Commissioners to introduce legislation Sept. 9

DENTON – Legislation will be introduced Tuesday, Sept. 9 to create a formal review commission of county citizens to study and make recommendations about compensating future Caroline County Commissioners.

During their hourlong meeting Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, the three Commissioners conducted a half-hour workshop with County Attorney Stewart Barroll about the proposed legislation Barroll drafted.

“The impetus behind this effort has been the fact that our County Commissioners have not had an increase in their salary since 2009,” Barroll said.

The recommendations of the impartial 5-member Compensation Review Commission would be advisory only and would not affect the compensation of the current Board of County Commissioners.

Any recommendations, including salary, expense reimbursements and possible cost of living increases, enacted by the current Commissioners “would not be retroactive and in any way benefit the three current Commissioners,” Barroll said.

The bill would “repeal and reenact with amendments” a section of Chapter 18 of the County Code and comply with state law. Currently the president of the Board of Commissioners earns $16,000, while the other two Commissioners’ compensation is $15,000 each.

“I don't think anybody runs for this position to make money,” Commission Vice President Larry Porter said.

Although their positions are considered part time, Barroll called the Commissioners “unsung heroes” for the time they spend “fulfilling their duties.”

“There is not a day – literally, a day – that goes by that I don't -- and (we) don't do something connected as a county commissioner, (such as) going to the grocery store and having somebody ask you a question and ending up in an hour-and-a-half conversation. That's part of the job. … That's what you sign up to do.”

Porter said that 15 years ago occasional emails required attention. “It wasn’t every day, but it wasn’t constantly.”

“I came into office in 2010,” Porter said. “This is completely different than what it was in 2010.”

“The question is, to the public, to the citizenry, how involved do you want your elected officials?” Commission President Travis Breeding said. “Do you want $15,000-a-year involvement where basically they come to just the meetings that they have to (attend) and don't do the research or engage with staff and ask questions, try to understand any the operations of each individual department in the county? Or do you want Commissioners who are engaged in working 20, 25, 30 hours a week?”

Porter said, “I think my answer to that would be, as a taxpayer and a citizen, I want my Commissioners to be engaged. … Most people think that being a County Commissioner is coming in here at nine o'clock on Tuesdays … and you're done till next Tuesday.”

The complexity of the state legislative process, funding mandates and regulations creates challenges at the local level, Breeding said.

All three Commissioners stressed the importance of the Review Commission in knowing the amount of time Commissioners spend researching issues, attending meetings and events, understanding the work of county departments, and serving on various boards, commissions and associations.

In other business:

• The Commissioners decided not to join with Queen Anne’s and Kent counties in creating a regional detention center in Queen Anne’s County. After months of negotiating, they decided the venture would not save the county money, but it would cost them autonomy and the ability to protect county employees’ jobs and compensation. “We did our due diligence,” Breeding said. “We went through the process, and in theory it looked like it should have been a good deal for Caroline County, but it hasn't worked out.”
• The Commissioners will meet with officials from the Maryland Department of Transportation and the Eastern Shore delegation at 9 a.m., Tuesday, Sept. 16, at the Health and Public Services Building, Room 110, 403 South 7th Street, Denton. They will discuss the county’s requests for the Consolidated Transportation Program (CTP), Maryland's 6-year capital budget for transportation projects, as well as legislative priorities. Added to the current CTP requests will be to stagger the traffic light signals at Harmony Road and State Route 404 to allow drivers from Double Hills Road safer travel through the intersection. The meeting will also be livestreamed.
• Concern about a reported 10% staffing reduction at Choptank Community Health is prompting Breeding to reach out to CEO Sara Rich for more information and “see if there's anything legislatively that we can ask for to promote health care in rural parts of the state,” Breeding said.
• Porter expressed similar concerns about federal funding of preschool programs operated by Maryland Rural Development Corporation (MRDC). CEO Chuck Huester is slated to discuss it at the Sept. 9 Commissioners meeting.
• The Commissioners approved a $84,873 contract with Brinsfield Fencing to install fencing around the baseball and softball fields at Sharp Road Park.
• Director of Human Resources Sherry Bratton has announced her retirement. The county is advertising for the position. For more information, visit governmentjobs.com/careers/carolinemd
• Guidance from the state for how the county can spend state cannabis grant funds is still stalled. Because the county doesn’t have “disproportionately impacted areas” according the state formula, the county is in limbo as to how the funds can be disbursed. “We have people who have worked hard to put together applications and grant funding requests, and we just can't keep delaying,” Porter said. The 2024 state legislation resulted in more than $367,000 allocated to the county from the State Community Reinvestment and Repair Fund.
• The state grant the county was allocated to fund the administration of the state-mandated Police Accountability Board and Administrative Charging Committee has been halved. Instead of receiving the $111,000 allocated in previous years, the amount was reduced to $55,433. “So it's what we all expected,” Breeding said. “The state of Maryland passes a law that creates a new board and a new expense that the counties have to shoulder. They fund it and progressively defund it and shift that cost onto the county.”
• Robin Eaton, director of the Board of Public Works, said the new stadium restrooms at North Caroline and Colonel Richardson high schools are slated to be finished in time for the first home football games or shortly thereafter. Tree trimming will begin next week on Cherry Lane.