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FEDERALSBURG - Ken Decker, a former Caroline County Administrator, spoke to the Federalsburg Mayor and Council on providing interim town management consulting services at a special meeting on Aug. 27, 2025.
Decker said he envisions performing managerial support to serve the Mayor and Council, help the Town bring its financial position in line and solidify operations, and help guide and direct staff, relieving the elected officials from the day-to-day operational work. His services will be temporary; he will not be employed as the town manager.
The Mayor and Council discussed a start date for Decker during the open meeting, and while no date was confirmed, all parties seemed to agree that he would start sometime during the week of September 1. The Mayor and Council went into closed session immediately following the meeting to discuss Decker’s proposal. By Friday morning, Aug. 29, town officials had not responded to questions about whether a contract for services will be awarded to Decker, nor the term and cost of the contract.
If brought on as a consultant, Decker will dig into the town’s financial standing, focusing on completion of the FY2024 audit and start of the FY2025 audit. Decker pointed out that the town will need to spend money, perhaps through a line of credit, to fix the significant issues it faces. Councilperson Brandy James asked how does the town “spend what we don’t have,” in order to get out of the problems? Decker said that a financial evaluation may highlight the need to bring in more money through increasing service fees and taxes, and streamline and modernize operations and processes. “You don’t know how broke you are” until a thorough evaluation is complete, Decker said.
Decker cautioned that identifying problems and proposing solutions will take years. For example, getting information on water and sewer to evaluate the systems to determine the costs and appropriate rates, including a rate study, could take a couple of years. He is proposing to put systems in place to move forward within four years, not resolve all the issues.
In this capacity as a consultant, Decker would not take on daily tasks, “such as paying bills,” leaving that work to current staff. James asked how Decker, as a consultant, will handle personnel issues. Decker did not speak to the mechanism of handling personnel issues, instead he said that he believes there are two issues with staffing: one is ensuring staff is properly trained, and the second is terminating an employee. He said his first priority in working with the town would be to meet with staff, evaluate their needs, and look into staffing gaps. Filling positions takes money, but to get good people, the Town has to have a good system to recruit good people, he said.
Decker suggested partnering with neighboring governments to provide resources, such as working with the Caroline County IT department to set up virtual meetings or getting advice from Talbot County finance office. “Federalsburg needs all the help it can get,” Decker said, explaining that leveraging expertise from other towns or counties will help Federalsburg citizens.
Partnerships will need to be established between staff who are responsible for operations and elected officials who are responsible for policies. Decker said in his experience the transition for elected officials from operational responsibilities to legislative and policy can be difficult, but necessary to prevent fatigue. James commented that she wants to be kept informed about the tasks and duties of the manager, and she is not willing to abdicate overall responsibility of the town and its citizens. Decker responded that the Mayor and Council will need to stay on top of projects, but the manager will take on the day-to-day responsibilities to ensure projects and initiatives come to completion.
James asked Decker about his short-term priorities. Decker responded they would be to meet staff, complete the FY2024 audit and start the FY2025 audit, and complete a study on water and sewer rates. However, he said, “I can’t imagine being here long enough to see these projects to fruition." Instead, he would set up the next manager with a solid foundation to move forward on these projects as needed. He suggested working four days a week and attending Council meetings for the first 30 days, then reevaluating.
He suggested that the Mayor and Council stay in their liaison roles with departments and be reevaluated after 30 days.
Decker served as Caroline County Administrator from 2011 to 2018. He served as Altoona, PA, town manager 2019 until 2021. He ran a consulting business until March 2023 when he was brought on as County Administrator for Kent County, Delaware. In September 2024, Kent County Levy Court placed Decker on paid administrative leave until Feb. 2027, following his termination regarding complaints he made to the Delaware state ethics commission about a Levy Court Commissioner.
