Hagerstown still facing a $1.6 million budget deficit

HAGERSTOWN, Md. (WDVM) — The City of Hagerstown is still facing a $1.6 million budget deficit due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although it has been a challenging time, Emily Keller, the Mayor of Hageratown says the city has faced multiple deficits before and they are working collectively to create a plan.

Mayor Keller explained that apart of the issue is that not enough money is coming in, but there is a lot of money going out to ensure people’s needs are taken care of.

The council’s top priority is providing for the town, and beginning next month the finance committee will analyze the budget to see if they can make cuts without taking away from the community. 

“We did not stop services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we continued operating as normal. A result of that less money is coming in, but the same amount of money is going out to make sure everyone’s needs are taken care of, but we will get it straightened out like we do every year,” said Keller.

Mayor Keller explained that in the next few months the finance committee will present a budget plan that the council will examine to ensure it works best for the community.