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APRIL 3, 2020
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Taxes won’t go up, could go down for some in FY 20/21
Worcester March jobless numbers show huge spike
By Josh Kim Staff Writer (April 3, 2020) Resort residents will not see higher property tax rates in the new fiscal year, as city government considers dropping the tax rate from $.4656 to $.4559 cents per hundred dollars of assessed value. ` However, resort leaders will have to reconsider its expenses and projected revenues, Rick Meehan as it prepares for potential financial losses caused by the coronavirus. “Much of this [budget] work was done and the assumptions were made before covid-19 became the pandemic it is today,” City Manager Doug Miller said during Tuesday’s budget meeting. In preparation for Tuesday’s meeting, City Budget Manager Jennie Knapp looked at data from the 2008-2010 recession and found that the impact of the virus could result in reduced revenues by as much as $1.9 million. Areas with the most significant drops included room tax, minus $880,000, parking, minus $340,000 and income tax, minus $240,000. With this data, Knapp designed three budget options. Plan A would reduce property taxes, but otherwise would have no affect on the proposed budget. Plan B would reduce property taxes, as well, but would reduce expenses for capital improvement projects or postpone them all together in order to recuperate for potential losses. Projects that would be either reduced in scale or postponed are the inlet lot repaving, street paving, advertising/sponsorship/TAB funding, lighting retrofits, Downtown Recreation Complex design, City Watch surveillance program and postpone hiring three new employees for half-a-year. Several city leaders, including Mayor See OC TAX Page 2
By Elizabeth Bonin Staff Writer (April 3, 2020) With nonessential services shut down and essential businesses scaling back operations to save money and to abide by Gov. Larry Hogan’s executive orders, 1,952 Worcester County residents filed for unemployment for the seven business days beginning on March 16 and ending March 24. Kathryn Gordon A little over 42,000 Marylanders filed for unemployment that same week. In the weeks before, only about 30 unemployment claims were filed in Worcester County. The number of claims could increase as more people lose their jobs during the shutdown, while Kathryn Gordon, economic development director for Worcester County, said the number should also increase as more people become aware of the assistance unemployment benefits provide. Before the pandemic hit the United States, unemployment in Worcester was at 9.4 percent in December and 4.7 percent in September. Gordon said the higher winter number was normal for the seasonal businesses. In fact, it was better than normal, since in years past it has been around 11 or 12 percent in the winter, according to Gordon. She attributed this to more businesses opening in the northern end of the county, as well as an extended season. “A lot of our visitors are coming earlier in the year,” Gordon said. “Typically, the middle of March is when we start seeing them, so the unemployment rate has gone down with a lot of our employers having more full-time jobs instead of seasonal.” It’s Worcester’s typically booming hospitality and tourism industries that are taking the biggest hit of the economic shut down. “With the businesses not having as See JOBLESS Page 2
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PROVIDING PROTECTION Employee Kamrie Bateman works from behind a recently-installed barrier at the Food Lion on 118th Street in Ocean City. All of the stores have implemented strict sanitation practices, special hours for high-risk customers, social distancing markers and plexiglass barriers to further hinder the spread of covid-19.
Virus claims another victim as resort cancels Springfest By Josh Kim Staff Writer (April 3, 2020) With no definitive end date for the covid-19 pandemic, the Ocean City Council voted to cancel Springfest 2020, which was scheduled for May 7-10. The council discussed the issue during Wednesday’s budget meeting. “I think it would be very irresponsible [to not cancel it],” Councilwoman Mary Knight said. Springfest, which takes place in the inlet parking lot, is an annual, four-day music, food, arts and craft festival that draws more than 100,000 people to Ocean City each year. This was year 30 for the festival, and
featured musical acts, such as the Fabulous Hubcaps, Blues Traveler and Jimmie Allen. The festival is considered the official start of the resort’s peak season. Councilman Matt James asked whether it was possible to wait at least a week to vote on the cancellation, but City Manager Doug Miller discouraged such a move, as the city needed to let vendors, entertainment and ticket holders know as soon as possible. Miller also mentioned how the life cycle of the virus was too unpredictable to ensure the safety of the hundred of thousands of guests who attend the festival. See VIRUS Page 2
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