Board of Town Commissioners - Regular Meeting

Good evening, it's now 7 o'clock and the town hall meeting of the Beller Board of Town Commissioners is now in session. I'm going to call the roll. Commissioner Foss? Present. Commissioner Chismore? Here. Commissioner Taylor?

Here.

And Commissioner Hanley? Here. All right, and next on our agenda is the invocation.

That will be me, Madam Chair. Dear Lord, we are thankful to be gathered on this beautiful June evening in the presence of some great young minds. We ask that you bless them with a safe and successful end to the school year. We ask that you continue to watch over the town and give us the wisdom to make decisions in the best interest of the town. Amen.

All right, if you will all now please stand and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

All right. Next on our agenda is the approval of the agenda. May I have a motion?

Yes, I recommend that we approve the agenda for this evening's meeting. Sorry, I had the wrong one up.

There you go. All right. And do I have a second? All right. And any questions or changes to the agenda this evening? All right. I think we're ready, Mike.

Thank you, Madam Chair. This is for the approval of the Bel Air Board of Town Commissioners Town Hall meeting agenda for June 1st, 2026. Commissioner Foss?

Aye.

Commissioner Chismar? Aye. Commissioner Taylor? Aye. Commissioner Hanley? Aye. And Chair Edding?

Aye.

The agenda is approved, thank you.

All right, next we have the approval of the minutes. May I have a motion?

Madam Chair, I move that the minutes of the Board of Commissioners meetings held on May 12th, 2026 and May 18th be approved as submitted.

Thank you. Do I have a second? Second. Thank you. Any comments about the minutes for this evening? All right. Mr. Krantz?

Thank you, Madam Chair. This is for the vote to approve the Board of Town Commissioners meeting minutes from May 12th and May 18th. Commissioner Foss?

Aye.

Commissioner Chismar? Aye. Commissioner Taylor? Aye. Commissioner Hanley? Aye. And Chair Edding?

Aye.

The minutes are approved. Thank you.

All right. Now we move on to presentations and first we have the introduction of Miss Bel Air 2026 Chiara Kittleberger and Miss Bel Air Teen 2026 Evelyn Brush by Gabrielle Kirby Brady for the Bel Air Independence Day Committee.

Good evening, everyone. Unfortunately, Tiara couldn't make it tonight. She got caught up at work. But we do have Miss Bel Air's teen, Evelyn Brush, here with us. And as they said, my name is Gabrielle Brady. I'm the chairperson for the Miss Bel Air committee here in Bel Air. And I'm part of the Harford County 4th of July for Bel Air here. So Evelyn's going to talk a little bit about what we have planned for the 4th of July, as well as her CSI, which is her community service initiative, Balance Beyond Standing, which is for teens with POTS. So this is Evelyn.

Hi, good evening. So for the 4th of July, we have like the regular events plan, which is like the watermelon eating and the flag raising and all that stuff, which I'm very excited that I get to do the whole entire day and especially attending the flag ceremony all the way until fireworks, where TR and I will be setting off, like announcing when to set off the fireworks. and then so my community service initiative i'm advocating for teens with pots and how it affects them beyond just when you stand up and you get dizzy and also how it just affects them mentally as i was diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome in may of 2025 and then just recently i was also diagnosed with mast cell activation syndrome, which is MCAS, just last month. So I really want to keep advocating because POTS is such a small medical condition that a lot of doctors don't even know about, including teachers don't know about it either. And I really want to make accommodations and proper awareness out there for teens that do have it. So thank you.

Well, thank you very much for that lovely presentation. I'm certainly looking forward to the 4th of July parade and seeing you at all the events along with Tara. It'll be a great day, starting with the flag raising and ending with there's fireworks. So how great that you get to be the one to tell them go. That'll be great. All right, next we have the certificates of recognition for the semifinalists from the Bel Air for the If I Were Mayor essay contest. And I know we have Bailey here. I don't know if we have Andrew and Andrew. So if those folks could join me at the podium. All right. I know, because we met before the meeting, that you are Bailey. So congratulations. And you are Andrew and your last name? Newland. Newland. OK. So we have two Andrews this evening. So these fourth graders. have been found to be the semifinalists in the 2026 If I Were Mayor, I Would essay contest, which is sponsored by the Maryland Mayors Association. And whereas in their essays, they share their ideas on how to improve Bel Air, oh, this one is pretty specific, huh? Bailey shared her ideas on how to improve Bel Air through sidewalk maintenance so the town is safer and more walkable for people of all ages, as well as promoting economic development through creating more community gathering spaces, including spaces for dogs. She noted that pets play a large part in the community and should be celebrated. And whereas Bailey's interest in municipal government and civic responsibility reflects positively on both her and the community, the Beller Board of Town Commissioners hereby recognizes and commends Bailey for her outstanding achievement and for sharing her vision for improving our town. We also extend our appreciation to the fourth grade faculty at Beller Elementary School, the Maryland Association, the Maryland Municipal League for providing such a meaningful and inspiring opportunity for Bailey and her fellow fourth graders throughout the state of Maryland.

So congratulations, Bailey. That's very impressive.

We'll be doing photos because we can't have a proclamation without a photo op. So Andrew Newlin is a student in Mrs. Katie Hilliard's fourth grade class at Bel Air Elementary School. And he was named a semifinalist as well in the 2026 If I Were Mayor I Would essay contest. And in his essay, Andrew shared his ideas on how to improve Bel Air through volunteer activities to clean up litter, protect natural resources, and help people in need obtain food and employment. Andrew emphasized that being a good mayor is about bringing the community together. So Andrew's interest in municipal government and civic responsibility certainly reflects positively upon both him and the community. And once again, thank you to the teachers, the faculty at Beller Elementary School. What a great idea and what wonderful essays we got out of this. So congratulations, Andrew. You can go stand up next year. We don't have Andrew Julian here but he is also a student in this Katie Hilliards fourth grade class and was also named a semi-finalist and he shared his ideas on how to make Bel Air a better cleaner and kinder community recognizes that minor changes can make big differences so congratulations to Andrew Julian as well and we'll just hold his proclamation here for him and if everyone could come down and join me

I neglected to thank Mrs. Borges. Thank you.

Can you get everyone there?

Any parents want to come up?

Any parents?

You guys want to come up and get in the photo? No? Yes? No?

OK. All right.

There we go.

Take one wide shot and then .

All right, outstanding.

not only do we have some very talented writers here we also have some very talented artists so next our presentations will be the Historic Preservation Commission's poster contest results for Homestead Wakefield Elementary School

Good evening. My name is Laura Bianca Pruitt. I am a planner two for the town of Bel Air and I am the staff liaison to our town's historic preservation commission who every year holds a poster contest for fourth graders in order to draw one of our historic buildings in the town of Bel Air. and this year we had three schools participate. We had Hartford Day School, we had St. Margaret School and we had Homestead-Wickfield Elementary School and I'm pleased to be able to announce the honorable mentions and the winner from Homestead-Wickfield Elementary School who placed second overall in the contest out of all Bel Air fourth graders. which is very exciting so basically each year students create on a 10 by 14 legal size paper pencil drawing and so basically what we will give as prizes are for each honorable mention and winner we give a large copy of the poster on foam board as a keepsake as well as your posters are printed on placemats which will be used at Vagabond Sandwich Company who is also one of our sponsors and provided gift cards for Vagabond as well as the Frosted Rooster for our honorable mention winners. And our second place winner, courtesy of the town of Bel Air through Harco Credit Union will receive a $50 gift card. So we also have in our little swag bags which have the Bel Air Farmers Market logo on them, we also have one of two different historic books authored by historians in the town. Honorable mention winners received a book written by Carol Diebel who used to be the director of planning many years ago and is now still very active volunteering through the Historical Society. then our second place winner will receive a book written by Marilyn LaRue who did a lot of historic surveys back in the 1970s hard to believe almost 50 years ago on a lot of the historic buildings in the town including some of the ones you drew so without further ado unfortunately we would have your posters up on our display we're having some technical issues tonight but they will be up on social media So Commissioner Hanley will help give out the awards. They're in order. The closest to us is the first one that we'll read. So our first honorable mention is Abibu Bhatti, who drew First National Bank. Yep, we're going to have all of our winners and honorable mentions stay up front. So next, and these are in alphabetical order, our honorable mentions. We have Ashley Orellana Quinteros who drew the Fulford Bottling Plant. Oh, not here tonight. And then we have Molly Scott who drew the Proctor House. all right and our overall second place winner and our you know top winner from homestead wakefield elementary school who drew the hayes house anna selvage

Come up, everyone else.

Sure, I'd love to.

Yeah, come on up if you want to take photos. We've got a couple more. Don't move. That's okay.

Okay.

So I'm following this. Families, if you would like to follow me to our community room, we have a small reception with cozy cookies. I want to give a big thank you to Ms. Melinda Glackin, your art teacher, for all of your class's hard work. Thank you.

we never seem to get over there to the community room for the reception i bet those cookies will all be gone by the time we are finished all right next under new business we have ordinance 862-26 amending the bel air town code chapter 397 sewers article 1 sewers and sewage disposal section 397-18a sewer service rate determination rates for sewer service may i have a motion

Madam Chair, I move that ordinance number 862-26, which repeals and reenacts Chapter 397, Article 1, Section 18A, pertaining to the sewer service rate determination of the Bel Air Town Code, be received by the Board of Town Commissioners. Thank you. Do I have a second? I'll second.

Thank you. And Ms. Moody.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The fiscal year 2027 sewer fund budget included a recommendation to increase the town's sewer rate and base charge by an additional 7.4% above the normal automatic consumer price index or CPI increase of 2.6%. The recommendation was made due to Harford County's bulk sewer user charge to the town increasing 50% from fiscal year 22 to 26, while the town's rate for our customers only increased 21% during that same time period. The town receives the Harford County bulk sewer user charge calculation in December of each year, which is retroactive back to July 1, making budgeting very difficult. In an effort to be more proactive by either covering our expenses, mainly for the cost of the county treating the sewage, or setting aside money in the sanitary sewer capital improvement reserve for future capital projects, staff is making this recommendation. The usage charge and base rate charge were last required to be updated in the code in February of 2014 when the board approved a rate increase above the normal automatic CPI increase, which again does not require a change to the legislation. The usage rate would increase 75 cents from its current fiscal year 2026 rate of $7.50 per thousand to eight and a quarter per thousand. 20 cents of this is for the CPI increase and 55 cents would be for the additional requested increase. While there are different meter sizes, residential customers generally have a five-eighths inch meter, so the base charge for that meter would increase from $3.47 to $3.82 per month. The new usage rate and base charges would be effective for the July 25th, 2026 billing. For a residential customer using 5,000 gallons of water a month, the total increase would equate to an additional $4.10 per month or $49.20 annually. The staff recommends the board receive Ordinance 862.26, which includes a 75 cent increase or 10% in the town's sewer user rate and a 10% increase to the town's base charge. A public hearing is scheduled for the next town board meeting, which is Monday, June 22nd. It's 7 p.m. here at Town Hall. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Moody. Any questions for Ms. Moody?

Yes, just for the public's knowledge, when they look at this bill, they will see like the monthly base charge is going from $2.87 to $3.82, which is much more than a 10% increase. That's because, if I remember correctly, that $2.87 Those numbers on there have not been changed since 2014. Correct. Is that correct? Yes. So we're not jumping from today paying 287 to 382. That was really the 2014 rate. All these numbers being crossed out were the 2014 rate.

Correct.

And they just never get updated because they're just based on the CPI.

Correct.

Right.

Yes.

Just so the public knows that.

Sure.

Because it looks like a pretty big change.

number increase for one year but it's not really a one-year yes and so yes because the the uh base charge on their bill is not two dollars and eighty seven cents it's three dollars and forty seven cents so it's just this ordinance that can be a little confusing because it's not updated every year until it's legislatively changed right all right any further discussion of the sewer rates

All right. In that case, is there any member of the public? There are no members of the public here, so I'm assuming that no one from the public is going to comment. So we will move right to the vote.

Thank you, Madam Chair. This is the vote to receive Ordinance 862-26. Commissioner Foss?

Aye.

Commissioner Chismar? Aye. Commissioner Taylor? Aye. Commissioner Hanley? Aye. And Chair Edding? Aye. The ordinance is received. Thank you.

All right, moving on to the next item, it's resolution 1273-26, the fiscal year 2026 budget amendments. May I have a motion?

Yes, Madam Chair. I move the resolution number 1273-26, amending the budget for fiscal year 26 for additional revenue slash appropriations, monetary adjustments, and transfers between departments be received by the Board of Town Commissioners.

Thank you. Do I have a second? Second. Thank you. And Ms. Moody?

Thank you again, Madam Chair. There are several additional revenues, appropriations, transfers, and monetary adjustments that do need to be addressed in the fiscal year 2026 budget. The total of the recommended adjustments in this year's proposed budget amendment increases the general fund budget by $1,477,232. While most of our revenue projections are still reasonable, there were some that required adjustments. I'm gonna review the more significant changes. You should have the agenda as well as the seven page budget, which I handed out this evening. You also have my worksheet, which looks like this. I think it's behind that seven page. That's just an internal document that I use um that has more details on it as to why certain accounts are increasing so it's more for your information and for the department heads information just to get into the details a little bit further so once you have a chance to review that if you do have any questions just please let me let me know but going back to the revenue projections Again, more significant changes. Public utilities is increasing by 19,800. That's just based on assessments received to date. We've received the big three that I like to call them with BGE, Maryland American. And the third one just escaped my mind. Income taxes, a decrease of $118,000. This is based on actual revenue from fiscal year 26 to date and historical for June through August. This decrease will really show that there was pretty much no growth in fiscal year 26 to FY25, which I think when we went over the fiscal year 27 budget, we talked about that a little bit. Motor vehicles from State Highway Administration also decreased $22,365. They send us an updated estimate in January of every year, and that was the amount that needed to be decreased to match that updated estimate, unfortunately. There is one last round of ARPA funding in the general fund of just a little over $62,000. It's mainly due to recognizing the BGE costs for the Thomas George Street project. These funds were already encumbered in a prior fiscal year, but the way that ARPA works and generally accounting is if you cannot recognize the arpa funding until it's truly check out the door so that's why we're seeing a little bit of a mismatch of revenues and expenses this fiscal year The Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention Grant, an increase of $79,266. Several grants here, the PACT Grant, which is the Police Accountability Community and Transparency Program, the PRAR Award, Police Recruitment and Retention, and the CGPF, or the Explorer Award. These three grants, we've received them every year for the last several years. However, funding is getting tighter and tighter. And so none of these awards were budgeted, not even estimated, because the grant awards have been declining over the past two or three years. So we didn't want to try to put an estimate in the budget without really knowing the grant award that we were going to receive. Miscellaneous grants is next with a $54,798 increase. This is mainly due to additional grants that were received from Drescher and the Greater Bel Air Community Foundation for the Alice Ann Park project. Red Lake camera, a $74,000 increase. There were just more tickets than were budgeted. Miscellaneous income increased almost $71,000. There was a legit insurance proceeds from two total police vehicles of almost $31,000. There will be an additional reimbursement from the Bel Air Rec for the roof replacement, which is costing more. Their portion is almost $13,000. We have the Roland Park stormwater management pond replacement of 17,287. This project was actually an FY25 project, but we didn't bill them until July of this year. Interest on investments is next with $140,000 increase. It reflects higher interest rates than anticipated really due to fewer fed treasury rate cuts and ARPA interest was not budgeted. Transfer from capital reserve is a little over a million dollars. This is mainly due to the condo trash recycle purchase of $1,020,491. So we're moving, that $1,003,000 is a little higher, I'm sorry, a little lower than $1,000,000. the $1,020,000 from the recycle program. That's because we had some vehicle and equipment savings in the current budget that was budgeted, so it netted itself out. And then transfer from leave payout reserve is an increase of $164,757. This reflects individual leave payouts that are per policy. Moving now to the expenditures, again, more significant changes. In town buildings, the increase is almost $69,000. This is mainly due to unexpected building maintenance, which was around 44 or $45,000. In the planning department, the net increase is $164,000. $68,200 was salaries and benefits due to a leave payout as well as changes in personnel. $17,500 were additional monies for the survey services project that's related to the annexations. $85,503 is for the change orders on the Thomas George Street project, and then additional monies that were needed for the Allison Park project rounds that out. In the benefits department, almost $66,000 decrease for health, dental, and vision benefits. So when it's budgeted and we have vacancies, you know, you just don't know what coverage, if any, new hires are going to select. So we budget those under health, dental, and vision in the benefits department. And then as those new hires come on board and make their selections, those are located in the specific department budgets. But the monies are in the benefit department. So it's just basically just moving monies from one department to another. So we're zeroing out the benefits in the benefit department because they're now charged in the individual departments. Under public safety, a $22,170 increase. This was due to, this is an hydrant rental because of the Maryland American rate increase. Under the police department, $170,320 net increase. $100,000 is due to a net overtime difference. So we had some savings in salaries, but we had an overage in overtime as we've had the last several years. So the net of that is about $100,000. $38,888 is from the PACT grant where we purchased body-worn camera. $19,608 is the net difference between the Verkada camera project that was in the budget, we had a savings, and then we purchased the Verkada trailer that wasn't in the budget this year. That net difference is $19,608. And then lastly, $14,651 is the net difference between the savings in the budgeted vehicle purchases and the purchase of the two replacement vehicles for the totaled ones. In the public works shop, an increase of $36,795 in gas, diesel, fuel, and vehicle equipment repairs. Under public works, streets, a net increase of $43,370. There was a lot of adding and increases and decreases in this department. There were additional monies that were needed for the vehicle. But again, if you look at that spreadsheet that's an internal document, you'll see a lot of pluses and minuses there that equate to the net increase of $43,370. And then lastly, the Public Works Refuge Department, an increase of $1,050,390, again, mainly due to the dumpsters and the front end and toter trucks for that project. So the net effect of these changes as well as the revenues is, of course, a balanced budget increasing both by $1,477,232. The seven page budget that's attached to the resolution does reflect all of the adjustments to the revenue expenses, not just the ones I discussed. And I also just wanted to mention to you that today, We received a check from Chesapeake Employers Insurance for our policyholder dividend based on our performance during the 2024 policy year. That's not reflected in this budget amendment because I got it today. So we're gonna be probably amending the budget amendment for the public hearing. It's $176,000. So I just wanted to mention that tonight because what I'd like to do, and of course we'll share the specifics with you at the next work session, but as we've done the past at least two years, I don't think it's been three, but I believe it's been two, We've worked out where we've pretty much given this money back to the employees in a bonus because it's really due to their safety and their awareness and that our rates are low. So we'll come back to you at the next work session with the same type of plan that we have the last several years on what that bonus amount would be. But I just wanted to mention that this evening. So anyway, the staff does recommend that the board receive this resolution. It amends the budget for fiscal year 2026. A public hearing will be Monday, June 22nd at the town hall at 7 o'clock. Thank you.

Thank you.

Ms. Moody, how does that $176,000 compare to amounts received in previous years?

I know the previous year was around 72,000. I just remember seeing it just within the last couple weeks, because I knew this was coming soon. I believe the year before was over 100,000, but I don't believe it was that high. I want to say, I don't think it was any higher than 150, so I believe this is our highest return of a dividend from Chesapeake employers.

That's very significant. On the red light camera item, our tickets are $75, is that right? Yes. And that number is entirely from new tickets? Or tickets we didn't expect, is that right? Yes, yes. So we had almost 1,000 tickets that we didn't expect? That's incredible.

Yeah, so the... The budget was $637,500 to date, which is basically through May. Right. We've collected $664,075. So you also want to remember, too, that it's not – probably a large majority of that is from – tickets additional tickets that we may not have budgeted for but it's also it also can be for prior years that were ticket they received the ticket but they weren't paid in this fiscal year you know if somebody needs their that you have to renew every two years, that ticket could be two years old and they're just now paying it. Like I said, the majority of it is probably for additional red light runners, unfortunately, but there would be a small amount that would be from prior years.

And how many tickets do we issue every year?

Um, I don't have my budget book with me. I mean, just thinking. But yeah, I was gonna say we could work backwards.

Yeah.

And Chief Moore, every single one of those reviewed by a person?

Yeah, that's what it sounds like, about 8,500. That's incredible.

Yeah. It's scary. Yeah, it is. It is scary.

Just in the town of Bel Air. In those four.

Yes. Just those four. Four sites, right? 8,500 tickets in a year at four red lights. Wow.

Yeah. And I'm very curious to see what the breakdown is. And I'm sure, Chief, you could probably pull this data. How many of them are full blown proceeding through the intersection when the right light is red from this end to this end? How many of them are failing to stop at a red and then making a right turn?

That's a smaller percentage. That's a smaller percentage.

So most of these are people truly running the red. Yes.

I mean, they're absolutely running the red. Yeah, we double check those and they, you know, I think it's even twice. But the right on red, we're a little bit more selective about. So if it's kind of slowing a little bit, we, I'm not going to say we give, you know, tremendous breaks, but we do cut some slack there. It's got to be, it's got to be a pretty substantial percentage.

Violation for us to write the to go forth with the right on red And you know when I was Going over presenting at the citizens Academy the the young man that was there from the Boy Scouts He really honed in on the red light camera when I talked about it and he was shocked and and really put in perspective that that was just for four red lights. So it really seemed to hit home with him as young as he is, not driving age, but yeah, it's only for four.

That's over 2,000 per year at each intersection. And I imagine some are more active than others, but still, you're looking at...

Miss Moody, the income tax decreased 118,000. So we little overestimated what we thought. So we had a larger increase from FY25 to 26, or is this gonna be made up in that last income tax statement?

We have three months to go. So we have June, which is generally very similar to the May distribution. July's is pretty insignificant. Normally it's less than $10,000. And then the August one, it can vary, but I budgeted June, July, and August just based on, you know, again, historical amounts that we've received with really no type of increase, you know, trying to keep it fairly conservative.

So we're just thinking our revenues from income taxes is going to be flat from last year, pretty much.

Yes, from 25 to 26. From 25 to 26. Yep. Mm-hmm. That's correct.

Wow.

And it hasn't been that way... for years. So, you know, when the budget was, I'm sorry.

I know, I mean, it sounds like we're either losing people in town, so we have fewer people paying income taxes, or their salaries are not going up.

Well, and if you have more of an aging population too, more people retiring, you know, your income tax is going to, you know, start to fall off. You also had, you know, the – the BBB the big beautiful bill that had a lot of tax breaks in it with overtime with tips and several other ones I think there was a child care credit was increased in there but there were multiple so that all impacts does impact federal more than state but they're true that is true more than state this is just state It is. You know, you're correct. As I was saying that, I realized that that was it was state. So, you know, I mean, I double checked my my numbers and I keep I keep a spreadsheet of every main major source of revenue. This one goes back to fiscal year 08.

But what about, though, the SALT reimbursements, the state and local tax reimbursements that do come from the federal government? Wouldn't those be affected? I don't know how that impacts us here, but there's a level of revenue sharing. And actually, the only reason I know this is because it was actually a point of political debate in Washington over, you know, there's a level of You can almost call it a balancing out where federal taxes are lessened in higher tax states to balance these things out. I'll have to go back and look into it, but I do think that there may have been some sort of impact there because of that issue. It's called SALT, state and local tax. Yeah, I have to, okay, so you know about this. Yep. Yeah, truthfully, I didn't come into this prepared to discuss this issue, but when you said it, it jogged my memory.

My understanding of SALT, though, and I can go back and look as well, is it impacts, it was the changes at the federal level, but if you don't itemize you don't itemize at this at the federal level then you're stuck with a standard deduction but that that also does not lower your your state taxes because again there are some states that have those salt deductions Maryland is not one of them so I'm not sure if that would

I doubt that it did because I'm very familiar with the SALT deduction and it was a sad thing when they put a cap on it for those that lived in high tax states this is one but when they changed the federal taxes really for many people it doesn't matter because the standard deduction is now so high that you don't have to really bother with it and it never really affected your state taxes what the state did get was a big boon because Maryland is one of the states that has not decoupled deductions so if you file federally and you take the standard deduction you must take that you cannot itemize on your state taxes that's right and that is a hurting on a lot of people including me and I ran them both ways but it was worse to itemize because the pain was so bad on the federal side it didn't it was not made up on the state side so currently on the standard deduction which makes it sort of easy but you know

It does.

But I thought that this other states that had decoupled, I thought that was really more fair because you either have those deductions or you don't. And I think Maryland benefited from getting a bump in what they were collecting as revenue. they never mentioned that and I don't know where it went because you spent it all but at any rate I don't think the SALT issue has affected our revenue here in town I would agree with that just just again from my short recollection of it So that just leaves pretty much an aging population with a lower income

I'm just trying to get a handle on why we're you know why we weren't meeting our projections like you know that steady increase and it happened in one year right well if I remember to the

The fiscal year 24 budget was a little high.

So it's kind of a domino effect. If one's too high, then the next one's too high, then the next one's too high.

But granted, regardless, from 25 to 26, I'm not budgeting any growth.

Right.

you know, and maybe we'll get a little bit more than in the next three months, but I would rather not count on that, right? Because it's not looking that way from the rest of the fiscal year.

I'd rather you be careful and be wrong on the plus side. A pleasant surprise as opposed to another one.

Honestly, I would have to say this is the first year where income taxes, I've had to come before you and tell you that there's been that kind of a decrease in income taxes. Generally, it's the other way around. So I think it might have been just that domino effect over the last couple of years. And I believe in 2020,

seven it was more conservative because I could see what was going on all right thank you I was just curious the motor vehicle the state highway administration is that the highway user revenue the twenty two thousand dollars in trend yes

Is this fairly typical to have budget amendment? I mean, this being my first budget, you know, is this pretty much in line how they, every year you have about that much?

You know, it ebbs and flows. It just depends. I mean, this one is especially higher because of the condo trash. containers I mean that's over a million dollars so if it wasn't for that then no we wouldn't be looking at this sizable of a of a of a budget amendment

I mean, that's over two thirds of the adjustment.

Yeah, yeah, I mean that's.

But every year there's a long list of items because as you could imagine, things change as you go through the year. You make your best estimate and then as you get more and more data, you know what we got in higher user revenue, what's coming in income taxes, and the rest of the things on the list. Or there's a few changes like a truck wasn't as expensive or it was more expensive.

That number just seemed high. I think it's because I forgot it was so high. It is.

It is. And I don't bring before you every single account that has a change. No, you wouldn't like that. Neither would I. But it's just, it's the more significant ones. There could be like, for example, in Chuck's budget, there were some overtime accounts that had both increases and decreases. Well, if they netted each other fairly close, I'm not going to make a change to that line item. I mean, to me, that's just nickel and diming. It's got to be something fairly significant. I do the same thing with the revenues. You know, when we get to more of the kind of the miscellaneous types accounts, you know, if there's a wash, I'm not going to change those either. Yeah, this amendment would be pages and pages if I did that.

All right, any further questions for Ms. Moody about the budget? And there's no one here to make a public comment, so we are ready, Mr. Krantz.

Thank you, Madam Chair. This is for the receipt of resolution 1273-26. Commissioner Foss?

Aye.

Commissioner Chismar?

Aye.

Commissioner Taylor? Aye. Commissioner Hanley? Aye. And Chair Edding? Aye. The resolution is received and there'll be a public hearing on the 22nd here at Town Hall at 7 PM.

all right next we have resolution 1274-26 the town fee schedule amendments may I have a motion yes madam chair I move that resolution number 1274-26 amending the town's fee schedule will be received by the board of town commissioners thank you do I have a second second thank you and Miss Moody is that you or is that Mr. Krantz that's right

when i when i think of money i think of miss moody she'll have something to say about this one too i'm sure the uh this is a fairly simple resolution to affect just two changes to the town's fee schedule and of course the town code authorizes the board establish fees for services publications documents licenses petitions etc the town's fee schedule was last amended on April 6th and we have two the staff has two recommended changes one is a new fee for a landscape review fee and we're recommending to add that at $450 and the town will bill for all expenses over the review fee as well and there was a little bit of discussion during the work session about this so I'll just pause for any questions or if Michael bear or a planning director would like to elaborate on any of that

Sure. So we sent over some more information and I think you can see that every jurisdiction does have a fee schedule. It's a little bit of apples and oranges depending on the jurisdiction. In Haver to Grace's case, it's probably the most similar to ours where they do have a landscape fee and you'll notice that there are a few others where there's no staff or if it gets outsourced, you're basically paying the cost. plus an administrative fee and in some other cases it just gets kind of included in as part of the other review like in the county's case or the city of Aberdeen where it's a higher fee that would include that as well so everybody's paying it in one shape or another yes and we established at the work session that this is really only hitting people who are submitting large-scale commercial or residential development

not for your deck or putting a shed out or something like that okay with no further discussion on the landscape fee the only other is a amendment to the let me see if I get this word this correctly the town's sewer fee which is And it looks like my page got cut off. That is horribly embarrassing.

It looks like it's the system development.

The system development fee is the 4.5% increase fee that the town collects on behalf of the county and passes it along. So every year you'll see this change happen in June. And I just don't have the amount in front of me.

I've got 11,000 $11,797 per 30 fixture units again, four and a half percent increase that's based on Harford County's resolution and increase from 11,289.

Thank you, Miss Moody. There you go. There you go.

That would be it.

All right.

And of course, a public hearing scheduled for the 22nd on this one as well.

Right. And this is really a pass-through fee that we collect and the county ends up with. Yes. All right. Any questions on the fee schedule changes? All right, and there's no member of the public here to comment this evening. They will have another opportunity.

Yep. Okay, so this is for the receipt of resolution 1274-26. Commissioner Foss?

Aye.

Commissioner Chismore? Aye. Commissioner Taylor? Aye. Commissioner Hanley? Aye. And Chair Eddington? Aye. The resolution is received. Thank you.

Next, we have the accessory package for the Criminal Investigation Division van and a patrol vehicle. May I have a motion?

Madam Chair, I move that the quote from Global Public Safety Corporation GPS for the purchase of patrol vehicle accessory packages and installs for two police department vehicles, 2022 unmarked Ford Explorer SUV all wheel drive interceptor and a 2020 Dodge CID crime scene van in the amount of $16,047.55 be accepted by the Bel Air Board of Town Commissioners.

Thank you, do I have a second?

Second.

All right.

Thank you, Madam Chair, Commissioner Hanley. Global Public Safety is a custom vehicle upfitting company that performs specialized installs and purchases of public safety accessory packages for patrol and specialized vehicles. The company has been awarded numerous valid contracts after being involved in the bidding process with many governmental entities. one accessory per package purchase and equipment transfer service is being performed for a recently purchased used 2022 ford explorer that is replacing car 5 which was a 2021 ford explorer interceptor that was totaled in a departmental crash on december 10 2025. some of this purchase cost will involve recycling and transfer of law enforcement equipment from the total patrol vehicle to the newly purchased used patrol vehicle An additional accessory package is needed for upfitting of a 2020 Dodge van that will be converted into a police department crime scene van. The 2020 Dodge van will replace a 2002 Chevrolet CID crime scene van. The replaced vehicle had exceeded the department's acceptable lifespan and was experiencing mechanical problems. accessory package upfitting operations for both vehicle will include patrol vehicle and cid crime scene van necessities radios consoles interior light bars sirens grill lights prisoner cage for the patrol vehicle weapons vault trays etc The town's procurement regulations allows for cooperative purchases piggybacking with other public jurisdictions and governmental entities. Through the competitive bidding process, GPS was awarded state of Maryland contract 001 B-boy 6600250 with an expiration of 531.34. The purchase is being piggybacked from that contract. The total cost for the upfitting package transfer service for the recently purchased used Ford Interceptor is $9,724.64. And the total cost for the upfitting accessory package for the CID crime van is $6,322.91. These purchases have been vetted and approved through the town of Bel Air procurement officer. The staff recommends that the Board of Talent Commissioners approve the bid from GPS for the purchase install of the aforementioned vehicle accessory packages in the amount of $16,047.55. Thank you so much, Chief. Thank you, ma'am.

Any questions for the Chief about the package? No? All right. And there are no members of the public here to make a public comment. So, Mr. Krantz, we're ready.

Thank you, Madam Chair. For approval of the purchase of the patrol vehicle accessory packages, Commissioner Foss?

Aye.

Commissioner Chismore? Aye. Commissioner Taylor? Aye. Commissioner Hanley? Aye. And Chair Edding? Aye. The contract is approved. Thank you.

All right. Next we have the public announcements. The American Red Cross will hold blood drives at the Bel Air Armory on Wednesday, June 3rd and Wednesday, June the 10th from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. both days. To make a life-saving blood donation, visit redcrossblood.org to register. You can also make an appointment by calling 1-800-RED-CROSS, which is 733-2767, or by using the Red Cross Blood Donor app. The June 1st Friday's block party hosted by the Bel Air Downtown Alliance will be Friday, June the 5th in the parking lot at 121 South Main Street next to Das Beer Hall. The event runs from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and includes live music, food trucks, beer and wine sales, artisan vendors, and children's entertainment. Visit downtownbelair.com or follow the Downtown Alliance on social media for more information. The annual Bel Air Town Run, hosted by the Harford County Running Club, will take place on Sunday, June 7th. The races, which include a 5K run and a one-mile fun run walk, start at 8 a.m. The starting line will be on Main Street near Office Street, and the streets along the 5K course, parts of which are in residential neighborhoods, will be closed during the event. Visit belairtownrun.com for more information and to register. Registration ends at 7.30 a.m. on race day. The Town of Bel Air Summer Concert Series in Shamrock Park starts Sunday, June 7th. The first show, featuring the Susquehanna Symphony Orchestra, starts at 7 p.m. The concerts will take place weekly in the Park Bandshell through August 16th, although they won't be moved indoors if there is inclement weather. Follow the Town of Bel Air on social media or call 410-803-9784 after 3 p.m. the day of the concert for any updates. And thank you to the Bel Air Recreation Committee for their sponsorship of this series. This is a final reminder that the Bel Air Town Commissioners and the Bel Air Economic and Community Development Commission are seeking nominees for Bel Air's Business of the Year and the Town Commissioners are seeking nominations for Citizen of the Year for 2026. Visit the Town of Bel Air Annual Awards page on our website, belairmd.org, to submit your nominations. The submission deadline is June the 8th. The June Bel Air Market hosted by the Downtown Alliance will be Sunday, June the 14th from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 121 South Main Street. This open-air market is an opportunity to shop for goods provided by local artisan vendors as well as antiques. Visit downtownbelair.com or follow the Alliance on social media for more information. If you would like to support the Boys and Girls Clubs of Harford and Cecil Counties while playing 18 holes of golf sign up for the Cecil golf tournament happening on Wednesday June 17th at the Chesapeake Bay Golf Club in Rising Sun visit the Cecil golf tournament page on the Boys and Girls Club's website to register and the cost is $150 per person plus there are sponsorship opportunities available The Boys and Girls Clubs, which operate a club at the McFall Center in Bel Air, provides multiple enrichment activities for local young people both after school and during the summer. American Legion Post 39 in Bel Air is inviting local veterans to register to march in the Bel Air Independence Day Parade on July the 4th as part of the celebration of America's 250th birthday. Veterans of all branches of the military are welcome, whether they served in a conflict or during peacetime, and whether they served on active duty or in the Reserves or National Guard. Visit the America 250 page on alpost39.org to register. And the deadline is midnight on June 14th. If you would like to be in the Bel Air Independence Parade, you have until Friday, June 19th to apply. Visit the Bel Air Independence Day Committee website, belairjuly4.org, and that's the number four, to obtain an application form and the parade rules. The theme of this year's parade, of course, is celebrating USA's 250 in honor of America's 250th birthday. The planning commission will meet at 6 PM on Thursday, June the 4th in Bel Air Town Hall. The Appearance and Beautification Committee will meet at 7 p.m. on Monday, June 8th in Town Hall. The Tree Committee will meet at 4.30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 10th in the Bel Air Planning Department at 705 East Churchill Road. The Economic and Community Development Commission will meet at 5 p.m. on Thursday, June 11th in the Bel Air Armory Conference Room. The Cultural Arts Commission will meet at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, June 17th in the Armory Conference Room. And the Board of Town Commissioners will hold a work session at 5.15 p.m. on Monday, June 8th in Town Hall with the next town meeting being at 7 p.m. on Monday, June the 22nd in Town Hall. Did I miss anything? Oh, good job. That was a lot.

Ma'am, did you get to town run?

I did, yes.

You got a good job. Yes.

They run right past my house, so I'll plan to have coffee at home. I would think you wouldn't miss that one. I'll be having coffee at home that day. All right, so we are finished with public comments. Commissioner's comments.

I'm signed up. I'm ready to go for the town run. I've been jogging around the neighborhood, so it is showtime. I would also like to extend a kind and warm welcome to Ms. Diener to her first town meeting of many. We're very excited to have you.

Welcome. Gavin, I'll have donuts ready for you when you run by my house, okay?

I'll cheer you on from the front porch with a coffee and welcome to Rachel Diener welcome back we're glad to see you here again and congratulations on your new position

Yes, and welcome. We're excited to have you. I want to just give a shout out to my niece, Quinn Noelle Schlaer. She graduated from St. Margaret's tonight. And I know you think an eighth grade graduation isn't a big, but that's a long time that they've gone together through St. Margaret's. And I just remember my mom walking her over there when she was just this little five year old, actually four when she started, when she was four. she will be attending harford technical high school next year tech yeah and she's going to do their allied health program she wants to be a nurse so quinny love you i'm so proud of you having finished with commissioner's comments do i have a motion to move into closed session

Yes, Madam Chair, I move that this portion of the meeting will be closed under the provisions of the Maryland Open Meetings Act, General Provisions Article 3, Section 305B1. The topic of discussion will be to discuss potential appointments to the vacant town administrator position. The reason for closed session discussion of the above topic will be because public discussion of candidates' names, qualifications, experience, and background could discourage people from applying for employment or compromise their privacy rights.

Thank you, do I have a second?

I'll second.

All right. Any discussion? In that case, I will announce that we will not be returning to open session other than to adjourn. We will not be completing any further public business this evening. So we are now in closed session. Ah, we haven't had the vote. All right. So I'll take the vote since Mike is back operating the equipment. Commissioner Foss. Aye. Commissioner Chismar? Aye. Commissioner Taylor? Aye. Commissioner Hanley? Aye. And the chair votes aye as well. So we are now in closed session.

You don't need any staff, ma'am? We do not need.