Worcester County approves fiscal 2022 budget

The following appeared in the summer issue of the Ocean Pines Quarterly Report:

Worcester County finances withstood restrictions and uncertainty brought on by COVID-19. Revenue increased as a result of increased property transfer/recordation taxes. And the labor market was not as negatively impacted as the Worcester County Commissioners feared in early 2020, when they determined it was best to budget conservatively at the outset of an unprecedented pandemic.
 
Estimates show that income tax receipts are higher than anticipated for the current fiscal year. These realities are expected to yield a surplus of roughly $10 when the current fiscal year ends June 30.
 
During their June 1 meeting, the Commissioners approved the fiscal year 2022 operating budget of $216,509,211, a 6% in- crease over the previous year. Property and income tax rates remain unchanged at 84.5 cents and 2.25% respectively. The Homestead Credit cap, available to qualified principal resident homeowners, remains unchanged at 3%.
 
Board of Education funding increased by $2.3 million to roughly $97 million plus $12.4 million for debt service. Education expenditures account for 50.6% of the county budget.
 
Additionally, there were no changes made to the rates for current Ocean Pines Water Wastewater customers.
 
As a result of ongoing subcommittee meetings that include three commissioners, several senior county staff and fire and emergency services representatives, the Commissioners approved a $1 million supplemental allocation to EMS services. This is a vital step to ensure our county ambulance services are funded properly so that, when a person in need contacts 9-1-1, he or she can expect a trained and qualified responder in a timely manner. During the coming year, this subcommittee will continue to meet and plan for the immediate and future emergency service funding needs of our community.
 
During the next months, Commissioners will re-view Agritainment zoning laws, pursue broad- band connectively countywide, and determine the viability of a sports complex in the northern end of the county. Work on expanding Stephen Decatur Middle School is expected to begin in fall. This will result in more classroom space and the elimination of the multiple classroom trailers adjacent to the school. The project is expected to take 13 months.

The Commissioners named Assistant Chief Administrative Officer Weston Young as the new Chief Administrative Officer. He will succeed Harold Higgins, who retires in late August.
 
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at 443-783-3248 or [email protected].
 
Finally, a word about former Commissioner Judy Boggs, who passed away June 12. Judy was a dedicated public servant who represented our community first as a member of the Ocean Pines Board of Directors and subsequently as Worcester County Commissioner for the then newly created Ocean Pines district. She was first elected in 2002. During her three terms, she was a strong advocate for our community responsible for, among other things, se- curing regular annual county grants for our police and fire departments. Not long after taking office, she started hosting regular town hall meetings, which enabled her to remain in touch with the people she represented.
 
Shortly after she announced she would not seek reelection in 2014, I met with her to discuss my interest in succeeding her. We met in her living room and spoke for hours on a range of county issues. I was impressed by her breadth of knowledge and passion on so many topics, both large and small.
 
One thing that has stuck with me from that first conversation. She advised me more than once that if elected I should always be myself. People will know if you’re not being genuine with them, she counseled, so just be your-self. I took that to heart.
 
And now, during this time of reflection of who Judy was as a person and who she was as a public servant, and what she accomplished for our community, it’s very clear that above all, she was always being herself. Thank you, Judy.