Executive Department
2nd Quarter Report
Fiscal Year 2005
Activities and Accomplishments
A) The new Grants/Special Projects Director, Loré L. Chambers, began work on October 26, 2004. She has taken over the grants administration for the projects open at that time and has added three new grant projects.
B) CSAFE Program: The Grants/Special Projects Director continues to serve as Lead Coordinator for this program. Ann Northam is the Church Street Neighborhood Advocate.
The CSAFE program for FY 2005 had two grant elements with alternate start dates, as far as utilization of the FY 2005 funding, in order to spend funds remaining from 2004. Approval of the delays by GOCCP was instrumental in ensuring that Rahaab’s Place received assistance with rental payments on their building. This helps the organization with operating expenditures.
The 2006 Pre Proposal Training was held in Baltimore, Maryland on December 7 & 8, 2004. Mrs. Chambers attended the December 8th session. Information was gathered and reviewed to begin the next round of grant writing for the new funding cycle. The new grant writing cycle will be a collaborative effort, to include input from the grant administrators for each funding element. There are eight (8) separate elements within the CSAFE grant. A meeting will be held in January 2005 to begin the dialogue in preparation for the proposal development.
The CSAFE neighborhood Safety Team meetings continue to be held on the third Tuesday of each month, at 5:30 p.m., at area churches and organizations to include Grace United Methodist Church and Fire Station #2. These meetings are organized and hosted by the Neighborhood Advocate, Ann Northam. She sends out meeting notices and reminders before each meeting, along with minutes from the previous meeting. The CSAFE mailing list consists of approximately 120 agency representatives and area residents. The meetings have not been well attended by residents however efforts are being made to encourage their attendance.
C) Boundless Playground: The final phase the Boundless playground is underway. The trashcans and the water fountain have been received and will be installed. The remaining items include fencing, landscaping and signage. Efforts are being made to obtain donations toward the fencing, so as to allow more funds for the landscaping. It is projected that this project will be completed by the end of May.
D) Community Legacy Revolving Loan Program: The grant funds of $150,000, for housing rehabilitation, are being administered by the Wicomico County Department of Planning, Zoning and Community Development (PZCD). An extension was requested and approved to June 30, 2005, to fully utilize the funding. Delays in the timely administration of this grant were due to the limited number of contractors willing to take on the small projects and the lack of persons who qualified for the loans. The program was changed to include deferred loans to assist residents who meet certain requirements and are unable to repay the loans.
E) Community Legacy – Year 4 Funding application: The grant application was submitted for streetscape improvements to Isabella Street and funds to develop a marketing campaign for the Downtown area. This grant is pending approval. The announcement of grant awards, that was to be made at the Governor’s Housing Conference in November 2004, was changed by the Governor’s office.
F) The City was awarded a grant in the amount of $3,660.00 by the Department of Housing and Community Development to assist with operating costs for Diakonia, Inc., a homeless shelter in Ocean City, MD. Due the transient nature of the homeless population, they tend to traverse the Tri-County area seeking assistance. As such, additional funding will be sought to assist the Tri-County Alliance for the Homeless in meeting the needs of this population.
G) Design Guidelines: A grant application in the amount of $50,000 was submitted to the Department of Housing and Community Development for the development of comprehensive design guidelines for the restoration, rehabilitation and renovation of homes and businesses in the three historical districts. This grant will include a 50% match from the City. Grant awards are due to be announced in May 2005.
H) City Park Footbridge: A grant application in the amount of $150,000 was submitted to the Department of General Services in response to Bond Bill 204, 2003. The funds will be utilized to restore the Salisbury City Park pedestrian footbridge to original condition. As a requirement of this grant, an easement will be granted to the Maryland Historical Trust.
I) SHA Sidewalk Project: A grant in the amount of $60,201.65 was submitted to the Maryland State Highway Administration for the installation of sidewalks on the north and south sides of Route 50 from Delaware Avenue to Isabella Street. This addition of sidewalks will assist community residents in accessing area businesses and increase their safety.
J) Fire Service Agreement: During the quarter, there continued to be very little progress on the effort to redraft the Fire Service Agreement between the City and the County. On November 4, the parties met and the County presented another proposal to the City. The Mayor responded, via a letter, indicating that the proposal by the County was not sufficient. In an effort to move this matter to resolution, the Mayor reiterated to the County that the City’s proposal, that had been developed in May 2004 and had been updated with new figures in August, was the proposal that the City would find acceptable. The Mayor also requested that the County indicate by December 15, 2004 which of three alternatives it preferred concerning a future agreement. The three alternatives were: 1) Ratification of the City’s Fire Service Agreement proposal (dated May 2004 as updated in August 2004); 2) Agreement with the City’s May 2004 proposal (as updated in August 2004) with the exception that we would drop any reference to the City providing service to the Fruitland and Allen Fire Districts; and 3) Continuation of operation under the 1992 agreement.
On December 15, 2004, the City received a new counter offer from the County. Again, the City replied in writing and advised the County that its latest offer still fell short of the City’s May 2004 proposal. Again the Mayor restated the City’s basic offer and advised the County that we needed a response by January 20, 2005 or the City would have no choice but to consider the reduction or elimination of Fire and EMS service outside the City limits by July 1, 2005. As of January 1, 2005, the City had received no response to this letter.
K) Salisbury Mall Redevelopment: In December, 2004, we received a draft TIF Contribution and Land Use Agreement which is intended to be between the City and the County pertaining to the collection and distribution of the proceeds of the taxes generated by the proposed Villages at Salisbury Lake development. The drafting of this agreement signaled that the County and the developers had reached agreement on the acquisition by the County of five acres of land to develop a parking lot to serve the adjacent Youth and Civic Center. The agreement also indicated that the County and the developers had reached agreement on the option that the County had sought to market a six-acre tract next to the parking lot for a hotel/indoor water entertainment complex. A meeting was scheduled shortly after the New Year for the City and the County to discuss this agreement before discussion it with the developers.
L) Water and Sewer Extension Policy: At its November work session, the Council reviewed a proposed Ordinance to create a new policy for the City on the financing of extensions to the City’s water and sewer systems. Following some discussion, the Council indicated its support of the draft ordinance and requested that it be presented for first reading at the regular meeting on November 22, 2004. At this meeting, the Council heard comments from several individuals who raised a number of questions about the proposal. The Council decided to postpone action until its next meeting to provide the staff an opportunity to address the concerns raised. At the December 13, 2004 meeting, the revised ordinance was presented to the Council and subsequently approved on first reading. The ordinance was finally adopted at the December 20, 2004 meeting.
The new ordinance, among other things, created a new fee, called a capacity charge, which would be paid by anyone seeking to connect to the water and sewer systems. As the name suggests the fee is designed to help pay for the costs of providing capacity for that new user in the system. The other major change is that the new policy takes the City out of the role of “banker” for development costs. The new policy provides that developers will pay the upfront costs to install the systems necessary to serve their developments plus the costs to “oversize” these systems to serve future development. If the developer is to receive reimbursement for these “extra” costs, the reimbursement will come form other developers connecting to the system, rather than from the City.
The new policy went into effect immediately.
M) Goal-Setting Session: On October 30, 2004, the Mayor, City Council and City Administrator met at Asbury United Methodist Church to set goals for the City for the upcoming fiscal year. The session was facilitated by Human Resources Director Tom Calo. The broad goals established were: Neighborhoods (strengthening); University Relations; Infrastructure; Long-Term Planning; City/County Government Partnerships; and Ensuring a Professional Work Force.
This session was historic in the sense that it is the first time in memory that the Mayor and Council jointly established goals to guide the City.
N) Balanced Scorecard: Building upon the foundation created with the goal-setting session, the Mayor, Council, City Administrator, department heads and some staff members attended a training session on December 14, 15, and 16, 2004 to familiarize themselves with the Balanced Scorecard management system. The Balanced Scorecard system is a management tool that seeks to link the strategic plan established by the governing body to the efforts of the organization, which is charged with the responsibility of translating that strategic plan into action. The Balanced Scorecard emphasizes balancing the efforts of the organizations among four perspectives: customer service, financial accountability, learning and growing and business processes. It also emphasizes the use of performance indicators to measure progress toward achieving these goals and to monitor key indicators on an on-going basis.
The next step in this process is the creation of a task force to further study the Balanced Scorecard and to determine whether the City, as an organization, should adopt this system. The task force is scheduled to make a report and recommendation in June, 2005.
O) Total Compensation Study: The City entered into a contract with The Singer Group to conduct a total compensation study at the end of October 2004. The Singer Group began on this study immediately thereafter with a series of meetings with department heads and employees. They are scheduled to complete their study in mid February so that the results will be known in time to be included in the Mayor’s recommended budget.
P) Housing Initiatives: On November 19, 2004, the Mayor unveiled several initiatives designed to help increase the number of single-family homes being occupied by their owners and to decrease the number of rental single-family properties. These initiatives were as follows:
· Live Near Your Work Program – a program for “corporate partners” who are willing to offer their employees a grant to purchase a home for their principal residence in a designated area within the City limits. To be eligible, the home being purchased must have been in rental use for at least three years prior to the conversion. The area can be designated by the business. It is anticipated that the corporate partners would establish grants of $3,000 each.
· Home Conversion Grant Program – a program for the City, which can serve as a “match” for the corporate partners’ Live Near Your Work Grant Program. Under this program, homebuyers, who are converting a home that has been in rental use for at least three years for use as their principal residence, can qualify for a grant of $3,000 to off-set closing costs on the purchase. While a homebuyer, who is employed by one of the corporate partners, can also qualify for this program, the Home Conversion Program is also open to individuals who are not employed by a corporate partner.
· Home Conversion Tax Abatement – under this program, homebuyers, who are also purchasing a home that has been in rental use for at least three years for use as their principal residence, can receive an abatement on their City real property tax for up to ten years. The tax abatement starts off as a total abatement for five years. Beginning with the sixth year, the tax abatement gradually phases out over the next five years until the total amount of the tax normally due is due and payable in the tenth year.
These initiatives were considered by the Council at their December 6th work session and subsequently adopted.
Q) Capital Improvement Plan: Work began during the quarter on the Capital Improvement Plan for the five year period FY 06 – FY 10. Department Heads were to turn their CIP requests in to the Mayor’s Office by October 22, 2004. Following a compilation of these results and a review in the Mayor’s Office, the proposed CIP was to be submitted to the Council in mid-January.