Wicomico County Council votes to move forward appeal on hiring decision

SALISBURY, MD – The Wicomico County Council has voted to move forward with action allowing the chamber to file an appeal of a decision that found County Executive Julie Giordano abided by the county charter in her hiring of Mathew Leitzel for the Assistant Director of Administration.

The decision is the latest in a protracted legal battle between the County Council and the County Executive over the authority to create and appoint employees to positions within the county government.

County Executive Giordano tells 47ABC she is left frustrated by the decision, believing both her office and the County Council had agreed to not appeal and to abide by the decision of the Wicomico County Judge.

Giordano tells 47ABC she believes the process to hear the appeal could take months and says she believes resources could be better spent.

“You have a council who is talking about being so fiscally responsible, saying that we might not be able to find capital improvement projects, we might not be able to put the money back in the community, and then behind closed doors, you make the decision to do an appeal, so you’d rather spend the money on legal rather than putting it back in the community,” Giordano said.

Giordano tells us that Lietzel will remain employed with the county during the duration of the appeal.