The Wicomico County Council met in Legislative Session,
In attendance:
Matthew E. Creamer, Council Administrator; Edgar A. Baker Jr.,
On motion of Mr. Holloway and second by Mrs. Prettyman the
minutes of
Mr. McCain presented Proclamations to the West Salisbury Little League team. President Cannon and the West Salisbury Little League presented a picture of the team to be hung in the hallway at the Shorebirds Stadium to Chris Bidders, General Manager.
A Proclamation was also presented to Mr. Ray Jackson for
White Cane Safety Day which is on
Matthew E. Creamer,
Council Administrator:
Resolution 125-2007-Reappointment of Robert L. Dickey as Chairman of the Wicomico County Airport Commission-On motion of Mr. MacLeod and second by Mr. McCain Resolution 125-2007 was unanimously approved.
Resolution 126-2007-Reappointment of Matthew E. Creamer to the Wicomico County Airport Commission-On motion of Mr. Holloway and second by Mrs. Prettyman Resolution 126-2007 was unanimously approved.
Resolution 127-2007-Appointment of Lucille Collins to the Adult Public Guardianship Review Board-On motion of Mrs. Sample-Hughes and second by Mr. McCain Resolution 127-2007 was unanimously approved.
Resolution 128-2007-Manufacturer’s Tax Exemption to Powerwave Comtek, Inc-On motion of Mr. McCain and second by Mrs. Sample-Hughes Resolution 128-2007 was unanimously approved.
Resolution 129-2007-Temporary
ban on any outdoor burning in
Resolution 130-2007-Appointment of David A. MacLeod, John T. Cannon, William R. McCain, and Sheree Sample-Hughes as voting members of the Tri-County Council for the Lower Eastern Shore of Maryland-On motion of Mrs. Prettyman and second by Mrs. Bartkovich Resolution 130-2007 was unanimously approved.
Amendment of Chapter 23 to Personnel Manual- Mr. S. Michael Thompson, Director of Human Resources, came before Council to explain that as the manual currently reads in Section 2303 (e) “non selection for a position or for promotion from a group of properly ranked and certified candidates. See paragraph 2311 for additional actions that may be taken by job applicants.” Mr. Baker brought it to Mr. Thompson that if a person is not covered under the Personnel manual due to not being a County employee then there should not be a section which applies to them. Mr. Thompson is requesting deleting the second sentence in Section 2303 (e) and Section 2310 entirely. This is for discussion purposes and Mr. Baker will bring this back in the form of a bill at a later date. Mrs. Bartkovich asked if the Personnel manual needs to be updated since it was last reviewed in October 2003 to which Mr. Thompson stated that he is currently reviewing the manual and will bring any updates or changes to the Council after this the changes are presented to the Personnel Board.
Edgar A. Baker, Jr.,
Public Hearing:
Bill No. 2007-3-AN ACT to amend Chapter 59, titled “Personnel Rules,” to create Articles I and II, of the Wicomico County Code, titled “Article I-Personnel” and “Article II-Collective Bargaining,” establishing a Labor Code containing provisions for certification of an representation unit, employee and employer rights, impasse procedures, arbitration and other provisions pertaining to collective bargaining.
Public Comments:
Mr. Herbert Weiner, Attorney for the Fraternal Order of Police, questioned several provisions and suggested changes.
Mr. Cris Taylor came before Council to explain that the Fraternal Order of Police is concerned with benefits, salaries and retirement and does not intend to “bleed the County dry.”
Richard Tull came before Council to express his concerns over certain provisions and expressed his concerns regarding citizens living on a fixed income and for the Council to not lose its responsibility to make final budget and tax decision.
Connie Widmann, mother of Officer Brian Heller, who was killed in the line of duty came before Council in support of the Fraternal Order of Police and commented on the effect of lack of benefits for families.
Jessica Chase commented on the effect of lack of benefits for families.
G.A. Harrison expressed his concerns stating the arbitrator should only consider receiving revenue from the general fund in determining the County’s ability to fund budget requests and also stated that he otherwise supports the Fraternal Order of Police.
Public Comments:
G.A. Harrison came before Council to show his appreciation for holding a night meeting and thanked the Council for all of their hard work.
Council Comments:
Mrs. Prettyman thanked Mr. G.A. Harrison for all of his work even though they do not always agree.
Mrs. Sample-Hughes thanked the Sheriff’s Department for
their increased enforcement on
President Comments:
Mr. Cannon thanked everyone for coming out and explained
that this was a special meeting and that the next meeting will be
Mr. MacLeod moved that the meeting be adjourned to a closed session, at 7:10 p.m. to discuss employment of the internal auditor. The motion was seconded by Mr. McCain and unanimously approved. The authority for closing the session was State Government
Article Section 10-508(a)(1).
Legislative Session
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John T. Cannon, President
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William R. McCain, At Large
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Sheree Sample-Hughes, District 1
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Gail M. Bartkovich, District 3
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David A. MacLeod, District 4
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Matthew E. Creamer
Council Administrator