PRINCESS ANNE, MD - The Town of Princess Anne’s municipal operating budget is being held under a microscope as town officials seek to address an urgent lack of funding. Princess Anne Commissioners held a special meeting earlier this month to discuss a looming shortfall and what steps can be taken to avoid it, including the use of emergency federal funds.
That meeting, on August 22nd, became heated at times as town officials attempted to pinpoint the possible source - or sources - of the financial strains.
At the special work session, standing in for Princess Anne Town Manager to assist was Maryland Circuit Rider Joseph Mangini who explained the Town’s current financial situation to commissioners and highlighted two issues that arose since the adoption of Fiscal Year 2025 municipal operating budget in July.
According to Mangini, Princess Anne currently does not have the necessary funds to pay recurring bills due to a delay in expected income. The Town relies primarily on real estate property taxes for income, Mangini said. While those tax bills were sent out in July, they aren’t due until the end of September, leaving a 3-month financial gap.
“The income will be coming in,” Mangini said, “but not ‘til 90 days later.”
Furthermore, operating under its current budget, Princess Anne is projected to enter the next financial year with a deficit of $200,000.
To address the current shortfall, Mangini recommended Princess Anne access up to $250,000 in emergency federal American Rescue Plan funds. Those funds, Mangini explained, were originally set up to assist during the pandemic and for infrastructure.
During the meeting, current Commission President Lionel Frederick expressed frustration with the budget issues.
“The town should have a surplus right now,” Frederick said.
Frederick went on to say Mangini’s proposal would only be a “temporary bandaid” and pointed blame at the previous administration while claiming employees of the town had embezzled “hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
Under the previous Commission President Joseph Gardner, Frederick said the town was told their finances were strong and were lied to.
“I’m not gonna allow you to sit here and call me a liar,” Gardner shot back before asking what exactly had caused the town’s current budget issues.
One possible reason for the current shortfall, given by a finance employee present at the meeting, was a loss of monthly income from an IT company’s lease of Princess Anne property. That company, Peraton, provided rental payments that were included in the town’s income. Those payments were reflected in the tens-of-thousands of dollars until recently, according to the financial employee. Now, they are reflected in the hundreds.
Princess Anne also pays up front for repairs and maintenance for Peraton and are later reimbursed by the company, according to officials.
Mangini proposed increased rates and fees to help combat the deficit, as well as taking a new look at how Princess Anne enters into service agreements with businesses. He noted, however, he could not get into discussing the agreement with Peraton or other businesses in Princess Anne and was there to focus on the $250,000 federal emergency funds.
Mangini spoke with WBOC Friday to give further context on Princess Anne’s finances. He remained optimistic that Princess Anne would overcome the current financial hurdle.
"They have plenty of money there, about $250,000, to go into the general fund so they can pay bills for the next three months," Mangini said.
At the end of last week’s meeting, all commissioners appeared to agree to move forward with Mangini’s proposal to address the current financial situation but acknowledged they could not officially vote on the proposal until their next meeting on September 3rd. That meeting is currently scheduled for Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
