VINCENT dePAUL GISRIEL JR.

READER

The mayor and City Council of Ocean City have a longstanding policy of keeping a reserve fund for unforeseen emergencies, unanticipated expenditures of a nonrecurring nature and unexpected increases in service costs.

The reserve policy calls for setting aside an amount equal to 15 percent of the previous fiscal year’s general fund expenditures. This is a sound financial policy, and I support it.

However, during the last five fiscal years, the fund has averaged 19.36 percent above expenses. In FY2015, the reserve fund was 21.6 percent. This resulted in $4.8 million more than the required 15 percent – equivalent to 5.3 cents on the tax rate.

Thus, the property tax rate could have been reduced by more than five cents, and the town would have ended FY15 with the required 15 percent in unassigned reserves.

By my calculations, FY14 ended with $2.4 million more than the 15 percent. FY13 ended with an excess of $3.1 million, while FY12 ended with $1.8 million more than 15 percent. FY11 showed $4.6 million over the reserve policy.

The combined effect of these excess reserves exceeds $16.7 million, the equivalent of 17.2 cents on the tax rate spread across the five-year period. Upon adoption of the recent budget amendment for FY16, we currently have $1.9 million more than the 15 percent threshold.

Every resident, nonresident, business property owner and tenant is adversely impacted by overbudgeting of reserves. As we approach FY17, let’s hold the mayor and council majority accountable for runaway reserves and overtaxation.

Vincent dePaul Gisriel Jr.

Ocean City

A Salisbury 'institution' threatened?

Deed restriction divides Wicomico residents