Latest news with #capitalprojects
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
County approves $147.7 million budget
CUMBERLAND — Allegany County commissioners Thursday adopted the county's fiscal 2026 $147,717,558 operating and capital budget. The property tax rate will not change; however 'the income tax will increase from 3.03 to 3.20 beginning Jan. 1,' county Administrator Jason Bennett said. The budget reflects an increase of $3,649,434 in property tax revenue, and will use $3.1 million of fund balance and $2.6 million of reserved lottery proceeds to fund some capital projects, he said. The document includes a 2% cost-of-living salary increase for employees. It designates 25% of paper gaming revenues, after all administrative costs, to fire and rescue companies, and the remaining 75% for capital education project funding. The county designates the Allegany County Fire & Rescue Board to determine distribution of all revenues. According to the budget, a Maryland mandate increased the county's cost share of operating the local assessment and taxation office in the fiscal 2026 budget to 90% at a cost of $728,000. A fiscal 2026 state disparity grant was calculated at $7,298,611, and an additional supplemental disparity grant of $815,947 'will be appropriated as an offset to the teacher pension shift,' the budget states. 'Maryland decreased the county's disparity grant by $815,947 for FY 26,' it states. 'The cost of the teacher's pension shift became part of the Board of Education's maintenance of effort calculation in FY 2017.' The budget partially funds requests from Allegany College of Maryland, the Allegany County Health Department and the Allegany County Library System. It funds the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad, Allegheny Highlands Trail, Tourism, Arts Council, Cumberland Theatre, Cumberland Historic Cemetery Organization and the Toll House, from collections of the hotel and motel tax. As part of the budget, commissioners adopted water and sewer rates, recommended by the Allegany County Sanitary Commission, which mean customer utility bills will increase by an average of 5.1%. Board President Dave Caporale said via prepared statement the commissioners are 'proud to share that the FY 2026 budget includes no increase in property taxes.' However, the county raised the income tax rate to 3.2% to qualify for more than $5.7 million in additional state disparity grant funding next year. 'This adjustment helps us secure financial stability without raising other taxes and fees in the general fund,' he said. 'To further manage costs, we've cut additional spending and eliminated 10 full-time positions,' Caporale said. 'We also extend our sincere thanks to our partner agencies — Allegany College of Maryland, Allegany County Public Schools, the health department, library system and many others — for maintaining services with no funding increases,' he said. 'These choices have not been easy, but they will protect residents from added tax burdens during this time of inflation,' Caporale said. In other county business, commissioners: • Awarded First Fruits Excavating of Ridgeley, West Virginia, the site-work for the Village Crossing at Campobello project for a low-base bid of $4,029,329. • Changed the county's Purple Line to a demand-response, door-to-door, reservation-type service that will transport anyone within a half-mile of state Route 36 from Westernport to Interstate 68 at exit 34. Trips will originate in the Georges Creek region and take customers to the Cumberland area. The service will run Tuesdays and Fridays, beginning at the first reservation time in Georges Creek after 8:30 a.m.
Associated Press
6 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
New Capital Project Toolkit Helps Towns and Schools Avoid Project Failure, Win Community Support, and Deliver Results
A first of its kind toolkit helps municipal leaders and school boards win community trust, pass referendums, and deliver capital projects. TX, UNITED STATES, May 28, 2025 / / -- Across the country, school boards and municipalities are feeling the pressure to deliver capital improvements amid tight budgets, public scrutiny, and referendum fatigue. The Capital Project Toolkit is now available to provide a game-changing resource that equips local leaders with the tools, templates, and strategies they need to bring transparency, structure, and public confidence to every step of their capital projects. Whether you're planning a $500,000 roof replacement or a $300 million school facility, this one-time purchase toolkit (no subscriptions) walks your team through all 8 phases of a public project, including community engagement and referendum success — the most common points of failure for school construction and municipal upgrades. 'Too many projects stall or fail at the vote because communities don't trust the process,' said creator A. Roy. 'This toolkit helps municipalities build that trust early by preparing clear justifications, running transparent procurement, and engaging the public in ways that build lasting support.' What's Inside the Toolkit No subscriptions. No hidden fees. No recurring costs. Just a one-time download license for unlimited use by your town or district. ✅ 100+ Editable Templates for budgeting, RFPs, public communication, and compliance ✅ Step-by-Step Project Roadmap for town halls, schools, libraries, and more ✅ Guides for Referendum Strategy & Stakeholder Education ✅ Checklists to prevent delays and ensure nothing falls through the cracks ✅ Designed for: Municipal leaders, school boards, capital committees, and OPMs This all-in-one solution helps towns avoid consultant over-reliance, reduce staff burden, and eliminate the guesswork from major capital investments. Struggling With Community Buy-In or Failing Referendums? This Helps Fix That. Referendum fatigue and mistrust are now among the top reasons municipal projects fail. This toolkit directly addresses that issue by giving officials a communication plan, FAQ templates, stakeholder mapping tools, and strategies for handling tough public meetings and outreach. 'We've seen first-hand how confusion, misinformation, and lack of planning sabotage good projects,' said Roy. 'This toolkit helps prevent that — it gets your entire community on the same page.' Optional Consulting Available – You Don't Have to Do It Alone Municipalities that need extra support can add hourly consulting services including: Toolkit walkthroughs & customization RFP preparation & procurement help Public presentation prep for boards or town meetings AI-assisted proposal writing & funding strategy On-call Owner's Rep services Consulting is available starting at $180/hour, with custom packages for larger efforts. Media & Municipal Interest Encouraged We welcome coverage from municipal trade publications, local news outlets, and statewide associations looking to feature innovations in public-sector efficiency and community-driven planning. Visit for further information Contact: [email protected] | (860) 371-6451 Capital Project Toolkit [email protected] Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content 'as is' without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
Bloomberg
21-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
NYU's Bond Rating Outlook Dinged Amid Large Capital Plans
The outlook on New York University's credit rating was revised to negative from stable by S&P Global Ratings, which cited the school's plans to ramp up debt for capital projects. The school is planning to sell $1.25 billion of tax-exempt bonds and $920 million of taxable bonds, according to the ratings company. S&P has a AA- rating, the fourth-highest level of investment grade, on NYU. The debt will be used for campus projects and to refinance outstanding securities.
