April 2008

By FRANK M. JOHNSON, Mayor, Town of Mt. Airy
As published April 16, 2008

1. Community Legacy Grant for Downtown. In March we received the good news that the Community Legacy Program granted the town $250,000 to assist with the rebuilding of downtown after the Sept. 2 fire. Governor O’Malley announced the awards for communities statewide at a ceremony in Dundalk. I am also pleased to say that the governor had kind words for the work we’ve done, as a community, here in Mt. Airy to rebuild and recover since the downtown fire.

2. Welcome back Olde Town! An old friend re-opened on March 25 in downtown Mt. Airy – the Olde Town Restaurant which had been closed since Sept. 2. The restaurant offers a general menu and is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and is closed only on Mondays.

It has a new ambiance that is still reminiscent of the Olde Town all of us remember, and a full menu that should appeal to all. They join CarterQue Barbeque restaurant, which opened just recently in the old Firehouse on Main Street.

3. The New Budget – Keeping Taxes Low. The economic downturn will have a significant effect on the next budget year and the year after that. But the good news is that the budget is proposed to continue the conservative fiscal approach of reducing property taxes.

The current municipal property tax rate is 17.4 cents, and the budget proposes to reduce that down to 16.5 cents. In addition to a significant cut in the tax rate, that will result in an actual decrease in the actual tax amount residents pay. Of course, the town’s municipal property taxes are billed in July along with the county’s tax billings.

Since the county’s tax bills will increase, it may be easy to miss the decrease in the town’s portion. I hope citizens will notice, however, because it is unusual among local governments. Costs are increasing across the board (affecting citizens as well as municipalities), and there are a number of good ideas for spending more money that have to be turned down or deferred.

It takes a deliberate commitment just to avoid increases, much less actually reduce taxes, and it’s only practically possible because of our staff’s commitment to minimizing expenses.

4. No Change for Water Rates. After much discussion about several options for water rates – some of which would have led to significant increases if adopted – no change is proposed. While the water and sewer budget is barely balanced on paper, it is very likely that some costs will be higher than projected, especially for electricity to run pumping stations. If so, since the bills have to be paid, it will require funding from the general fund – which requires cost cutting across the board to be prepared.

5 Cable Update. Comcast is planning, within the next 4 to 6 weeks we are now told, to finalize the combination of the town under the Carroll County franchise. With this change, citizens receiving services from the Frederick franchise will see a significant upgrade in services. In addition, everyone in town on the cable system will receive all public, educational and governmental channels for both Frederick and Carroll counties.

There will be no additional cost for basic digital or, if needed, a cable box. This has been delayed for the last few months – creating some frustration across the board – but the Town has no ability to enforce specific deadlines as long as services aren’t reduced in the meantime. The delays, we are advised, are due to construction and service delays.

7. Vote on May 5th! Please be sure to vote on May 5th. There are three council seats that will be decided. Council President Dave Pyatt and Councilmembers Peter Helt and Wendi Peters are running for re-election. Water and Sewer Commission chairman Marcum Nance is running as well. Voting will be at the Fire Company Activities Building at the Carnival Grounds from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m.