Federalsburg Looks at Implications of Snowstorm Response on Budget

FEDERALSBURG - The Mayor and Council consider the Town’s snow removal capability for the potential snowstorm forecasted over Jan. 24 through Jan. 26. Budget considerations and staffing may impact on the clearing of roadways in town that are not under the responsibility of the Maryland State Highway Administration.

Leslie Fraley, Interim Town Treasurer, will review the Town’s Human Resources policies regarding overtime payment for staff who are available for plowing over the course of a snowstorm. Councilperson Brandi James expressed concern that one snow event could “wipe out the budget” with overtime costs. There was discussion about whether staff should be considered on-duty and eligible for overtime when they are on break and sleeping at the town offices in preparation for being called out to plow. Mayor Kim Abner noted that it will be important for residents to understand that if the storm is severe enough, town roads may be delayed in being cleared.

In other business, Mayor and Council will have a conversation with the Caroline County Sheriff Baker to determine the Town’s priorities to reflect proper Deputy staffing levels. Sheriff wants to understand the expectations of the Town, and the Town wants to be informed of what the Sheriff’s office is seeing for enforcement in the town.

Staff presented a case for upgrading the utility billing system to CUSI UB4 to realize efficiencies for processing water and wastewater invoices. The infrastructure has been upgraded, but it is running on the outdated legacy billing system, causing inefficiencies in lack of automation and manual processing.  The CUSI UB4 cost is higher than the legacy system maintenance, but the new system will provide much more automation and reliability.

In an answer to Councilmember Brandi James about how much in revenue is being lost due to inefficiencies of the legacy system, staff responded that there are two commercial properties and two industrial properties that have not been billed correctly for water and sewer usage, causing a potential revenue loss in the millions. These findings, in addition to other findings in the research of billing and budgeting will be presented at the Feb. 2 meeting and public hearing on the budget and potential increase in water rates.

Mayor and Council discussed various features that may be desirable in an updated billing system, and asked Fraley to research systems other than CUSI UB4 and present back at a future meeting.