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DENTON – The Caroline County Commissioners introduced two pieces of legislation at their March 25 meeting, welcomed a new planner and reviewed fees, among other business.
Comprehensive Plan to be updated
Assistant Director of Planning Leslie Grunden and new Planner III Olivia Vidotto of the Department of Planning and Codes reported progress on the Comprehensive Plan update.
With 30 years of experience in Talbot County, Vidotto joined the department recently and said, “I am very happy to be over here.” She told the Commissioners the Comp Plan needs an update every 10 years. However, the Covid pandemic with the resulting delay in the 2020 census data collection means that the state-mandated Comp Plan draft will be need to be finished by the end of 2025.
“It will be a very long process, and I'm looking forward to it,” she said.
Vidotto stressed the need for outreach to the Caroline community. The last county Comp Plan was adopted in April 2010 and has been amended over the years.
In April, Planning and Codes staff will begin “going to different events throughout the county throughout the whole year to give out flyers (and) be there to answer questions,” Vidotto said.
“I'm glad to hear you emphasize the public outreach,” Commission Vice President Larry Porter said. “I can't tell you how many times, particularly in my prior life in the municipality, that we would have people who would say, ‘My land was rezoned and I didn't even know it,’ … And so I think it's crucial that we use every tool we have to let people know what's going on.”
A designated email address specifically for question, comments and suggestions is CompPlanUpdate@carolinemd.org.
Some fee increases suggested
Deputy County Administrator and Finance Director Daniel Fox presented suggested fee increases, including those associated with liquor licensing, to cover expenses such as extra staff time, legal ads and board reviews.
Commissioners discussed phasing in a potential fee increase for the Jonestown water system, which has 52 users. The county Department of Public Works manages the system that doesn’t break even with its current fees, which haven’t increased in 10 years, Porter said. There also is no capital reserve fund if something should break down, Commission President Travis Breeding said.
The Commissioners discussed phasing in an increase in the Office of Finance’s administrative fee to town governments for tax collection. Currently, the fee is 1% of tax revenue collection with a cap not to exceed $15,000. After some discussion, the Commissioners settled on a possible $22,500 cap to potentially begin in fiscal year 2027.
Two bills introduced
The first piece of legislation would eliminate term limits for members of the Board of Zoning Appeals. Because the members are volunteers and difficult to recruit, and acquire the specialized knowledge that takes time to master, Bill 2025-003 is designed to provide knowledgeable members an opportunity to continue serving on the board.
The second bill, 2025-004, clarifies the purpose of a wastewater treatment facility as one that treats, stores and disposes waste.
“Currently, the way the definition is written is it’s an ‘or’ instead of an ‘and,’ so that meant you could do any of the three items without all three,” said Planning and Codes Director Crystal Dadds. “One of the concerns is that you could do storage only without treating it, without disposing of it, or store it and dispose of it without any treatment of it. So that's what we wanted to clean up to say that the intention of the wastewater treatment facility is for all three components.”
Breeding suggested discussing the legislation further and perhaps keeping options in place regarding the ‘or’ language.
A second reading and public hearing for both bills is set for April 8, with a third reading and the potential to amend and enact on April 15.
