Laurel Mayor Keith Sydnor has vetoed City Council budget changes that restored funding for The Laurel Independent and eliminated a proposed $1 million housing assistance program, setting up a potential showdown with council members.
This week, the City Council approved an amended $50 million fiscal year 2027 budget that restored $15,000 in funding for The Laurel Independent after Sydnor proposed reducing the newspaper’s funding from $50,000 to $30,000.
In a separate 4-1 vote, the council removed $1 million in funding for the City of Laurel Family Resilience and Housing Stability Program, which would be managed by Laurel Advocacy and Referral Services. Council President Brencis Smith cast the only dissenting vote.
The council’s amendments increased funding for The Laurel Independent from $30,000 to $45,000 and removed funding for the housing program. Sydnor’s veto would reverse both actions.
On May 28, one day after the council approved the amended budget, Sydnor exercised his veto authority, reducing funding for The Laurel Independent and restoring funding for the housing program.
“These veto actions are intended to preserve investments that directly support residents while maintaining fiscal accountability regarding discretionary spending,” Sydnor said in a memo detailing his veto.
The housing program would provide $750 per month to 100 families earning between 60% and 80% of the area’s median income for one year to help them meet rising expenses and remain housed. To qualify, applicants must be stably housed and employed. Recipients also would receive financial literacy training as part of the program. Funding would come from American Rescue Plan Act money.
The dispute over the housing program and funding for The Laurel Independent involves separate line items in the budget. However, council members criticized the vetoes and questioned the mayor’s intentions.
“I’m not going to say that I think that it’s retaliatory [for the council removing funding to the housing program],” said Councilwoman Kyla Clark (Ward 2). “I think [the mayor] moved quickly to veto the funding for The Laurel Independent.”
Sydnor has made repeated cuts to funding for The Laurel Independent since last year. The newspaper entered into a $60,000 contract with the city when it was founded in 2022. That funding level remained in place until fiscal year 2026, when it was reduced to $50,000. The funding supports the newspaper’s reporting and distribution of local news and information to residents.
When the mayor proposed a $20,000 reduction for fiscal year 2027, council members Clark, Adrian Simmons (Ward 1) and James Kole (Ward 1) amended the budget to increase funding to $45,000 annually.
Other council members called on the mayor to restore funding to the newspaper and not rush to invest such a large amount of city funds in the housing program.
“Is it possible to use this to pay down some debt? Are there other areas of city operations that this money can be used?” Simmons said in a May 27 interview with The Laurel Independent. “Let’s sort of talk about that before we sort of say, hey, it’s all going this direction.”
Simmons called the proposal a “surprise $1 million spend.”
“This program was put together without anybody having a voice in its creation,” he said. “It behooves taking the time to have everybody have a seat at the table and talking through and coming up with something that works.”
The City Council is scheduled to meet June 1 at 6 p.m. to discuss the mayor’s vetoes and consider whether to override them.