Basehart: Council-executive government: How did it happen?

SALISBURY — Before examining the question posed above, it is important to recognize that Wicomico County is one of four Eastern Shore counties classified as a Charter Home Rule County. Others on the Eastern Shore are Cecil, Dorchester, and Talbot. These counties have extensive local legislative power and a written charter, similar to a constitution, that defines the government’s organization, powers, and procedures. The charter must be approved by the county’s voters. Wicomico was the fifth home rule county in Maryland, adopting its charter in 1964.

In terms of government structure, charter counties are either Council-Manager or Council-Executive. Here’s a brief description of each.
Council-Manager – council members are elected by voters for four-year terms from single-member or at-large districts. The council has legislative and executive functions, selects one of its members as president, and hires a professional manager who is responsible to the council for the administration of day-to-day operations of the county government. Dorchester and Talbot counties fit this pattern.

Council-Executive – council members and the executive are elected by the voters. The executive has responsibility for the administration and operations of the executive branch. The council has the legislative function enacting local legislation, but shares some executive functions such as confirming appointment of department heads and approving the budget. Cecil and Wicomico counties have the council-executive model.

Now, to the how. Between 1999 and 2004, six years of political turmoil and change occurred in Wicomico County. It still affects the county’s citizens today and will continue to do so in the future. The central actors were the County Council, Charter Review Committees, VOICE, and the Coalition for Wicomico’s Future. The main issues were the revenue cap, transfer tax, and the structure of county government.

It all started when a Republican controlled council (4 Republicans, 3 Democrats) in 1999 faced rising expenditures caused by inflation, infrastructure repairs, and needed adjustments in salaries of teachers and other county employees. After several years of no tax increases, the council responded by adopting two major changes: an unprecedented increase in the property tax rate of 20.4 percent (46 cents) and a one percent transfer tax on the sale of real estate property, with the transfer tax dedicated to fund school construction. The property tax rate, which drew the most attention, jumped to $2.71 per $100 of assessed property valuation, placing Wicomico fourth highest among Maryland counties. To stop further increases, opponents formed VOICE (Voters Opposing Increased County/City Expenditures). VOICE’s position was that the County Council had “violated the trust and confidence of its citizens in regards to trying to maintain good conservative fiscal policy.” The Coalition for Wicomico’s Future supported the Council’s tax changes, stating that citizens should “care about the future, not just how much they have in their wallets today.”

VOICE quickly developed a grass-roots strategy using the initiative to limit future property tax increases and a referendum to repeal the transfer tax, both procedures were outlined in the County Charter. The minimum number of petition signatures required to place these questions on the ballot was exceeded and both were before the voters in the November 7, 2000 General Election.

Voter turnout was extraordinarily high, 75% of 42,528 registered voters. “Question A, Property Tax Limitation,” passed with 19,854 (65%) for and 10,551 (35%) against. “Question B, Transfer Tax Referendum,” rejected the transfer tax with 13,584 (45%) for and against 16,530 (55%).
It is important to note in September 2000, the County Council appointed a Charter Review Committee that held public meetings from October 2000 thru April 2001. The focus was the “operation of county government under the present charter.” The final report, presented to the council August 21, 2001 contained numerous changes and recommended creating the Executive-Council structure. After review, the council separated the recommendations into two ballot questions for the 2002 election. Question A – County Council Bill No. 2002-7 contained a number of charter amendments, however, the council approved only a non-binding “straw vote” on Question B – County Council Resolution No. 543. This question asked voters to indicate their preference between the current one branch system and a “two branch system where an Elected Executive Officer would have exclusive executive functions and the County Council would have exclusive legislative functions.” Both were approved by the voters. Question A – 11,622 (59%) for and 7,950 (41%) against. Question B – 11,359 (52%) for and 10,284 (48%) against. Also, party control of the council shifted from the Republicans to the Democrats with the election of four Democrats and three Republicans.

The elected executive discussion moved center stage. The new County Council reconvened the Charter Review Committee of 2000 in March 2003 and charged the committee to draft a revised Charter for a Council-Executive form of government. The Council made revisions to the committee’s rewrite of the Charter and in August voted 5-0 to submit the proposal to the citizens at the 2004 general election.

Over the next three months, discussion was intense. News stories, letters to the editor, and opinion pieces appeared on a regular basis in The Daily Times. The Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore supported the Institute for Public Affairs and Civic Engagement at Salisbury University in basic research, hosting a Town Hall meeting, and preparing a Voter’s Guide published in The Daily Times. Through PAC-14 the Town Hall was available to all in the county. The Institute for Governmental Service and Research at the University of Maryland prepared a valuable objective analysis of the proposed changes. Pro and con arguments went back and forth. Election Day, November 2, 2004,

Wicomico voters went to the polls and Question A was approved with 19,506 (58%) for and 14,136 (42%) against. Voter turnout was an impressive 77%.
And here we are, 20 years later, a few weeks before the November 5, 2024 general election, with a question on the ballot that would return Wicomico County to the Council-Manager form of government. What goes around, comes around!

On the November ballot, the Charter Revision is labeled Question A.
A vote “For the Charter Amendment” is to change to the County Council form of government. A vote “Against the Charter Amendment” is to keep the Elected Executive form of government.