Wicomico County, MD
Council Minutes
June 6, 2006
The Wicomico County Council met in Executive Session
on Tuesday, June 6, 2006 at 10:00 a.m. in Council Chambers,
President Sarbanes called the
meeting to order and asked for any additions or corrections to the
Minutes. Following amendments and on
motion of Mr. Dashiell, second by Mrs. Bartkovich, the Minutes of May 16, 2006 received
unanimous approval as amended.
ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTOR
Theodore E. Shea, II,
Administrative Director, submitted the following items:
Adoption of the FY
2006-2007 Operating Budget: Mr. Shea asked for any changes to the
proposed budget. Mrs. Prettyman referred
to the employee salary increase discussed during a June 1 budget work session
that she was unable to attend. She stated that according to her conversation
with Mr. Shea and as stated in a memorandum from the Human Resources Director,
the increase is actually 8.7%. Mrs.
Prettyman considers this very aggressive and asked Council to consider phasing
in the increase over the next two years.
Mr. Long asked Mr. Shea to
confirm that during the June 1 budget session, Council agreed to an 8% increase
based on adjustments for the previous two years. Mr. Shea responded that he understood that
Council intended to approve 8%. As Mrs.
Prettyman pointed out, the total of two adjustments that would be made based on
the CPI actually totaled 6.7%; however, Council chose to round down to 3% for each
of the two prior years and a 2% COLA for next fiscal year, thus, yielding
8%. Mr. Shea added that their conversation was
interrupted and probably led to a miscommunication in the actual salary
increase that Council had approved.
Again, Mrs. Prettyman stated that 8% is aggressive and repeated her
motion. There was no second and the
motion failed.
President Sarbanes then read
the Budget Message.
Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for joining us this
morning. Over the last several weeks, the County Council has been working to
create a balanced budget that will provide for the ongoing needs and services
of the citizens of
At the time the budget was presented to Council, the
preliminary revenue projections indicated
As has been their practice in past years, Council in
their budget deliberations considered all departments with emphasis on the core
functions of education, public safety, and public health.
Let me highlight Council’s funding for County
departments and agencies.
First let’s look at education. Education is the
County’s most important investment and the largest beneficiary of the County
budget. In addition to the $6 million proposed for the Bennett High project,
the Council appropriated an additional $1.4 million to the Board of Education
for operating costs. This is about $650,000 more than the maintenance of effort
required to qualify for additional State aid. Total additional funding
dedicated solely to Board of Education needs is nearly $7.3 million more than
the current fiscal year.
Other increased educational funding includes $582,855
for
In the area of public safety, the Council has
increased its total funding for fire and ambulance services by $417,540 to
support the services they render to our citizens. Parity raises in the
Sheriff’s Department have proved effective in retaining officers and this
budget provides $337,166 to fund this program. In addition, support was
provided to the 911 emergency systems.
The Roads Department continues to suffer from the
effects of the State budget cuts of recent years. In order to assist that
department in meeting the needs of the County’s infrastructure, $1.65 million
will be allocated to the Roads Department.
Our senior citizens are another important group in
Given the probable future volatility of the price of
petroleum products and natural
gas,
Council established a Utility Reserve of $100,000 to offset potential increases
in the costs of gasoline, heating oil, natural gas, electricity or any other
instability in this area.
Apart from the sworn deputies in the Sheriff’s
Department,
The target for our rainy day fund is 5% and to
continue it at this level $680,900 has been added to the fund.
The Council has funded this budget without raising any
County-levied taxes. I repeat, this budget was funded without raising any
county-levied taxes. It must be noted however, that this was accomplished
through revenue sources that are dependent on the economy. We were able to meet
some of the needs that have been deferred from past budgets but there are still
many unmet needs that will have to be addressed in future budgets.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is our budget proposal for
Fiscal Year 2007.
Thank you.
At
Mr. Sarbanes’ request, Mr. Dashiell read the tax levy sheet into the record.
“Ordered
by the County Council of Wicomico County, State of
July
1, 2006 to June 30, 2007, inclusive, to fund the Board of Education Operating
Budget.
Concerning
the semi-annual tax payment option, in accordance with State law, a service
charge of 1.06%, which includes lost earnings and an administrative charge of
10% of the lost interest amount, is hereby levied on second semi-annual
payments. The period covered for the
lost earnings is from October 1 through December 31.
It
is further ordered that a tax be and is hereby Levied on each One Hundred
Dollars worth of public utility property subject to taxation for State
purposes, of Twenty-eight cents ($0.28) to pay State taxes for the fiscal year
beginning July 1, 2006 and Eleven and two-tenths cents $0.112 for all other
property subject to taxation for State purposes. It is further ordered that a County local income
tax withholding rate, as expressed as a percent of the taxpayer’s taxable
income, will be 3.10% for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2006, to further
fund herein authorized accounts, along with other revenues as may be duly
received.”
Mrs. Bartkovich stated she
would support this budget; thanked department heads because part of the carry
forward balance is due to their conscious efforts to curtail spending; and
thanked the Finance Director for her efforts; mentioned she wished the Roads Division had
been fully funded at $2.5 million to address roads needs; and realizing that
this is the first year that the Civic Center has operated as an Enterprise
Account, she would have preferred that their employees’ salary increased had
been budgeted within their operating budget, as other enterprise accounts are
required to do.
Mr. Dashiell reiterated the
County’s good fortunate to receive additional revenue, due largely to a
favorable economy generating additional income tax revenue, recordation tax and
carry forward funds; said it is important that tax payers understand that $6
million was used from the operating budget for the Bennett capital project but,
Council still was unable to fully fund all the needs of the County; Council did
allocate additional funds for the Board of Education, Wor-Wic Community
College, fire and ambulance services, the proposed Senior Center, pay parity
for Sheriff’s Office, Emergency Services, Corrections and health areas, roads,
County Reserve fund and established a Utilities Reserve Fund. Mr. Dashiell also
supports the salary increase; acknowledging that 8% is aggressive, but employees
did not receive a cost of living increase the past two years; hopefully, this
will help stem the loss of trained personnel.
Mr. Long stated he was very
pleased with the budget and personally thanked Mr. Shea and Mrs. Petersen for
their diligence during the process.
Mr. Dodd said he found
several reasons for not voting for the budget, such as the Bennett project as
it relates to the proposed location; while additional revenue was good in light
of a revenue cap, the large increase in the budget means one equally as large
next year; and was disappointed in the amount given to volunteer
firefighters. He supports funds for
roads; while 8% employee salary increase is aggressive, it’s needed; supports
the
Mrs. Prettyman stated while
she agrees with many items being funded in the budget, including roads, pension
funding, etc.; however, the 8% increase is aggressive while being short term
and Council must find a way to address disparity. She would have like to have seen some of
these expenses not recurring; if the economy is not as good next year, the
Mr. Taylor reiterated his
support; that it was a positive budget; referred to prior years when Council
required departments to make budget cuts during that fiscal year or submit flat
budgets. This year’s budget allowed
Council to fund many things it had not been able to do in prior years.
Mr. Sarbanes wished to thank
department heads for their frugality; thanked the citizens; and extended thanks
to Mr. Shea and Mrs. Petersen. He then
called for a roll call vote to adopt the budget, as follows: Mrs. Bartkovich, yes; Mr. Long, yes; Mr.
Dodd, yes; Mr. Taylor, yes;
Mrs.
Prettyman, yes; Mr. Dashiell, yes; and Mr. Sarbanes, yes. The motion was
unanimously approved.
Circuit Court:
Housing Authority Board of
Commissioners: Mr. Shea asked Mr. Taylor if he would like to
address appointments to that Board. Mr.
Taylor motioned to appoint Mrs. Katrina Purnell and Mr. Vic Lowe to the Board;
Mr. Long provided a second and the motion was unanimously carried.
Library Board: Mr. Shea
stated that Council is requested to reappoint two members of the Library Board
of Trustees. On motion of Mr. Long,
second by Mr. Dashiell, Council unanimously approved the reappointments of
Marlene Rinnier and Kathryn Wilde.
Housing Authority-
Wicomico Leased Housing: Mr. Shea referred to prior conversation
whereby the Housing Authority requires legal assistance to transfer ownership
of certain structures from the now defunct Wicomico Leased Housing to the
Housing Authority. Since the Housing
Authority cannot afford to have the legal work prepared, Council had previously
offered the legal services of the
International Poodle Show: Mr. Shea
stated that Mr. Mackes is requesting authorization to close a portion of
Supplemental Appropriation: Mr. Shea
explained that Recreation and Parks’ summer youth program,
Burial Assistance: Mr. Shea
submitted the following requests for monetary assistance for burial costs: $400 payable to Jolley Memorial Chapel, on behalf
of the late Abel E. Garcia; $400 payable to Lewis N. Watson Funeral home, on
behalf of the late Ethel M. Dozier. On
motion of Mr. Taylor, second by Mr. Long, Council unanimously approved the
requests.
Tri-County Council/
Mr. Dashiell asked the
Mr. Sarbanes called for a
roll call vote: Mrs. Bartkovich, yes;
Mr. Long, no;
Mr. Dodd, yes; Mr. Taylor,
no; Mrs. Prettyman, yes; Mr. Dashiell, no; Mr. Sarbanes, no.
The motion failed.
Notification of Annexation: Council was
advised by Mr. Shea that the City of
Request for Tax Waiver: Mr. Shea is in receipt of a request from Mr. Carlos
Mir, owner of the Children’s Theater of Delmarva,
Local Management Board: LMB requires
Council authorization for a $15,000 planning grant to benefit crime control and
prevention program. On motion of Mr.
Taylor, second by Mr. Dodd, Council unanimously approved the application.
Homeland Security – Grant
Program: Mr. Dennis Schrader provided an overview of
the 2006 Dept. of Homeland Security Grant process, explaining that each state
shall receive a baseline amount, with additional grant monies awarded on a risk
and need basis; each grant application must meet certain components in its
application; and the grant program’s priorities, management structure and
decision structure. Mr. Schrader also
reviewed national priorities and capabilities,
Council expressed thanks to
Mr. Schrader for the brief overview and his office’s efforts on behalf of
Edgar A. Baker, Jr.,
Notice is hereby given in
compliance with Section 22-2(G) of the Wicomico County Code, that Council will
receive public comments on its consideration to consider the request of Andrew
McBride and Julie Judge for the relocation of a forest conservation easement. The existing easement portion to be removed
and relocated, contains approximately 2,100 square feet and is located on
property at 4908 Lord’s Creek Drive, Eden, Maryland.
The request has been reviewed
and approved by the Planning Commission.
All costs associated with the relocation shall be paid by the property
owners. There were no public comments or
Council comments. On motion of Mr. Long,
Council unanimously approved the forest conservation easement location as
requested.
Notice is hereby given, in
compliance with Section 22-2(G) of the Wicomico County Code that Council will
receive public comments relative to its consideration of a request made by JH
Malone Construction, Inc., for the relocation of a forest conservation
easement. The existing easement,
containing approximately 479.22 square feet, is located on property at
There were no public comments
or Council comments. On motion of Mr.
Dashiell, Council unanimously approved the request as submitted.
Notice is hereby given, in
compliance with Section 22-2(G) of the Wicomico County Code, that Council will
receive public comments on its consideration of a proposed lease agreement
between the Wicomico County Airport Commission and First State Packaging,
Inc./First State Trucking, Inc., in which First State shall lease Hangar No.
10, with its related ramp, to be used as an aircraft hangar and for the normal
and allied purposes connected with housing, maintaining and operations of the
Lessee’s aircraft. The proposed lease is
for five years, initial rental of $17,000 and escalating each year, as set
forth in the Lease.
There were no public comments
or Council comments. On motion of Mr.
Dashiell, Council unanimously approved the lease agreement as submitted.
FINANCE DEPARTMENT
Patricia B. Petersen,
Director, reported that the Contingency Fund reflects a balance of $744,975;
funds used to date total $230,025.
Third quarter Room Tax Report
reflects a year to date total of $741,117, with no accounts past due.
Nuisance abatements costs for
a property at Largo Terrace,
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS
P.
Mr. Sharma addressed the practice of paying
individuals employed at the county transfer stations fifty cents more than
minimum wage. He requested Council’s consideration to authorize a fifty-cent
per hour increase, or $6.65 per hour.
This would equate to a cost of $16,000.
On motion of Mrs. Prettyman, second by Mr. Taylor, Council unanimously
approved the request.
With the impact fee now in
effect, Public Works has issued eighty new permits during the past two weeks
and has collected about $56,000, but the loss due to permits processed prior to
the implementation of the impact fee was about $418,000.
Mr. Baker requested Council
approval for the renewal of a contract with the Department of Social Services
for four existing positions and one new Child Family Care position. It should be noted that the positions are
actually funded by the State, with the funds being “passed through” the
County. On motion of Mr. Long, second by
Mr. Dashiell, Council unanimously approved the renewal of contract.
The
Mr. Dashiell, second by Mrs.
Prettyman, Council gave approval to convene Legislative Session.
On motion of Mr. Long, second
by Mrs. Prettyman, Council approved adjournment of Legislative Session and to
reconvene Executive Session.
Note: While Legislative Session Minutes are
separate and apart from Executive Session Minutes, it should be noted for
public knowledge that Council generally agreed to hold a public hearing on
Legislative Bill 2006-1 (General Obligation Bond Bill) on July 5, 2006 during
the regularly scheduled Council meeting.
Likewise, a public hearing
for Legislative Bills 2006-6, “Building Construction, Public Safety Radio
Amplification Systems,” 2006-7, “Housing Standards,” and 2006-8, “Dogs and
Other Animals-Potentially/Dangerous Dogs,” will be conducted on July 18, 2006
during the regularly scheduled Council meeting.
EXECUTIVE SESSION RECONVENES:
PLANNING, ZONING & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
John F. Lenox, Director, reiterated
Council’s discussion during a recent open work session regarding alternatives
for expenditure of funds collected under the Impact Fee.
Mr. Lenox is now requesting
Council to ratify the following policy:
Funds collected under the
Educational Impact Fee are to be expended only for school capacity related
projects. Impact fees may be used to
address costs related to the net increase in building floor space.
At Mrs. Prettyman’s request,
Mr. Lenox explained that Council has discussed how impact fees would be
expended; the first portion of which is clearly stated that funds may only be
applied for new capacity. The second
portion for which Mr. Lenox is requesting to be ratified refers to how “new
capacity” is defined. The proposed
policy states “net increase to square footage of school facilities.” Council debated whether to consider the
finished product to determine the percentage of increase, or base it on the
current structure to calculate the net increase. Mr. Lenox stated that either way, it does not
increase the amount of money spent; but, one of the options could affect the
amount of money that could be spent on a particular project. County staff recommends using a more
conservative approach. On motion of Mr.
Dashiell, second by Mr. Long and with Mrs. Prettyman opposing, Council duly
adopted the aforementioned policy.
HEALTH
DEPARTMENT
Dr.
BID AWARD
Mr. Harris stated that at the
request of the Dept. of Corrections, a bid was issued for the installation of a
video surveillance system; Mr. Micciche developed the requirements for the
system. Four vendors on the County’s bid
submission list were provided the request; three responses were received, with
one disqualified due to non-compliance, one vendor could not respond within the
time frame, leaving two quotes to be reviewed. A considerable disparity in the
quotes necessitated review by Mr. Micciche and Mr. Harris to ensure compliance. During this review, one bid offered a system
with which they were unfamiliar and did not meet the criteria. The vendor and apparent low bidder, Reed
Security Systems, was asked to make a presentation to more fully explain the
system contained in his bid. Following
that presentation, both bidders’ systems were rated by Mr. Micciche and Mr.
Devenyns. Based on that rating, it was
recommended to award the bid to Avrio Group; although the bid was higher, the
system exactly met the needs of the Dept. of Corrections. Any award to a higher bidder requires Council
approval. Mr. Harris added that the
Purchasing Department had received materials from the company working in
conjunction with Mr. Reed and who made the presentation on his behalf; while
the product seemed to meet the County’s needs, it is more expensive than
Avrio’s product and it is not the same system originally bid by Mr. Reed.
Mr. Sarbanes invited Mr. Reed
to join the conversation. Mr. Reed stated that the specifications were not
clear in the documentation his company received. He contends that the equipment he quoted is
comparable to other systems and the bid document did not state exactly what the
County needed.
Mr. Micciche referred to an
RFQ issued November 2005 for a video surveillance system that works on a
different technology currently being used at Corrections. This Request for Proposal contained thirteen
separate functional requirements for the system that were of a generic nature;
there are also other requirements addressing scalability and functionality,
followed by an 8-point hardware requirement.
When bids were received, it was for the functional requirement
only. Mr. Reed brought to the County’s
attention that he had not received the RFQ.
The opportunity to bid was extended to him. Mr. Micciche further
explained in detail, the process of review and the ultimate decision that the
system submitted by Avrio was preferred by the
Mrs. Prettyman asked why
Corrections wants to convert to digital.
Mr. Devenyns explained that a video tape system is unreliable and
limited in its ability to record data and to be stored for any period of
time. Mr. Harris added that the initial
request was for a County-wide digital system; the goal here is to meet the
specific needs for the
Mr. Long stated that it is
the County’s right to make a determination whether a product qualifies as
“equal”; therefore, he proposed to authorize award of bid to Avrio Group.
Mr. Dodd asked Mr. Reed asked
if his proposal met the 13 points in the bid document.
Mr. Reed responded that his
bid does meet it. Mr. Dodd further
stated that he prefers to keep such awards local. Mr. Harris added that Avrio also has local
offices and that the County could have “piggybacked” on one of the local
contracts, but chose to give Mr. Reed the benefit of the doubt.
Further questions were posed
by Council members. Mr. Long motioned to
award the bid to Avrio Group; however, there was no second. Mr. Devenyns asked Council to resolve the
issue today. Mr. Sarbanes suggested that
County staff return to the next Council meeting for resolution.
Mrs. Bartkovich asked Mr.
Devenyns to briefly explain the release policy at the
Miscellaneous: Mr. Devenyns
also announced that after speaking with a representative of the Maryland
Technology Assistance Program, inmates at the Annex will be helping to build
and install wheelchair ramps at residences of low income individuals.
TRI-COUNTY COUNCIL
Michael Pennington, Executive
Director, presented the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy for the
tri-county area. The Strategy
encompasses four goals: sustain and diversify the economy; improve workforce
training and skills; assure appropriate infrastructure; and maintain and
improve the region’s quality of life.
Mr. Pennington then asked for Council approval in the form of a
resolution to accompany the document. On
motion of Mr. Long, second by
Mr. Dashiell, Council
approved the request with five favorable votes.
Mrs. Prettyman and
Mr. Taylor were not present
for the vote.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
Dr. Augustine DiGiovanna
submitted written comments to Council President Sarbanes.
COUNCIL COMMENTS
Mrs. Bartkovich referred to a
newspaper article about City Police raises, wherein David See made a statement
that the County owes the City $62,000 for ambulance and special operations
services.
Mr. Sarbanes said that was a
misquote by the paper. In actuality, the
County was proposing to give an additional $62,000 to the City for the
referenced services.
Mr. Dashiell announced that
he would not be running a second term in the November elections.
He urged others to consider
entering the election and thanked the citizens for electing him to office.
Mr. Sarbanes thanked Mr.
Dashiell for his four years of service, reminded the public that
July 3, 2006, 9:00 p.m. is
the deadline for filing to run for an elected office and urged the public to
become involved in local government.
Mr. Dodd also thanked Mr.
Dashiell for his diligent service to the County.
Mr. Dodd moved to adjourn
Executive Session and to conduct a closed work session to discuss possible land
acquisition and a potential referendum item.
The motion was seconded by Mr. Long and unanimously approved with five
votes; Mrs. Prettyman and Mr. Taylor were not present for the vote.
Executive Session was adjourned.
__________________________________
Anthony
Sarbanes, President
__________________________________
Charles
R. Dashiell, Jr., Vice President
__________________________________
Edward
T. Taylor, District 1
_________________________________
Stevie
Prettyman, District 2
__________________________________
Gail
M. Bartkovich, District 3
__________________________________
Marvin
R. Long, District 4
__________________________________
Larry
W. Dodd, District 5
___________________________
Theodore E. Shea, II
Administrative Director
June 6, 2006