Berlin Town Council seeks ways to eliminate $400K shortfall in FY27 budget

By Tara Fischer

Staff Writer

(April 30, 2026) The Berlin Town Council discussed eliminating the community’s Independence Day fireworks celebration next summer as part of a broader effort to reduce a $400,000 shortfall in the drafted fiscal year 2027 spending plan.

At a Berlin mayor and council meeting this week, the governing body debated ways to fix the $408,000 gap between projected revenues and expenditures in the work-in-progress FY27 budget.

The extensive discussion resulted in about $389,000 being eliminated from the draft plan, approximately $11,000 of which would come from canceling the annual July 3 fireworks.

Berlin Finance Director Natalie Saleh said that she heard from Town Economic and Community Development Director Ivy Wells, who was not in attendance at Monday night’s meeting.

Wells suggested that, considering the municipality’s gap in the financial plan, the fireworks display would be the easiest to cut.

In an email to OC Today-Dispatch Tuesday, Wells said “the entertainment and activities people enjoy at the town’s sponsored events are almost entirely paid for through grants, sponsorships, or vendor fees. The town’s primary costs, whether it’s the town’s events or partner events, are tied to setup, staffing during the event, and cleanup.”

She added that the towns’s grant, donation and sponsorship funding can be found in the budget under “Mainstreet Tourism” and currently contains $128,904.72.

However, the July 3 celebration, along with the Christmas Parade, are the only festivities not fully offset by outside help. The fireworks have a few sponsors to contribute to the $12,000 total but yield a higher direct expense for the town than other community events.

Wells noted that she would like to see the summer celebration continue but suggested to municipal officials that it made the most sense to do away with in light of the FY27 budget shortfall.

“I want to be clear: I’m not advocating to cut fireworks,” Wells said. “My role is to lay out the numbers and options so the mayor and council can make informed decisions. Given the conversation last night, it was simply the most straightforward place to point when discussing potential cost reductions, because it’s the largest direct expense tied to an event.”

The council on Monday agreed that the fireworks could be removed from the new budget.

“We need to make these cuts,” Councilman Steve Green said. “In this certain situation, do I watch the fireworks? Yes. Do I feel like there’s a mass economic impact for the Town of Berlin? Probably not for all. We can say, ‘let’s remove the July 3 fireworks from the budget.’ But if we do get stopped in the grocery store about how much it will be missed, I think we should revisit that.”

Councilmember Shaneka Nichols agreed, but added that not every Berlin resident enjoys the fireworks.

“I get just as many comments asking why we still do this with the number of people who have PTSD … Many people do not appreciate the fireworks. We hear it both ways, no doubt,” she said.

Members of the audience on Monday night said they wanted to see more cuts, specifically citing town events.

Resident Carol Rose noted that Ocean City and Ocean Pines host fireworks displays, so kids and families will not miss out on the summertime event if Berlin opts to forgo it this year.

“It’s hard decisions, we’re all living this way,” she said.

Citizen Ron Cascio agreed. He added that the town hosts an abundance of celebrations, and that not all of them may be necessary.

“These are events meant to promote the town,” he said. “… I don’t believe we need to promote the Town of Berlin. I think we have enough promotion done. Everyone knows who we are and where we are. Times are tough; we’re not taking a vacation or doing anything else this year.

“Maybe this year it’s time to say, ‘folks, it’s tough.’ These events are kind of easy to cut, at least from what I can see. We just have to tighten our belts this year, but people need to understand…I’m sure they’re cutting things; it’s time for us to cut things. Maybe temporarily.”

An introduction of the FY27 budget is slated for May 26, followed by adoption by the Town Council on June 8.