Wicomico Co. Council meets to discuss possible 911 fee raise, community improvement projects
SALISBURY, Md. – Wicomico County Council was busy Tuesday going over a number of issues that they’re working to resolve. One of those agenda items was a discussion over whether the county should raise the fee for 911 services for some in the county. Currently, everyone in Wicomico County pays a 75 cent fee through their phone bill for 911. The county’s Director of Finance and Department of Emergency Services is proposing that fee be raise anywhere between one cent and 55 cents.
That fee raise would be imposed on anyone who has a working phone line, instead of having all tax payers pay a portion of the cost. Director of Finance Pam Oland says right now the county collects about $725,000 less in 911 fees than they need to cover the cost of 911 services. That divide is made up with the county’s real property tax rate, which is paid by property owners in Wicomico County. “Property taxes and income taxes help pay the fee of the cost of that department right now. If we were able to adjust the fee to something better than 75 cents it would be able to reduce the burden of other revenue streams,” said Oland.
The council did not make a final decision on if that could happen. But they talked about the possibility of staggering that fee increase over the course of a couple years. They also discussed whether it was possible to charge telemarketers the fee increase.
Another thing Wicomico County Council members went over was the county’s capital improvement project for fiscal years 2022 through 2026. The plan covers projects that will improve education, public safety, and roads over those years. About $7.7 million was proposed for school improvement projects, including at Wor-Wic Community College. Meanwhile, $5.1 million will go to public safety and $800,000 for the airport.
County council members did raise a point that they would like to be able to keep better track of projects that weren’t completed, but included in the plan. Oland says that could be a possibility. “Until we have numbers, we could list a lot of projects that are on the horizon, but don’t have any idea of costs,” said Oland. “We give a list of projects that might on the horizon that don’t have a dollar amount yet – projects that at this point in time we have taken off the horizon.”
The council didn’t make any decision on the capital improvement plan Tuesday. But they have time to figure it out. Fiscal year 2022 starts in October of 2021.
Also on the agenda Tuesday – the Christian Shelter in Salisbury was looking for a letter of support from council members to renovate their thrift store. The shelter is asking for some funding so they can bring the store up to code and improve it all around. The store provides free clothing and food for those in need. Executive Director of the shelter Anthony Dickerson says they want to continue to provide the services that the community needs. “Basically what we’re trying to do is transform the lives of individuals. We want to provide more than ‘three hots and a cot’. We want individuals to be productive. We have been successful in doing so,” said Dickerson.
Council members voted unanimously to approve the shelter’s request for a letter of support. Dickerson says that they’ve impacted countless people, and being able to renovate the thrift store will only serve to help more. “We’ve been serving the community for 40 years. We don’t receive government funds. So, we depend solely on the support of the public,” said Dickerson.
