief. The Police budget includes a $3,000 appropriation for the Neighborhood Watch/Emergency Preparedness and $1,000 for the Volunteer Fire Department, unchanged from last year.

CM Ahrens said that the Code Compliance budget went up by 1% mostly due to salary increases. The Code Department is slated to take on the stepped up enforcement of trash disposal violations that will go into effect with the adoption of a revised Refuse Collection Ordinance. To carry out these additional responsibilities, he has requested funding for an additional 2 ˝ hours per week for the part time officer.

MPT Lofgren reported that the Public Works budget is slated to decline by 3% most of which is due to the elimination of one currently vacant crewman position in Streets & Sanitation. To offset this loss, the temporary help appropriation has been increased enabling the Public Works director to hire additional help as needed. The Public Works Building and Street Lighting budgets remain unchanged, while the Recycling budget increased by 70%, due mainly to repairs that had to be made to vehicles. To offset some of the increased costs, the recycling fee has been raised from $60 to $70 per year.

CM Dennison reported that the Parks & Recreation budget has gone down by 6%, in large part due to reduced internet service costs in the Media Center since the Town's connection to the County's I-Net. Other notable changes include increases in the volunteer appreciation and the Recreation Council's special events line. The Recreation Council funds were augmented from the Berwyn Heights Historical Committee and youth services appropriations. The budget continues to support Berwyn Heights Elementary School through contributions to the weekly reader and artist-in-residence programs.

Mayor Calvo added that tax rates have not changed. The real property tax rate remains at ˘48.6  per $100 of assessed value, but revenue is down due to the decline in assessments. Personal property tax revenues are projected to be lower by 2% at the unchanged rate of $1.215 per $100 of assessed value. Income tax revenues are expected to decline by 5%, due to vacant properties and people earning less. Lastly, Highway User Revenues (HUR),  which are the Town's share of gas taxes, car sales taxes and vehicle registration fees collected by the State, were cut by 90%. This loss has put on hold the Town's plans to renovate Seminole and Ruatan Streets, which was scheduled to begin this summer.

Mayor Calvo continued that the Council spent a lot of time discussing health insurance benefits, which have gone up 69%  over the last 5 years. The Town can no longer afford these cost increases and decided to ask employees share the burden. During the next weeks, employees will receive a memo requesting them to choose between 3 options on how to save $18,000 in health insurance expenditures: 1) keeping the current CareFirst PPO plan, with employees contributing $18,000 in increased premiums and deductibles; 2) switching to a CareFirst HMO plan, with employees contributing $13,000, as this saves the Town $5,000 over the current plan; and 3) switching to Kaiser Permanente HMO with employees receiving $450 each in rebates, as this plan saves the Town $26,000.

The FY 2011 budget also funds the purchase of a new 10 ton dump truck. This is the last big vehicle that will be financed from surplus and henceforth will be replaced periodically from the operating budget, like all others. Another $10,000 will be added to the vehicle replacement fund to  make it whole. No contributions will be made to the infrastructure fund because of the loss of HUR. Finally, $82,000 will be spent to pay off the last installment of a 1996 infrastructure bond to make the Town debt free.

The Public Safety Taxing District (PSTD) budget is proposed at $70,100, representing 1% decline over last year. It funds one police officer and is solely paid for by businesses in the commercial district with a ˘10 real property tax and a ˘15 personal property tax.

At 8:04 p.m, the hearing on the Town budget was opened. Ray Smith of Seminole Place asked what the recycling tax represents. Mayor Calvo explained that it actually is a user fee that is levied as part of the real property tax. It was instituted to pay a recycling contractor and now helps pay for the in-house recycling program. Mr. Smith asked which appropriation pays for the search of a new police chief. Mayor Calvo said that $5002 have so far been appropriated for the search, which comes out of the Police budget. Mr. Smith asked what benefits a Public Safety Taxing District officer receives. He was told that he receives the same benefits as the other officers. However, the PSTD budget only pays for part of his health insurance benefit. With no further comments, the hearing was closed.

At 8:09 p.m., the PSTD budget hearing was opened. There were no comments and the hearing was closed.

2. Minutes

Clerk Harper read a summary of the March 10 Town meeting minutes. On a motion by CM Ahrens and second by CM Dennison, the minutes were approved 5 to 0.

3. Treasurer’s Report

Treasurer Lape gave the Treasurer's report for the month of March.

4. Mayor’s Report

Mayor Calvo reported that the General Assembly session adjourned Monday night. The biggest disappointment of the session was the State seizing municipalities' Highway User Revenue (HUR) to fund general government operations. He strongly believes that the Transportation Trust Fund should be used only to fund transportation projects. However, the Transportation Trust Fund has long been underfunded because the State has neglected to raise the gas tax. As a result transportation infrastructure is deteriorating. Another reason local HUR was cut is that the Counties successfully protected their benefits from the budget knife. In particular, teacher pensions, currently funded in the State budget, were left untouched in this budget round. However, Counties are likely to have to pay a share of the pensions in the future.

The General Assembly also enacted legislation capping Park & Planning taxes, which the Town supported, and requiring drivers, who receive a moving violation, to request a trial date. Currently, Maryland automatically assigns a trial date to those who receive a ticket. This results in lost time and money as police officers often attend trials for which an offender does not show up.

In other news, the federal government declared the back-to-back snow storms in February an emergency and may reimburse the Town for some of the snow removal expenses. The Town Council had a productive conversation with Chief Murphy, representatives of the Boys & Girls Club (B&GC), the Park Police and the County Councilmember Olson's office about the hockey rink. The rink's use has evolved beyond what it was intended for and is causing problems for B&GC teams and neighboring property owners. Strategies for monitoring the rink at night and checking on out-of-Town users have been identified. Implementation awaits further input from the B&GC. The Town Council also granted a vendor permit to Verizon FIOS to solicit subscriptions in Berwyn Heights and on April 5 held an executive session to select the citizen of the year.

5. Department Reports

Administration: CM Wilkinson  reported that the Town received $2,048,000 in revenues to date, or 80.2% of what was budgeted. A new pull down lamp was installed in the Senior Center. Administration staff has been working hard on the budget and Berwyn Heights Day. He thanked MPT Lofgren and his wife for hosting the Public Works breakfast.

Code Compliance: CM Ahrens reminded residents that high grass season is about to start and that grass must be kept below 10”. He reported that enforcement efforts have focused on trash violations and rental licensing. Homeowners may rent to one tenant without a license if they live in the same home. Renting to 2 or more tenants requires a license. Maximum number of tenants per rental home is 5. Lastly, he  announced that there will be a free legal clinic will be held for Seniors on April 30, 10 - 2 p.m.

Parks and Recreation, Education and Civic Affairs: CM Dennison reported that Berwyn Heights Day is coming up on May 1. Activities begin at 7:30 a.m. with a fun run around Lake Artemesia, organized this year by Kyle and Adam Snyder. In addition, there will be a pancake breakfast, parade and an afternoon fair. The day concludes with a concert of 4 local bands. Volunteers are still welcome. On May 17, the Education Advisory Committees of Berwyn Heights, College Park and Greenbelt will host Superintendent Hite and several assistants at their meeting. The meeting will take place at Berwyn Heights Elementary School (BHES). Prince George's County Public Schools (PGCPS) will benefit from additional resources given to the County by the State at the end of the legislative session. On May 24, the Berwyn Heights Historical Committee (BHHC) will host a Memorial Day event. Veterans and active duty military personnel are encouraged to participate and contact Jim Hudson, BHHC chair.

CM Dennison said that she was encouraged by a productive meeting about the hockey rink. Park Police offered to patrol the rink more often and to install a monitoring device when funding to purchase the equipment is available. She noted that Neighborhood Watch/Emergency Preparedness has also patrolled Sports Park and, on occasion, chased away people using the rink without permission. The B&GC will further discuss the different solutions to remedy the problems of unauthorized use of the rink and may opt to issue permits.

Public Health and Safety: Mayor Calvo announced that Officer Unger left the Town's employ to join the Greenbelt police force. Officer Roberson was promoted to Private First Class after joining the Berwyn Heights police force a year ago. Thanks to Detective Antolik's investigative service on the Secret Service Joint Task Force, the Town received an almost new Chevy Suburban SUV seized for being purchased with a fraudulent loan. Detective Antolik was recently named Investigator of the Year by the Prince George's County Chiefs of Police organization.

Detective Antolik gave the police activities report for March. He said that 103 citations were issued. Police has been vigilant patrolling after a shooting on Osage Street. He asked parents to help enforce the late night curfew for youth under the age of 18. Further, the Police Department has received several promising applications for the vacant officer position, which are now being reviewed.

Public Works: MPT Lofgren reported that Public Works  had a normal workload over the last month. Last week, the crew mulched Pops Park and painted the equipment, groomed flower beds and repaired rain gutters on the Town Center.

6. Committee Reports

Education Advisory Committee: Reported under Department Reports.

Historical Committee: Reported under Department Reports.

Neighborhood Watch/Emergency Preparedness: There was none.

Recreation Council: Reported under Department Reports.

7. Unfinished Business

Ordinance No. 117 – Refuse Collection Amendments: Mayor Calvo explained that the amendments to the Ordinance introduced at the March Town meeting seek to clarify and update regulations on refuse disposal. For example, the revised Ordinance mandates that all household refuse be stored and set at the curb in a container with a tight fitting lid to prevent wild animals from tearing open trash bags and scattering refuse. The Ordinance also allows residents to use commercial paper bags for yard waste disposal and strengthens enforcement to increase recycling and prevent disposal of excessive amounts of trash with the goal to reduce the Town's trash disposal costs. Mayor Calvo asked for a motion to continue Ordinance No. 117 for adoption at the May Town meeting. CM Dennison so moved. CM Wilkinson seconded. The motion passed 5 to 0.

Ray Smith asked to comment on the Ordinance. He suggested changes in wording to Sections 4-C and 4-S regarding the bagging of loose leaves and deleting a comma in Section 10-C.

Ura Daley of Paxton Court commented that there are many residents who leave their trash cans at the curb too long and would like to see that addressed. Mayor Calvo replied that this violation will be more strictly enforced along with other trash violations once residents have been informed of the planned changes.

8. New Business

Ordinance No. 150 – Introduction of FY 2011 Town Budget: Clerk Harper read a summary of the Ordinance. CM Dennison moved to introduce the budget. CM Ahrens seconded. Mayor Calvo said that the introduced budget is a good foundation to get the Town through the next 3 years of lower revenues, which are based on the recent triennial assessment. Next year, the Town will be debt free, which will provide some flexibility in addition to the surplus and money set aside in reserves. The Council has focused on managing big ticket items, such as containing spending on health insurance and scheduling the purchase of capital items, rather than scrape together small amounts of money. TA Murphy made the right decision to propose staff reductions in Public Works and Police to get to a balanced budget that can be sustained in the upcoming years. He believes Berwyn Heights is in better shape than its neighbors, who may have to raise taxes to close their budget deficit.

CM Dennison said that today the Town is in much better shape than when she was first elected to the Council. She became Mayor after Mayor Jewitt resigned and Town Administrator Groulx left the Town's service. This left the budget process in disarray and produced a $300,000 budget error. Since then the Town's fiscal house has been put in order. An experienced Town Administrator ws hired in Mr. Murphy, who cleaned up the budget, and a new Council was elected, which put in place many sound fiscal policies. She is therefore not worried that this Council will come up with a good budget that continues to fund all important Town services.

CM Wilkinson said that this budget process was an eye-opening experience. With heavy losses in Highway User Revenues and real estate tax revenues, difficult cuts had to be made and expenditures flat-lined. However, the Town may not want to do this year after year. He believes that the Council needs to seriously look at taking out a bond to fix deteriorating roads in Town and raising the real property tax rate to be able to pay competitive salaries and attract good candidates for police officer and other positions. CM Ahrens commented that he thinks this Council works well as a team.

The Council voted 5 to 0 to introduce the FY 2011 Town budget.

Ordinance No. 151 – Introduction of FY 2011 Public Safety Taxing District budget: Clerk Harper read a summary of the Ordinance. CM Ahrens moved to introduce it. CM Wilkinson seconded. Mayor Calvo said Berwyn Heights was the first municipality in the State to establish a Public Safety Taxing District and levy a special public safety tax on businesses. This tax has since funded the 8th officer position, which contributed substantially to reducing crime in Berwyn Heights. The PSTD budget has held fairly steady compared to the Town's general fund, with revenues declining only by 0.5 % over last year. He will speak on the value of the PSTD at the upcoming Maryland Municipal League (MML) conference.

The Council voted 5 to 0 to introduce the FY 2011 Public Safety Taxing District budget.

9. Citizens Discussion

Ray Smith asked if the Council has considered moving up the time for when loud noise must cease. He is frequently disturbed by neighbors who play amplified music at night. Mayor Calvo said that quiet time currently begins at 9 p.m. and ends at 7 a.m. During this time, citations for disturbance of the peace can be given by the police. Lately, he has received a number of complaints about noisy neighbors. This makes him inclined to revisit a noise ordinance the Council discussed in the summer of 2007. This ordinance would adopt an objective standard for defining a noise violation with the help of a decibel reader, as is done in College Park. A violation can be issued when there is any kind of sustained loud disturbance any time of the day.

Mr. Smith also asked if Clerk Harper has been able to determine why the broadcasts of worksessions did not have a good picture. She replied that she has tried out a different camera setting, which appears to improve the picture for some residents. Mr. Smith further suggested that the Town should advertise the paper recycling program at Berwyn Heights Elementary School.

Signed: Kerstin Harper, Town Clerk

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