March 15, 2022 Commissioner Update:
Today was my turn to open our commissioner meeting with the Invocation and Pledge. We then approved the Consent Agenda, which included the minutes from last week’s meeting and a letter nominating Dale Antosh to the Property Tax Assessment Appeals Board—thank you for your willingness to serve! After that we presented proclamations for National Social Work Month and Equal Pay Day.
We had two Main Agenda items. First, we approved a supplemental appropriation ordinance for $4,000,000. This is a budget tool that allows room in our budget for anticipated future grants. Second we discussed a Resolution to Establish the St. Mary’s County Police Accountability Board and Administrative Charging Committee. This is a requirement put in place by the Maryland General Assembly last year—we had a very robust discussion and Sheriff Cameron provided input. We requested changes and updates to the resolution to better take into account community input before we vote on it.
Moving into County Administrator time, our first item was review of upcoming meeting agendas. Second we approved accepting a donated retired UAC Solutions Talon 240G Unmanned Aircraft System to be hung in the Walter Francis Duke Airport Terminal. We also heard a presentation on future plans for projects at the airport—very impressive work being done right here in St. Mary’s County! Third we approved the grant application for the Annual Transportation Grant for the St. Mary’s Transit System for $3,228,210. They showed us the future bus stop signs that will be installed in the future (see picture). Fourth we approved the Department of Recreation and Parks applying for a grant for a new Water Taxi for St. Clement’s Island. Fifth we approved a loan for the Bay District Volunteer Fire Department for $460,000 under the Fire & Rescue Loan Program—they will use these funds to purchase a new Pierce Arrow XT Pumper truck. Our final item of county administrator time was approval of an employment contract for our new EMS Chief, George Edelen—welcome to the team!
After that we heard Legislative Updates from our County Attorney’s office. We voted to send a letter of opposition to HB 1353 – Omnibus Procurement Reform Act. This bill would place county contracts that include state funds beneath state procurement rules. Counties across the state have opposed this bill and MACO has testified against it.
During Commissioner Time I spoke about the Leonardtown State of the Town presentation, the Farm Bureau Banquet. We finished the morning by entering into Closed Session to discuss Personnel.
This afternoon we will reconvene for a Budget Work Session to discuss County Departments, Compensation and Universal Fees.
