Maryland Association of Counties begins annual summer conference
OCEAN CITY, Md. – Wednesday marked the opening of the Maryland Association of Counties’ annual summer conference. Held at the Roland Powell Convention Center in Ocean City, it draws thousands of community leaders and elected officials.
Wicomico County Council President John Cannon said he’s entering the conference with an open mind. “You learn from professionals and other officials from other counties as to how they run their counties and how you can possibly improve on your own operations…It gives you an opportunity just to see exactly what they’re dealing with and how they’re solving their problems”
It’s about finding common ground with those leaders who might not be your geographical neighbor, according to State Senator Mary Beth Carozza: “I have the opportunity to interact with the elected county officials, not only from the three counties that I represent, but across the state. And many of these issues impact statewide.”
Senator Carozza thinks this conference will provide the opportunity to have candid conversations with other officials about balancing issues of budget with local priorities.
“When you think about all the challenges that we’re facing as a state, number one, we’re going to have to face our budget challenges head on…I do not believe that we should abandon other priorities that we have at the local level in order to fund these statewide mandates.”
Whether it’s about environment, education, energy, or beyond, Senator Carozza made it very clear how she wants to steer these conversations with county and state officials.
“We’re really promoting local flexibility and local authority, I want to make sure our local governments who are on the front lines have that authority, that local authority and flexibility they need to serve our shared constituents,” she said.
One of the local issues that Senator Carozza emphasized was the ongoing offshore wind situation. With state elected officials like the Governor Wes Moore and Comptroller Brooke Lierman planning on attending the conference, said it’s the perfect opportunity for them to “understand the depth and variety of the opposition to the offshore wind industrialization.”
