City Budget Set for Final Vote Tonight

The Hyattsville City Council is expected to move forward with a final vote on next year's city budget tonight. A successful vote will bring to an end a four-month budget process, which began with the city council setting an exhaustive list of goals and actions to chart the performance of municipal departments.

At its last meeting, the city council approved , which gathers all budgetary decisions for the next year under one measure. 

which would have required only one vote to become law. However objections over transparency and procedural appropriateness saw the measure amended, striking the emergency legislation clause. 

The budget ordinance is not altogether uncontroversial. It passed first reading by a vote of 7-3. Councilors Ruth Ann Frazier (Ward 5) and Paula Perry (Ward 4) have criticized the budget for not investing enough in West Hyattsville amenities. 

Defending against this critique, Council President Matt McKnight (Ward 3), The city's facility assessment plan recommends turning the structure into a new home for the Hyattsville City Police Department. At an estimated cost of more than $4 million, the project is the second most expensive item in the city's five-year capital improvement plan.