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Wicomico County · County Council · 2026-06-16
Recap With Transcript
This page was drafted automatically from the meeting recording or transcript and has not been reviewed by a human editor. Names in particular can be transcribed wrongly. The linked recording and transcript are the record — not this summary.
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The Wicomico County Council spent a short legislative session clearing routine business — airport grants, a water and sewer plan amendment, budget fixes, a banking contract and three Police Accountability Board appointments — and then spent nearly an hour on a single item: the internal auditor's report that she could not complete an audit of county grants because the records she requested were never produced. Council members described a year's worth of unanswered document requests, debated whether to subpoena the records or refer the matter to the state, and ultimately voted to put the failed audit on the public record while scheduling a work session with the executive branch to sort out what went wrong.
Public comment included the county executive's handling of the audit, AI data centers, the Hickory Mill biorefinery stop-work order, a Las Vegas retail conference trip, and a social media photo. The council's attorney read a prepared legal opinion on the publicized dispute between the county executive and the sheriff, saying the council's available inquiry was limited to whether county equipment was used and describing the legal steps that would require. Afterward, an open work session covered a detailed public works update — landfill cell seven, dredging, and the comprehensive water and sewer plan — and a visit from the Maryland Association of Counties warning of a state budget problem that could reach $4 billion next year.
Council moved quickly through the front half of the agenda. All three public hearings drew no public testimony. Resolution 106-2026 redesignated the Pohanka Kia dealership on North Salisbury Boulevard from "no planned service" to water and sewer service by the City of Salisbury. Resolution 107-2026 authorized applying for and accepting an FAA airport infrastructure grant of up to $1,300,000 for the runway extension project and amended the FY26 capital budget; Resolution 108-2026 did the same for a $31,000 state aviation grant. Each passed unanimously, as did the Everside Health work order amendment and the Cooper Road surplus declaration. The charter amendment resolution also passed; the official resolution records adoption but does not provide a roll-call tally.
Two budget amendments reflected state costs landing on the county. Resolution 111-2026 increased the Board of Education pre-K fund to cover an outstanding FY26 bill owed to the state for private pre-K. Resolution 112-2026 appropriated roughly $286,706 to the state's attorney's special prosecution fund to pay the state for an erroneous conviction. The finance director told council that a push by MACo and others to change the law failed in the most recent General Assembly session, that Wicomico and Baltimore City are the first two jurisdictions hit, and that the bill is due at the end of June. She said fund balance covers it and that she was aware of no other pending case in Wicomico.
Council also confirmed three appointments to the Police Accountability Board — Stephen Feliciano, Jennifer West and Kendall Timmons — all unanimously. Councilman Joe Holloway asked how vacancies are advertised, and Councilman Josh Hastings said residents had told him they did not know when appointments were coming up and that some applicants had waited about a year. Staff said candidates must be vetted, including record checks, and that some applicants had been disqualified.
The grants audit consumed the rest of the legislative session (see below). During public comment, five residents spoke on the audit, data centers, the Hickory Mill biorefinery, county travel, and the county executive's conduct. The council's attorney then read a prepared opinion on the publicized dispute between the county executive and Sheriff Lewis, and several council members used their closing comments to say the episode had embarrassed the county.
In the work session, the deputy director of public works gave a long quarterly update: a new community litter program coordinator position starting July 1, the landfill cell seven construction schedule, the dredging catch-up at Sharps Point, and the comprehensive water and sewer plan rewrite, joined by Planning Director Tracy Taylor. The Maryland Association of Counties then briefed council on the 2026 session and the state's finances.
The county's internal auditor told council she had attempted an audit of grant management — evaluating controls over how grant money is used, tracked and reported — but could not reach a conclusion or make recommendations because she never received the supporting documents she asked for. She said she requested the same set of support documents for 52 account lines (combinations of organization, object and project codes in the county's Munis system) in a request dated June 9, 2025, followed up in January 2026, and received none of them. She also reported that, apart from the accounts on the list management provided, there appeared to be 311 accounts with matching object codes carrying a combined revised budget of $33,245,281.66 that were not on the list she was given. She cautioned that budgeted is not the same as spent, and that some of it may involve encumbrances rather than grants.
Her reading of management's written response was that the county considered her requests deficient because senior finance staff were not copied — even though, she said, she had been told at the entrance conference to route requests through the grants administrator rather than individual departments. The chair of the county's audit committee submitted a letter dated June 9, 2026 criticizing management's responses to audit reports; one passage read aloud argued that if finance senior management had to be included in every audit touching money, "all audits would be stalled for eternity." The auditor said she was willing to accept blame for any miscommunication if it produced the documents, and that she has begun recording entrance and exit meetings.
Council reaction was uniformly frustrated but split on remedy. Councilman James Winn first suggested a closed session; Holloway and Council President John T. Cannon objected that this was not a personnel matter and should be handled in the open. Vice-President Jeff Merritt said he wanted the matter resolved by the last meeting in November, "however that has to happen," including by subpoena. Holloway pressed for sending both this audit and the earlier purchase card audit to the Maryland Office of Legislative Audits, saying the council did nothing after the prior gift card matter. Hastings countered that the state would likely want a specific allegation rather than an absence of records, and suggested first requesting copies of the grant reports the county must already file with state and federal grantors — a point Councilwoman Shanie Shields raised as well. Cannon said he preferred a separate work session on each audit, with a forensic audit also on the table, and cautioned members against sending anything to the state on county letterhead without council action. Shields also rejected management's suggestion of personal bias, noting the auditor did not know anyone in county government when she was hired.
A District 2 resident distributed research urging the county to adopt data center legislation before proposals arrive, citing Harford County as the first Maryland county to prohibit them and Montgomery County's moratorium. He said a single medium-sized data center can use as much electricity as 100,000 homes — more than double the number of homes in Wicomico — and that construction jobs largely disappear once a facility opens. A District 7 resident echoed the request and suggested a fall charter amendment adding "guardrails" for when the council encounters obstruction; he also reported that more than 110 special needs athletes finished the Wicomico Challenger League season at the Henry Parker Complex.
A resident speaking on the Hickory Mill biorefinery made three requests: that inspections resume to confirm the existing stop-work order is being followed, that council pass emergency legislation establishing zoning rules for waste-to-energy projects, and that Maryland Department of Agriculture representatives be brought to a public town hall. She said MDA is helping the project's developer find a new site, pointed to a county letter of support issued in April to a similar project, and alleged the grantee failed to meet grant requirements, submitted inaccurate zoning information, built using funding tied to an expired air quality permit, and had property listed for tax sale.
The president of the Wicomico County NAACP said audits are normal and welcome in any organization she has served, questioned county tax dollars being used to join a federal immigration lawsuit, renewed a call for a third-party salary study, and said the Police Accountability Board still lacks a coordinator despite qualified applicants. Another resident criticized the county executive and two administration directors attending a retail conference in Las Vegas as a poor use of taxpayer money given that retail growth follows other sectors, and asked council to review security in the council chambers after the executive posted a photo holding an AR-15.
The council's attorney read a prepared opinion based on the two publicly posted letters. The county executive's letter alleged a sheriff's deputy showed or distributed nude photos of her and asked for a revenge porn investigation; the sheriff's response said he had been shown the photos privately by a deputy and warned that any investigation would require review of the executive's personal and county phones. The attorney said sending nude images to a consenting adult is likely not a crime in Maryland, that revenge porn requires distribution with intent to harm and a reasonable expectation of privacy, and that the only inquiry the council could authorize would be whether county equipment was used — which would require a subpoena, a forensic expert, and likely a lawsuit to enforce. Censure under the charter requires repeated substantial charter violations; forfeiture of office requires a felony or moral turpitude conviction. Neither threshold, he said, is met. Holloway said he had hoped council would stay out of it; Merritt said the news would make it harder to recruit businesses and families and to fight for the county in Annapolis.
The deputy director of public works reported that cell seven construction is on schedule: Allan Myers was awarded the contract in February 2026 at $5.5 million against roughly $10 million budgeted, with substantial completion due August 17 and final completion October 1. Dynamic compaction of the cell floor began May 29 and runs four to six weeks. A waste excavation of 19,000 tons — about two months of the landfill's intake — was finished in nine days, avoiding an anticipated million gallons of leachate hauling, and two on-site stockpiles passed geotechnical testing, cutting imported fill costs. Cell seven adds 1.6 million cubic yards and about five and a half to six years of capacity; horizontal expansion across Brick Kiln Road carries $8 million in the 2029 capital plan. Councilman David Ennis pressed on whether skipping the power line relocation, once estimated at $14 million, will cost more later; staff said yes in theory, and that the county will never reach the site's full 60-year potential without closing the road.
On dredging, contractors have removed enough material that the county reported 372,000 cubic yards of capacity against the 300,000 the Army Corps of Engineers required before committing to dredge, with a current Sharps Point phase about half complete and due July 25. The county has applied for roughly $12 million through the Roots to Resilience program to move toward immediate beneficial reuse of dredge material for marsh restoration, working with Ducks Unlimited, the Nature Conservancy, US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Maryland Port Administration. Taylor described a comprehensive water and sewer plan update to run in tandem with the county comprehensive plan, both targeted for 2027, with new maps gridding the entire county and an effort to shrink Wicomico's priority funding area "comment areas," reportedly the largest in the state.
The Maryland Association of Counties delegation told council the state is facing a general fund gap of about $2.5 billion that could grow toward $4 billion, with revenue growth running under one percent. Their warning to counties was that the state's usual solution is to keep the service and invoice the county — pointing to the erroneous conviction bill the council had just paid that morning as an example. They also said MACo opposed a data center planning bill (HB 1411) as an intrusion on local land use authority, and expects the state to set data center standards before counties do.
Amended the 2010 Wicomico County comprehensive water and sewer plan to redesignate the Pohanka Automotive Group Kia dealership on North Salisbury Boulevard from W6S6 (no planned service) to W1S1, to be served by the City of Salisbury. No one spoke at the public hearing. Passed unanimously.
Authorized the county executive to apply for and accept an FAA airport infrastructure grant of up to $1,300,000 and a Maryland Aviation Administration grant of $31,000, both supporting the airport runway extension project, and amended the FY26 capital budget accordingly. Neither hearing drew public comment. Both passed unanimously.
Authorized the county executive to execute an amendment to the work order agreement with Everside Health LLC. Passed unanimously with no discussion.
Declared 4980 Cooper Road in Eden surplus property and set out its disposition. Council had held a work session on May 19 and a public hearing on June 2. Public works later described the parcel as an older river dredge site no longer useful to the county. Passed unanimously.
Proposed amendments to various sections of the Wicomico County Charter, following a June 2 work session. Passed. The transcript did not describe the substance of the amendments.
Amended the FY26 budget to increase the Board of Education pre-K fund to pay an outstanding FY26 amount owed to the state of Maryland for private pre-K funding. Cannon remarked that the state is steadily passing financial responsibilities down to the local level. Passed unanimously.
Amended the FY26 budget to add roughly $286,706 to the state's attorney's special prosecution fund to pay the state for an erroneous conviction. The finance director said legislation to change the requirement failed this session, that Wicomico and Baltimore City are the first two counties billed, that payment is due at the end of June, and that fund balance covers it. Passed unanimously.
Approved a contract for banking and purchase card services with J.P. Morgan Chase Bank. Passed unanimously with no discussion.
Confirmed the appointments of Stephen Feliciano, Jennifer West and Kendall Timmons to the Wicomico County Police Accountability Board, all unanimously. Holloway asked how openings are advertised; Hastings relayed complaints that the appointment process has taken close to a year and asked the administration to help publicize vacancies. Staff cited required background vetting, which has disqualified some applicants.
Acknowledged the grants audit report, which the internal auditor said she could not complete because she received none of the supporting documents she requested for 52 account lines, first asked for in June 2025. She also flagged 311 accounts totaling $33,245,281.66 in revised budget that were not on the grant list provided to her. After at least two initial no votes were rescinded, the resolution passed unanimously so the failed audit would be on the public record.
Residents urged the county to adopt data center legislation before proposals arrive, asked for resumed inspections and emergency waste-to-energy zoning rules tied to the Hickory Mill biorefinery stop-work order, questioned a Las Vegas retail conference trip by the county executive and two administration directors, raised the still-vacant Police Accountability Board coordinator position, and asked council to review chamber security after the county executive posted a photo holding an AR-15.
The council's attorney read a prepared opinion concluding that the allegations exchanged between the county executive and the sheriff do not meet Maryland's elements for revenge porn on the facts available, that the only inquiry within council's authority would be whether county equipment was used, and that doing so would require a subpoena, a forensic expert and probably litigation. He said the conduct alleged does not rise to censure or forfeiture under the charter.
Public works reported cell seven on schedule for October 1 completion at a $5.5 million contract price against roughly $10 million budgeted, a 19,000-ton waste excavation finished in nine days, dredging capacity at 372,000 cubic yards against the Army Corps' 300,000-yard threshold, a $12 million Roots to Resilience grant application for marsh restoration reuse of dredge spoil, and a new community litter program coordinator starting July 1. Planning Director Tracy Taylor described the comprehensive water and sewer plan and comprehensive plan updates, both targeted for 2027, and an effort to reduce the county's priority funding area comment areas.
MACo's executive director and its president briefed council on the 2026 session and warned of a state general fund gap of about $2.5 billion that could approach $4 billion next year, with state revenue growth under one percent. They said the state's pattern is to shift costs to counties, cited the erroneous conviction bill the council had just paid, noted MACo's opposition to a data center planning bill as an intrusion on local land use authority, and described a new law meant to keep juveniles out of local jails.
audit transparency solid waste dredging water and sewer data centers state policy police accountability
Based on the auto-generated transcript of the June 16, 2026 Wicomico County Council meeting, as archived by PAC 14. Personal names are rendered inconsistently in that transcript; anything that could not be matched to a known official is given by role instead.