OCEAN PINES—The Budget and Finance Committee is expected to meet on Jan. 30 to hash out the final version of its recommendation letter to the Ocean Pines Association Board of Directors on the proposed 2014-2015 fiscal year budget, Committee Chairman Dennis Hudson said on Jan. 28.
Although no draft of the letter was released, Hudson said it would likely advise the board to hold the line on proposals to increase member assessments and to place a 10- to 15-year cap on new spending. He also said the committee would propose the board allocate money in the budget to fund a population study to establish a demographic baseline of the Ocean Pines community. The study would be conducted by the Business Economic and Community Outreach Network, of the Franklin P. Perdue School of Business at Salisbury University program, he said.
During a Dec. 4 work session, the directors heard a presentation from the Comprehensive Planning Advisory Committee, featuring Dr. Memo Diriker, founding director of the BEACON program, which was described as using, “targeted outreach programs, applied research, trend and scenario analyses, demand forecasting, strategic planning, feasibility studies, and modeling for resource allocation, process improvement, and economic impact studies.”
The committee is also expected to vote to approve Patricia Supik as chairman as Hudson steps down from the post.
With the anticipated advisory letter, the committee seemed to be trying to steer the board towards adopting a practice of conducting feasibility and necessity reviews prior to allocating funds for new capital spending. For example, Hudson noted a $500,000 proposal to build a new police station, which he acknowledged was needed. But he said the proposal was not accompanied by plans to conduct an architectural study prior to the commencing project.
Similarly, Hudson also pointed out two paving projects in the proposed capital budget, one to pave the parking lots at the Beach Club at 4901 Coastal Highway in Ocean City and the South Pond. Both projects were needed, he said, but neither was “something that has to happen right away.”
According to Hudson there were a lot of other things the board needed to address including paying for the new Yacht Club, which is scheduled to open in May.
A public hearing on the proposed FY 2015 budget is scheduled for Feb. 15 9 a.m. in the Community Center at 235 Ocean Parkway.
Although no draft of the letter was released, Hudson said it would likely advise the board to hold the line on proposals to increase member assessments and to place a 10- to 15-year cap on new spending. He also said the committee would propose the board allocate money in the budget to fund a population study to establish a demographic baseline of the Ocean Pines community. The study would be conducted by the Business Economic and Community Outreach Network, of the Franklin P. Perdue School of Business at Salisbury University program, he said.
During a Dec. 4 work session, the directors heard a presentation from the Comprehensive Planning Advisory Committee, featuring Dr. Memo Diriker, founding director of the BEACON program, which was described as using, “targeted outreach programs, applied research, trend and scenario analyses, demand forecasting, strategic planning, feasibility studies, and modeling for resource allocation, process improvement, and economic impact studies.”
The committee is also expected to vote to approve Patricia Supik as chairman as Hudson steps down from the post.
With the anticipated advisory letter, the committee seemed to be trying to steer the board towards adopting a practice of conducting feasibility and necessity reviews prior to allocating funds for new capital spending. For example, Hudson noted a $500,000 proposal to build a new police station, which he acknowledged was needed. But he said the proposal was not accompanied by plans to conduct an architectural study prior to the commencing project.
Similarly, Hudson also pointed out two paving projects in the proposed capital budget, one to pave the parking lots at the Beach Club at 4901 Coastal Highway in Ocean City and the South Pond. Both projects were needed, he said, but neither was “something that has to happen right away.”
According to Hudson there were a lot of other things the board needed to address including paying for the new Yacht Club, which is scheduled to open in May.
A public hearing on the proposed FY 2015 budget is scheduled for Feb. 15 9 a.m. in the Community Center at 235 Ocean Parkway.