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RIDGELY – Ridgely residents filled the town commission meeting room March 19 to express their preference for either the present policing arrangement with the Caroline County Sheriff’s Office or the reestablishment of a town police department.
The purpose of commissioners’ workshop agenda was to discuss the fiscal year 2026 law enforcement budget.
After a public comment period, during which residents were allotted three minutes to voice their opinions with a request to avoid rehashing the past, Town Commissioner Bradley Sears presided over the meeting and presented two budget scenarios, cautioning residents at the outset that the town was facing fiscal challenges in the next few years, including funding water and sewer infrastructure, and completing the town’s comprehensive plan and town charter updates, among others.
The meeting wasn’t designed for choosing a plan, and residents were not invited to weigh in on the options.
Sears presented a detailed projection of costs associated with reestablishing five sworn officers, including a chief, lieutenant and three patrol officers by comparing past expenses with those of neighboring towns. Former Centreville Police Chief Kenny Rhodes served as a consultant.
According to Sears’ calculations, a new town police department would cost about $852,704.
The current FY 2026 budget for law enforcement services provided by three deputies with the Caroline County Sheriff’s Office is $493,415.
However, before hearing the comparative analysis, residents weighed in, some with prepared statements.
Robin Martin said that she was “a very big supporter of law enforcement in general” and didn’t “have a problem with the sheriff’s department,” but questioned whether the town was “getting the services that we're paying for.”
Martin said she felt residents didn’t necessarily have faith that town leaders were doing “what’s best for town” and called for the formation of an ethics commission.
Christine Eckrich advised the commissioners to allow sheriff’s deputies and Maryland State Police troopers to patrol the town without the memorandum of understanding established between the town and the Sheriff’s Office, signed originally on April 1, 2024, and followed by a FY 2025 agreement for law enforcement coverage.
“We should take this money that we save and start putting it towards infrastructure and maybe even a rainy-day fund” thereby attracting more businesses and tax revenue, Eckrich said.
Sears presented three options for providing law enforcement services. The first is to “forego a local law enforcement presence like Preston and virtually every other town in this county” with the exception of Denton, Federalsburg and Greensboro. The second is to contract with the Caroline County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO), which is the current arrangement. The third option is to reestablish the town’s police department.
At times residents interrupted Sears. “You illegally disbanded our police department, and with that, I'm walking out,” one resident said.
Sears presented comparisons to neighboring towns. The town of Greensboro has a chief and one patrol officer; the FY 2024 budget was $560,364. Federalsburg’s latest figure of $495,207 is based on its FY 2022 budget and a staff of several officers. Both Denton and Centreville’s FY 2025 law enforcement budgets are based on 15 and 13 sworn officers respectively, and are upwards of $2 million.
Heather Amador expressed her frustration with the commissioners and her sense that that their “minds are made up.” She asked them “to refrain from entering into a new contract” with the sheriff’s office until after the next town election in April.
Despite the request to not revisit the past, two residents brought up an incident that occurred a year ago when the entire Ridgely Police Department was suspended with pay March 12 as the Office of the Maryland State Prosecutor investigated allegations of wrongdoing centered on then-Chief Jeffrey Eckrich. The suspension of the six officers attracted national attention.
A redacted report by the OSP office issued July 25, 2024, revealed the Ridgely Commissioners suspended the officers March 12 “without guidance from OSP.” While the OSP did not formally exonerate Eckrich, the “OSP’s investigative findings did not disclose or surface sufficient evidence of criminal activity warranting further investigation or prosecution,” and the OSP closed the investigation.
Sears read Lakia Pierce’s written testimony, who called for the restoration of the members of the RPD and called the investigations surrounding the RPD “a disheartening and misguided chapter in our town's history” and a “complete hoax” that was “built n misinformation.”
Anna Mansfield asked why the entire department was suspended when only one person was under investigation, something she and others have brought up at past town meetings.
“How is this right or fair?” she asked. “Then it was no longer about a criminal investigation. It was about dollars and cents in the budget.”
“I think our town should either have its own police department back or not have dedicated coverage from CCSO at all,” Mansfield said. “We are a small town with budget deficits and failing infrastructures. … We as a community find it hard to believe and trust our elected officials are working for us when we still don't know who ordered the suspension of the entire police department and, while promised a conversation at the end of the MOU regarding the possible rehiring police department, it was obvious the decision was already made.”
Three residents expressed satisfaction with the deputies assigned to patrol Ridgely.
In written testimony, Ann Rossi-Gill and Clinton Gill, who have lived in Ridgely six years, said they appreciated the work and friendliness of the CCSO deputies, and were “pleased with the switch to Caroline County to provide law enforcement services for the town.”
Andy Hrobar wrote of her “strong support” for continuing the sheriff’s office contract, “rather than reestablishing a standalone town department,” adding that “the sheriff's department has provided more visible law enforcement coverage and is a fiscally responsible choice for our town.”
After 90 minutes the workshop was adjourned.
