By Ally Lanasa, Staff Writer

(Oct. 29, 2020) The newly elected Berlin councilmembers were introduced to town department heads and were brought up to date on the council’s goals during a work session last Wednesday.

David Gaskill, who has been the town attorney for 14 years, gives legal advice to the mayor and council as well as Town Administrator Jeff Fleetwood, drafts ordinances and reviews contracts and leases.

JoAnn Unger, the mayor’s assistant, has also been working for the town 14 years and has assisted three mayors now.

Unger is responsible for setting the mayor’s calendar, taking calls and anything that comes into the mayor’s office.

She also supports Fleetwood and the rest of the town staff when necessary.

To request the mayor’s presence at an event, contact Unger at junger@berlinmd.gov.

“We created a new role about a year ago,” Fleetwood said. “Kelsey Jensen was hired here as an administrative assistant, and she became by title a town clerk. And then with the restructure once I assumed the town administrator role, we have not filled the administrative role. It’s kind of been absorbed by, a big chunk of it by Kelsey, but her role has changed. She now serves as the administrative manager.”

Jensen, who was employed with the town in 2016, works with open enrollment, prepares the mayor and council packets, processes payroll and handles the Public Information Act request forms for town documents. She also fulfills the human resources aspect for employees.

“I do want to get certified through SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management)  and become a certified human resources person,” she said.

Deputy Town Administrator Mary Bohlen has been with the town since 1991. She is primarily in charge of the municipal election process, but she also oversees the website and the parks commission, handles CodeRED and conducts some grant administration.

“I was a big part of having the town code recodified,” she added. It had been in the same format for many, many years.”

Bohlen also encouraged the new councilmembers to ask questions.

“You’re probably very slowly realizing there’s a lot more to this than maybe you had thought,” Bohlen said. “Just ask questions, please, for all of us.”

Fleetwood followed by informing the councilmembers that Gaskill, Unger, Jensen and Bohlen do not have subordinates.

Finance Director Natalie Saleh oversees five employees in the finance department: Senior Accountant Rondell Wise, Fiscal Specialist Shirley White, Utility Billing Supervisor Melissa Coffey, Customer Service Supervisor Michelle Townsend and Customer Service Representative Blakely Shord.

Currently, Shord is on maternity leave.

“We work closely with each department individual, and of course, trying to assist everybody as needed with any questions, processing the checks weekly … accepting all the payments downstairs, reading the meters, but I can give you all the details later,” Saleh said.

She added that the financial statements have been clean and compliant according to an independent auditor’s report for the past five years.

Saleh’s goal is to receive an award for the town’s balanced budget.

“Also, we have implemented a big brain, Tyler software, I believe five years ago,” Saleh said. “It’s unlimited opportunities for expansion, so I would like to keep going and growing with the software.”

Arnold Downing, who has worked for the town for 29 years with 18 of those years serving as police chief, said the Berlin Police Department is staffed with 14 officers when it is at full capacity.

He added that the once small department had to grow as a result of the hospital, schools and medical offices developing in town.

Currently, the primary issue the local police department faces is the same problem faced by police departments across the country — recruiting new officers.

“The climate of the world, of the country definitely makes that job more difficult,” he said.

Of the recent seven hires, Downing said five of those officers took pay cuts to come to Berlin.

“We have to go ahead and sell ourselves. We have to go ahead and sell the town,” he said.

To attract officers to Berlin rather than Ocean City, Downing added that he offers flexible schedules and educational opportunities to his recruits.

As for retention, Downing stressed that the town needs to offer competitive salaries to prevent losing officers to larger police departments.

“A police department means nothing if you don’t have anybody in it and you don’t have the equipment to do the job,” Downing said.

Downing also reminded the elected officials and residents watching the livestream that the police department station was purchased with the town’s share of casino revenues, not taxes.

He then brought up capital spending, which has been decreased in recent years. He said if vehicles and equipment are not regularly replaced, they will have to be replaced all at once, resulting in a large expense for the town.

“We’re going to have to catch up,” he said.

In addition, Downing encouraged better direct communication between elected officials and town staff.

“If you have a question or concern, I shouldn’t hear it from the dais,” he said. “I should hear it at three o’clock in the afternoon when it becomes an issue.”

Downing added that if officials approached him when a concern arises, he will be more capable of addressing it immediately or prepared to do any necessary research.

“If you go ahead and surprise me here [in council chambers], it’s not going to be good,” he said. “If you surprise anyone else, it’s not going to be good. Because the answer’s not going to be something that you want to hear all the time … if it’s a true concern, we wouldn’t wait two weeks to address it.”

Dave Wheaton, the superintendent of the public works and trash department, said his goals include continuing repair on facilities and buildings, implementing better equipment and providing more services for the citizens of Berlin.

Planning Director Dave Engelhart encouraged officials to be transparent with constituents about their limited knowledge.

“If I don’t know it, my favorite thing to say is, ‘I don’t know, but I will get back to you,’” he said. “Please do the same. If you have questions or constituents asking you in your districts or anywhere, on the street [or] on the phone, get in touch with me, and we’ll try to get them a clear answer.”

Engelhart added that his goal is to continue with any permitting or building residentially or commercially for the best interest of the town.

Directors of the town’s electric and water resources departments invited officials to tour their facilities to gain a better understanding of the town’s infrastructure. Tim Lawrence, the electric utility director, said he was hired in 2010 to increase the reliability of electric in town and lower the rates. With the addition of a natural gas engine at the town’s power plant on William Street, Lawrence hopes to replace the other diesel engines that are down to natural gas in the coming years.

“They burn cleaner, they’re better on the environment and each one of [those] engines will save the town about $200,000 a year,” Lawrence added.

The water resources department, like the electric department, does a lot of underground work.

“My most important goal is every employee goes home safely to their families,” said Jamey Latchum, the town’s stormwater and wastewater superintendent.

The town’s water resources department operates the largest spray irrigation system in Maryland.

“It would really be beneficial if you see the town’s infrastructure and what we do [on a] day to day basis,” said Latchum, who began working for Berlin in 2000 and was promoted about a year and a half ago.

Ivy Wells, the town’s economic and community development director, is located at the Berlin Welcome Center on South Main Street.

“To me, it’s not just a job. I live here. Berlin is my home. I’m a taxpayer,” Wells said. “So, everything that I do in my job actually affects myself and my friends and neighbors and everyone who lives here.”

Wells, who began in 2014, is responsible for finding grants, keeping commercial spaces occupied and promoting Berlin as a travel destination.

“Since I’ve been here in the last six years, I’ve helped 35 businesses open, and that’s just the downtown area,” she said.

Wells also helped enhance the town’s social media and search engine presence.

“I think social media became the new town square,” she said.

The new councilmembers thanked the town staff for the insight to the town’s functions.

“I’m very excited for the new responsibilities and opportunity here as a newly elected councilmember,” said District 2 Councilmember Jack Orris. “We’re all in this together to serve the residents and the people of Berlin.”

At-Large Councilmember Jay Knerr added that he was inspired by the teamwork he saw among the town staff.

“This is one outstanding team. The town is very fortunate to have all of you as part of the staff here,” he said. “I look forward to working with you.”

District 3 Councilmember Shaneka Nichols said she was trying to absorb as much information about the municipality as she could to serve her constituents well in her new role.

“Knowledge is power as far as I’m concerned,” Nichols said.

Tyndall, who has served on the council for the last four years, said he benefited from visiting the town’s facilities, especially when it came time to evaluate budgets.

“Yes, you run in a district, but once you’re elected, you represent the whole town,” he added. “The decisions you make affect people that live in all the districts. Take some time, learn from one another, spend some time in different districts and just have fun with it.”