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Editor's note: Councilwoman Debra Sewell name was corrected June 6, 2025.
FEDERALSBURG – Despite the absence of the mayor and a council member, the Federalsburg town council, meeting as a quorum on June 2, accomplished several agenda items, including introducing budget and fee ordinances, and approving a lease agreement for a community services hub.
Council Member Brandy James presided, and Council Members Darlene Hammond and Ian Ferguson attended, as well as town attorney Lyndsey Ryan. Mayor Kim Abner and Debra Sewell were absent.
The council introduced ordinance 2025-02 adopting a general budget and enterprise budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025 and ending June 30, 2026, establishing a tax rate of 89 cents per $100 of assessed real property value, and a tax rate of $1.65 per $100 on all commercial or business personal property and all railroad and utility property, and establishing and adopting the same service and administrative fee for semi-annual billing as adopted by Caroline County.
The legislation also would establish a quarterly waste collection fee of $53.94 per quarter for all commercial properties which receive waste collection services and for all residential properties located within the corporate town boundaries, and establish a charge for extra waste collection items. It would establish the current $10 charge for bulk trash, and an additional $30 charge per item for large waste collection, which includes furniture, appliances and mattresses.
A public hearing on Ordinance 2025-02 will be held at the council’s June 16 meeting.
The town uses First State Inspection Agency Inc. for inspections and permitting, and rates for the agency will increase July1, so the town council is proposing adjusting fees, as well. Ordinance 2025-03 reflects the increases, and the public hearing is also scheduled for June 16.
Also introduced was Ordinance 2025-04 amending Section 245-32 of the town code titled “water meters.” The proposed legislation requires all properties in Federalsburg, except for town properties, to be served by a water meter.
“Currently, the town code exempts churches, town properties, non-metered or metered unimproved property, fire houses, ball fields and carnival grounds from being served by a water meter, and therefore those particular types of properties are not currently paying a water bill,” Ryan said. The council decided “to uniformly and reasonably establish water and sewer fees for all properties and to make sure that the fee charged to every property is consistent, so that one property isn't paying more than their fair share, and properties weren't being waived a certain fee, such that members or residents that are paying the water bill are having to subsidize for the entities that aren't paying.”
The public hearing for Ordinance 2025-04 is set for June 7, along with the Critical Areas Ordinance.
Charlotte Shearin, education and program implementation team manager for the Maryland Critical Area Commission for the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays, presented information virtually to the council about updating the town’s critical areas program. The state requires municipalities to update their programs every six years, but the deadline was extended to 10 years. A part-time contractual Commission employee is helping towns comply with the minimum state requirements.
The council adopted Caroline County’s hazard mitigation plan, which includes mitigation procedures for Federalsburg and allows for federal and state emergency management agency projects.
The Chesapeake Multicultural Resource Center headquartered in Easton was granted a 6-year lease for town-owned 115-117 Main Street. The building will be used as a “hub for nonprofit and government agencies such as the Caroline County Department of Health and Social Services to use to provide direct access to resources for Federalsburg community members,” Ryan said.
According to the terms of the lease drawn up by Ryan, rent would be waived for the first three years, and then monthly rent of $575 would be established for years four through six, and ChesMRC would be granted the right of first refusal.
According to Matthew Peters, executive director of ChesMRC, goodwill grant money is available to fix the roof, mitigate mold and water damage, and refurbish the building. “We do want to get started right away,” he said.
The council voted to authorize all town council members check signing privileges. Previously, four signatories were required, but currently only the town manager and mayor have that authority.
Heather Harding, representing the Caroline Better Together ENOUGH initiative asked for input to determine the community’s needs. ENOUGH stands for Engaging Neighborhoods, Organizations, Unions, Government and Housing. It’s funded through a $55,000 grant obtained by the Caroline Human Services Council.
“We will get together and we will decide what are the things that we want to do as a community,” Harding said. “And then we will get together and decide what is it that we need in order to get the capacity to be able to do those things, so we need input.”
The first community vision session and asset walk was not well-attended, Harding said. The second session and walk will take place from 4 to 7 p.m. June 25 at the Federalsburg Library.
