(Photo: MGN)SALISBURY, Md.- In a 5-2 vote, the Wicomico County Council on Monday passed County Executive Rick Pollitt's proposed operating budget for Fiscal Year 2012-2013 during its special legislative session. The budget will take effect on July 1, 2012.
The budget, which was amended last Wednesday by request of the County Council, now includes a 2 percent salary increase for all county employees, as well as money for emergency medical services, Salisbury-Wicomico Economic Development and the State's Attorney's Office.
After hearing from residents during the county council's budget hearing last week, council members asked Executive Pollitt to consider providing additional targeted funding for textbooks and instructional supplies for the Board of Education in the amount of $79,170. The enhancement increases the Board of Education's original budget submission to $37 million.
The $117 million operating budget also includes a 7-cent property tax increase per $100 in assessed value, which mean the property tax bill for a home assessed at $200,000 would increase by $140 a year. The budget additionally includes a 2 percent salary increase for the FOP, nixes furlough days for county employees for the first time in three years, reinstates funding to the local volunteer fire companies which had been withdrawn in FY 2012 and increases funding to the MAC Meals-on-Wheels program for seniors in our community.
"I deeply appreciate the action taken by the County Council today that not only left my original budget intact but provided additional support for all county employees, including additional funds for school teachers to help defray some of the personal expense of running a classroom," Pollitt said in a statement.
