Coronavirus
Coronavirus shutdowns show up in Hyattsville budget
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Shuttered movie theaters and a drop in expected income tax revenue appear to be the biggest budget liabilities heading into Hyattsville’s next fiscal year, senior city staffers said during the city’s April 23, 2020, Council meeting, held by videoconference to avoid corona’s plague.
During the meeting, City Administrator Tracey Douglas laid out department-by-department budget plans for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1, 2020. Top line numbers include $20.9 million in projected revenue, $23.3 million in projected expenses, and a shortfall of $2.4 million. Asked if there was any concern about property taxes, the city’s largest source of tax revenue, Hyattsville’s city treasurer Ronald Brooks noted the city was not scheduled for a new property tax assessment until 2021, which should help maintain the city tax base at least for the next fiscal year.
But Brooks also emphasized that the ultimate impacts of the pandemic are not yet known. Some revenue projections could still be optimistic, and a budget is just a planning document, not a final shopping list. “Going into probably the second quarter of next year, I probably expect some additional reductions in some of these areas,” said Brooks during the meeting.