Tuesday, April 23, 2013
The Bowie City Council considered the water and sewage budget as part of last night's worksession.
Bowie residents serviced by city water may see their bills increase as much as 10 percent in the coming year if the proposed Fiscal Year 2014 budget is passed by city council. In Monday's budget worksession, Bowie City Manager David Deutsch explained the need for the water and sewage rate increase, which would cost most households about $12 per quarter. "The usage continues to decline and that stresses revenue. Our costs don't decline as consumption declines," Deutsch said. "We have to maintain the water lines." The budget proposes to increase the water rates to $3.75 per 1,000 gallons consumed from $3.41 per 1,000 gallons and the sewer rates to $5.37 per 1,000 gallons consumer from $4.88 per 1,000 gallons consumed. Other anticipated …
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
The Bowie City Council voted 5-2 to fund the shelter in the upcoming fiscal year.
Bowie pet owners may no longer have to travel to a county facility to pick up lost pets after the city council voted Monday to establish a city-run, short-term animal shelter in 2014. In the proposed Fiscal Year 2014 budget, city staff recommended keeping the shelter in the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) for one more year to allow for more data collection from Bowie Animal Control to determine if there was a need for the shelter. Emotions ran high at times as the council debated the merits of a city-funded facility for Bowie's lost and stray animals. Councilman Dennis Brady (at-large), a long time advocate for a city-run shelter, encouraged his fellow council members to support moving the facility to the FY2014 budget. “We should show …
Monday, April 15, 2013
The Bowie City Council will review the proposed Revenue Fund and Capital Improvement Plan for Fiscal Year 2013.
The real property tax rate in Bowie will remain the same and a proposed short-term animal shelter could be moved to the next fiscal year if the city council accepts the staff version the Fiscal Year 2014 Revenue Fund and Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). The FY2014 budget is characterized by a continuation of core services, according to city manager David Deutsch. "I don't expect it to be a contentious budget," Deutsch said. Here's a rundown of some of the proposed FY2014 Revenue Fund and CIP budget highlights. City-Run Short-Term Animal Shelter City staff is also recommending moving the proposed short-term animal shelter to the Fiscal Year 2015 budget to give the city more time to determine if there is a real need for the city to take …
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Mayor G. Frederick Robinson says he will hear advocates out, but remains unconvinced.
The activist group Bowie Citizens for Local Animal Welfare (CLAW) wants to keep Bowie's lost pets local. That's why at Monday's budget workession CLAW plans to call for a city-run facility which would house lost animals for three to five days. Advocates are hoping the Bowie City Council will include it in the Fiscal Year 2014 budget. Currently, when a lost animal is picked up in Bowie by the city’s animal control department, it is brought to a holding facility at city hall. An email and/or text alert is sent out to residents registered for pet pickup alerts, and if no one claims the animal by the end of the day, it is transported to the county animal management facility in Upper Marlboro. CLAW President Connie Carter said this system does …
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Monday's budget worksession will be the first in a series of five.
City staff is in the thick of preparing Bowie’s Fiscal Year 2014 budget, and the council is scheduled to begin reviewing the proposal at Monday’s council meeting. There are a total of five budget worksession scheduled. At next week’s worksession the council will review General Fund revenues, the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) and the Capital Projects Fund. On April 22, council will review the Department of Public Works Department budget and the Water & Sewer Fund; on April 29, the council will review the Department of Community Services; and on May 9, council will review the Finance Department budget and non departmental budgets. At the final budget worksession, the council will review the Department of Planning & Economic Development, …
Monday, September 10, 2012
Phase Two of the bin distribution begins on Sept. 11.
Recycling is getting bigger and better for Bowie residents this week. On Tuesday the city will begin Phase Two of the distribution of new, larger recycling bins. Any residents who did not receive one of the new 65-gallon bins in Phase One back in 2009 should receive a bin in this second phase, city officials said. The bins are part of an effort by the city to increase recycling and possibly decrease weekly trash pick up to once a week, which could save the city thousands each year. The large blue bins should be left curbside on recycling day with the handles facing the street. The city reminds residents that they should never place trash into the recycling bins. For a complete list of what can be recycled, check the city’s website. The …
Monday, June 18, 2012
Here are a few of the issues up for discussion at Monday night's mayor and city council meeting.
Election district boundaries and amending the fiscal year 2012 budget are just two of the items up for public hearing and possible action at tonight’s Bowie City Council meeting. The council will also receive a tree canopy coverage recommendation from the city’s Environmental Advisory Committee, and hold a public hearing on a resolution to adopt a Sustainable Community Action Plan for 2012. Both of those items are also up for possible action. The council meeting will take place Monday night at 8 p.m. in the council chambers at the town hall. The meeting will also be televised live on Verizon Channel 10 and Comcast Channel 71, repeated on Wednesday and Saturday at 7 p.m., and web-streamed live at www.cityofbowie.org/studio.asp
Monday, June 4, 2012
Employees will receive a $1,000 bonus and a 1 percent salary increase in fiscal year 2013.
City of Bowie employee paychecks will be a little fatter when the new fiscal year begins in July. So will those of the city council. The Bowie City Council approved $1,000 bonuses for each of the city's 312 full-time employees, reported the Gazette. “It’s in recognition of the employees’ contribution to the city,” City Manager David Deutsch, told the Gazette. “It’s additional compensation that’s not built into the wage base.” Full-time employees will also receive a 1 percent cost of living adjustment as stipulated in their labor contract. Last year’s cost of living adjustment was 1.75 percent. Together, the increases will account for around $412,000 of the city’s $43 million operating budget, which was adopted by the city council on May…
Monday, May 21, 2012
The City of Bowie's mayor and council will hold their regular city meeting at 8 p.m. tonight at the town hall.
The City of Bowie is holding its regular mayor and council meeting tonight, May 21, where they will be voting on several issues, including the fiscal year 2013 budget and the adoption of a Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) for fiscal years 2013-2018. A new temporary animal shelter is something that won’t be included in the new budget. A motion was made at the May 10 worksession to move funding for the shelter to fiscal year 2013, but that motion failed 3-4. The council will also be voting on several resolutions, including a letter to the Prince George’s County Planning Board recommending approval of the preliminary site plan for Mill Crossing, approval of several zoning variances, and a bid for the removal and replacement of the city water …
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Tell Patch what you think about some of the hot button items in the City of Bowie's proposed budget!
If approved by the city council on Monday, May 21, the City of Bowie fiscal year 2013 budget will increase water and sewer fees by as much as 10 percent to build up the self-sustaining City of Bowie Water System’s reserves. And the council may up the user fees at city owned facilities to generate revenue. All the while the city’s property tax will remain the same, at 40 cents per $100 of assessed value. Patch wants to know what you think about these proposed budget changes. Are they necessary to keep the city running efficiently? Are they putting too much burden on taxpayers? What about the property tax rate- would you like to see it lowered, or are you happy it will remain unchanged? Tell us what you think in the comments!
Mary Anne Montague
9:12 am on Thursday, April 18, 2013
I tend to agree with SFBMoore that this is not a prudent use of City funds. Even if you double the amount of animals that are brought to the shelter each year to 154, the expenditure per animal is close to $800 each. I, too, am an animal lover/owner, but I truly feel that the facility at Brown Station Road would not be too far for me to go to pick up my beloved animal should they become lost. The… more ›