It also calls for the creation of a new urban forestry department.
Frederick, Md (KM) A fiscal year 2025 budget totaling $223-million was adopted recently by the Frederick Board of Aldermen. This spending plan also has $152-million for the city’s general fund.
In a recent appearance on WFMD’s “Morning News Express,” Mayor Michael O’Connor said this total amount is an increase from last year. “We’re seeing rising assessments in the city of Frederick because of the general favorable business climate in the city. and so that’s resulted in an increase in the size of the city’s budget,” he said.
The city’s budget contains 33 new full time positions. “There’s three new police officers in this budget. There is personnel to create an urban forestry unit as we continue to look at ways to manage the street trees and the trees in our parks,” he says.
O’Connor said he knows the city already has an arborist. “This doesn’t change the need for an arborist,” he says. “What it adds is within that framework individuals whose sole responsibility is to manage—and I’m going to get this number wrong because I don’t have it memorized—in excess of 20,000 trees that the city has to maintain on a regular basis.”
“In order to be able to do that in a time frame that’s appropriate, we need to be able to get every tree on a fixed schedule where you can do the trimming, the pruning, the evaluation to make sure that the tree is healthy and doing well,” the Mayor continues.
Other new full time positions funded in the budget include a parking enforcement officer who would work outside of the downtown; and positions in water and waste water services.
The budget also sets aside money for sidewalk repairs; improvements to the Jefferson Street Corridor for both motorists and pedestrians; and increased sustainability and workforce development efforts.
By Kevin McManus