By Greg Bassett

OCEAN CITY, Md. — Dover Mayor Robin Christiansen brought along a dose of humor to make some serious points at the annual Mayors of Delmarva Forum, held Thursday in Ocean City.

“I’m from the government and I’m here to help,” announced Mayor Christiansen, citing what Ronald Regan called “the nine most terrifying words in the English language.”

When the crowd at the Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce event laughed in response, Mayor Christiansen reacted with deadpan: “I don’t know why people laugh whenever I say that.”

But now that he had the attendees’ attention, Mayor Christiansen proceeded to make clear that he and his fellow Dover leaders respected their roles in helping others.

Dover’s mayor said city staffing – especially in the police department – was his biggest hurdle. That sentiment was nearly identically shared by the mayors of Salisbury, Cambridge and Rehoboth Beach.

Mayor Christiansen said he has multiple unions with which to negotiate, coming up through fiscal 2025, and that will complicate city payroll spending.

“I have 32 civilian positions that I cannot fill. We try but no one wants to work,” Mayor Christiansen said.

“In my police department, I’m budgeted for 111 (officers), but we’re down to 99. We can’t recruit for the police department because no one wants to be a police officer anymore – I’m bleeding out. People are retiring, getting their pensions and leaving.”

The most common problems shared by the seven mayors who appeared at the Cambria Hotel event were police staffing, cost inflation for city supplies and a spike in juvenile crime.

Sea level rise was also identified as an escalating problem in Crisfield, Cambridge, Salisbury and Ocean City, Maryland.

The mayors said that while most of the juvenile crime is petty, it has become more brazen than in past years, and keeps officers unduly occupied.

Mayor Christiansen said that, as mayor, he is in charge of economic development in the state capital. He touted the area’s recent addition of 150 jobs at Texas-based U.S. Corrugated, a 457,500-square-foot manufacturing plant on New Burton Road.

Mayor Christiansen said, among other things, the $80 million plant produces the boxes used to hold McDonald’s restaurant products.

“So the next time you have a Happy Meal,” said Mayor Christiansen, “thank Dover.”

He said Dover Air Force Base remains the single-biggest economic driver in Dover, pumping more than $60 million annually into the economy.