By Greg Ellison

(Dec. 3, 2020) Ocean Pines General Manager John Viola advocated conservative forecasting and reviewed both cost-cutting measures and proposed spending for the next fiscal year during the Budget and Finance Committee meeting last Wednesday.

Viola said despite expenses and revenues looking positive at this point, with balance sheets ahead of projections by nearly $1.3 million to end October, half a year remains before the fiscal year concludes on March 31.

“In those six months … our revenues are way down and we still incur expenses,” he said.

“We do use cash and we don’t necessarily cover expenses with revenues.”

The current surplus will be reduced over the winter months but to what extent is uncertain.

“We’re looking at a favorability of about $1.2 million right now, but it could be half that,” he said. “We do the budget in January and February [with] a few months left on the fiscal year … so I don’t want to take a lot of favorability into the budget.”

Viola proposed that the budget committee consider earmarking $165,000 of whatever budget surplus exists to pay off a previously incurred operating deficit, which would ultimately require board approval.

Viola said Director of Finance and Operational Logistics Steve Phillips is leading the charge to issue proposed budget numbers for fiscal 2021/2022 before Christmas.

“Steve Phillips and his team have committed to getting these budget binders out before the holiday to the budget and finance committee and the board so they can have plenty of time to review,” he said.

Proposed figures for the new fiscal year are targeted for distribution prior to the next budget committee meeting on Dec. 30, as well as a multi-day departmental presentation scheduled in early January.

“When we sit down with budget and finance on Jan. 6-8, a lot of stuff isn’t going to be a surprise,” he said.

Viola said the uncertainties related to the coronavirus situation will cause department heads to prepare traditional budget projections but also account for potential hurdles.

“Everybody will do a normal bottoms up budget as if there were no covid,” he said. “Then … a separate summary page for each department or amenity [to] take that normal budget and adjust accordingly for covid assumptions.”

Viola said Phillips has prepared a separate schedule to account for covid adjustments and assumptions.

Viola also continued a review of proposed capital projects for the next fiscal year during the budget committee meeting on Nov. 25.

To this point, committee members have been presented information on the expansion of docking facilities at the Yacht Club Marina, adding courts at the Manklin Meadows Racquet Sports Center, a Sports Core Pool project, mailbox cluster updates, boat ramp electronic gates and a floating dock recreation pier.

“We ranked them,” he said.  “Obviously, the Bainbridge [drainage] project is number one and then the [temporary] docks and racquet sports are on the list.”

With budget uncertainties somewhat reduced from earlier this year after the pandemic began, a previously approved Recreation and Parks project is on tap for discussion during the next budget committee meeting on Dec. 30.

Viola said a pair of parks improvements approved for the current budget year that were subsequently put on hold are, at least partially, back on track.

“In this past budget, we had approval to do two of the parks for $100,000,” he said. “We’re now looking at redoing Robin Hood Park for $50,000.”

Viola said Recreation and Parks Manager Debbie Donahue and Public Works & CPI Director Eddie Wells are teaming up to assess costs for replacing outdated playground equipment to both address safety concerns and ensure American Disabilities Act compliance.

“We’ll do whatever we can in house to save money,” he said.