College Park’s city manager on March 20 proposed a $31.5 million budget for fiscal year 2027.

For the second year, the city is not proposing a property tax increase. The last increase—the first one in a decade—came in fiscal year 2025, when the city raised residential property taxes by 11%, from 30.18 cents to 33.5 cents per $100 of assessed value and commercial property taxes by 16%, moving from 33.18 cents to 38.5 cents.

College Park Mayor Fazlul Kabir described the proposal as a “balanced and forward-looking plan that continues our commitment to strong services, fiscal responsibility and strategic investment.”

The budget is balanced, but it is $1.67 million larger than last year.

While the tax rate remains unchanged, the city expects to collect nearly an additional $640,000 in real estate property taxes resulting from new development and rising property assessments, according to the proposal, which City Manager Kenny Young submitted to the College Park City Council. 

In addition, the city is counting on a projected $655,000 boost in net revenue over last year resulting from the installation of five stop sign cameras around the city and a continuing increase in speed camera tickets.

The stop sign cameras started triggering fines in mid-March.

Anticipated growth in the city’s share of state income tax revenue—generated from higher local wages and employment—and in personal property taxes and in a few smaller areas also will contribute to city coffers.

Young said the city continues to “seek alternative revenue sources to support city services.”

The proposed budget also would pay for a 3% cost-of-living adjustment for city employees and the creation of five new positions: a housing project manager, a recreation coordinator, an emergency support assistant, an engineering tech and a part-time bus driver for the city’s Youth, Family & Senior Services department.

Personnel costs, which are the city’s biggest expense, make up 56% of the total proposed budget.

Kabir noted that the new positions reflect “strategic hiring to meet service demands.”

In the proposal, Young said he endorsed the new roles “after careful consideration, due to growing demand,” but only where “necessary to deliver essential services.”

Under the proposal, which the city council will consider over the next two months, College Park would invest $30,000 in a citywide public safety study.

In two recent city surveys, College Park residents pointed to public safety and crime prevention as their top priorities.

Another priority for the city is the completion of Duvall Field in North College Park, whose grand opening is expected this summer. The proposed budget commits $211,659 for the final construction phase.

The budget also allocates $250,000 toward the continued planning and design of the North College Park Community Center, a multi-year project the city is developing in partnership with Prince George’s County.

In his blog, Kabir said the city is in strong financial shape.

The mayor pointed out that the city’s $8.8 million reserve, a sort of rainy-day fund that the city aims to keep at 25% of operating expenses, will be at 31% with the new budget.

In his preface to the budget, Young cautioned that city staff created the proposal during a “period of continued economic uncertainty at the federal, state and county levels.”

He warned that “potential shifts in federal employment and broader economic conditions could have a direct impact on our community.”

The city council will participate in a review of the budget at a worksession on April 11. A public hearing is scheduled for May 5.