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DENTON – The three members of the Caroline County Commission further refined legislation to restrict solar development on farmland during its Oct. 7 meeting in Denton and agreed to provide county-based law enforcement to Federalsburg for a year.
Sheriff Donald Baker and Chief Deputy Capt. Rodney Helmer discussed the details of a memorandum of understanding, approved by the Commissioners, that spells out the terms of providing deputies to the town of Federalsburg, an MOU modeled after the one established with the town of Ridgely in 2024.
Federalsburg has weathered a series of personnel and fiscal challenges since the beginning of 2025, including two police chiefs leaving the town’s employment. Of paramount concern to the County Commissioners was the town’s ability to pay the county for sheriff’s deputies.
The town, which at one time fielded 11 police officers, will have four full-time county deputies assigned to patrol it and respond to calls. When the Sheriff’s Office took over law enforcement, there were eight officers on the Federalsburg Police Department.
As a “fiscal hawk,” Baker said he was working to make sure Federalsburg will pay the “full freight.” Although the town is cash-strapped, he said he was assured by town treasurer Jamie Washington that there was a “significant amount of money in the bank” to pay for county policing.
“We are at bare bones with four (deputies), and we're going to work with four, and that's why we've worked so hard with the governor's office to try to bring funding into this project,” Baker said.
Baker said the town had been paying $100,000 with half of the amount in annual leases for police vehicles and the other half for insurance. “Why they're paying such an exorbitant amount for insurance makes no sense to me whatsoever,” he said.
The Commissioners said they want some documented assurance that the county won’t be on the hook for a large bill should a “doomsday scenario” in the form of a large unexpected financial obligation hit the town’s coffers, Commission Vice President Larry Porter said.
Agreeing with Commission Vice President Larry Porter, Breeding was blunt. “I'm very skeptical about (Federalsburg’s) ability to pay regardless of staffing level, because something weird is going on,” he said.
“It’s hard to analyze a document or a budget that really does not exist or has not been provided to us,” Fox said. While he has a copy the 2026 budget, he said he can’t really know the town’s actual financial situation without an audit. Federalsburg’s town council has authorized a forensic audit, but budget constraints are delaying its implementation.
“They're one pump station breaking, they're one major mishap at a wastewater treatment plant, or a water tower away from (a major expense), and the well is dry at this point. There's nowhere else to go to get any more money,” said Commission President Travis Breeding. Addressing Baker, he added, “So my final statement is, if that situation happens, don't come to us looking us to pick up $750,000, and please don't write checks for us.”
“We're managing law enforcement in Federalsburg,” and the town is “footing the bill,” Baker said.
“The town will be billed dollar-for-dollar for costs” at $187,333 per quarter, said Deputy County Administrator and Finance Officer Daniel Fox. Currently, the deputies patrolling Federalsburg are working on an overtime basis, but grant funding is available to cover additional staffing levels.
Porter was also concerned about the timeline for recruiting and training additional deputies. Baker said he would have to hire three additional deputies to meet the terms of the MOU.
“I do believe we would be able to absorb the cost within the budget,” Baker said. “It would be a huge undertaking for the town of Federalsburg to enact their own police department, and I think that process would take at least a year, which would give us time to definitely fix the issues of staffing and to readjust.”
“I'm afraid of doomsday scenario here. I hope there isn't,” Porter said. “But we have reached a point here, and I have not had any direct conversations with any of the town council members at this point. We're rapidly reaching a point … sometime soon, maybe today, that we contact them and ask them what their plan is to move forward.”
Baker said that the Sheriff’s Office handles about 85% of calls for service in the county and alternates responses with the Maryland State Police. Only the towns of Denton and Greensboro have police departments.
Draft ag preservation fund bill amended
During a lengthy discussion with Caroline County Planning and Codes Director Crystal Dadds and Assistant Director of Planning Leslie Grunden, the Commissioners continued to tighten up legislation designed to put further restrictions on solar energy development.
Legislative Bill 2025-011 – Enactment of New Article VI (Agricultural Land Preservation Fund) had a second reading and public hearing, with no one commenting. The bill was introduced Sept. 23, but numerous changes were discussed, prompting additional refinement by Planning and Zoning staff.
The legislation is “an act for the purpose of creating a fund to receive payments of compensatory preservation contributions to Caroline County when solar energy generating stations and energy storage devices are developed on agricultural land,” among other provisions.
While the state of Maryland’s Renewable Energy Certainty Act (RECA) of 2025 requires counties to provide for more solar energy, the Commissioners have long been concerned with increasing pressure by large-scale solar companies on farmers to lease productive farmland for solar arrays.
Following Queen Anne’s County’s lead, they decided to require solar companies to compensate the county to preserve farmland within the limits established by the state, and potentially limiting solar sprawl in the county.
Porter, who testified against components of RECA during the Maryland General Assembly, said, “I don't care about being fair and reasonable to the state of Maryland. I care about being fair and reasonable to the people in this county.”
“If they're going to come in and override our authority and pass legislation that's going to completely take away any control we have to preserve farmland here … I want to just make sure (that), for every acre of farmland that's being taken we get an acre’s compensation back to be able to save an acre.”
Despite a long discussion, a desire for simplicity prevailed and the Commissioners approved two amendments to the legislation, rather retooling the entire bill again.
The Commissioners amended the draft legislation “to change the compensatory preservation contribution sum equivalent to 100% and also change that the fee will be charged on the entire project area if it contains any vital farmland,” Breeding said.
“I do like the idea of retaining the vital farmland designation as part of the formula,” Barroll said. “The theory is that if you're a solar developer, you know about this law in Caroline County. … Right now, they are mindlessly grabbing up farmland because it's flat and easy to build on, regardless of the soil.”
To watch the entire livestreamed meeting, visit https://carolinecountymd.new.swagit.com/videos/357309.
