By Greg Ellison

(March 11, 2021) Worcester County municipalities Pocomoke, Berlin and Snow Hill, along with Ocean Pines, presented FY22 budget requests to the county commissioners last Tuesday.

Ocean Pines

OPA President Larry Perrone gave a brief overview of the homeowners association’s expenditures dependent upon county funding, which totaled roughly $1.45 million in FY21. He requested an increase to $1.69 million for FY22.

Perrone said the bulk of funding is dedicated for public safety purposes.

Perrone said the community’s emergency responders lent aid to regional partners 332 times, in addition to answering their own calls.

“Our fire and EMS services last year were involved in 13,193 service calls,” he said.

Ocean Pines’ request for FY22 funding for fire and EMS service remains unchanged from last year at approximately $217,000.

Also essentially unchanged from FY21 is the roughly $33,000 state funding sought in FY22 for the Ocean Pines Volunteer Fire Department.

By contrast, Ocean Pines’ request for police funding in FY22 is $525,000, which reflects a $50,000 increase from the $475,000 received during the current fiscal year.

Additional money is also being sought for the association to stage an Independence Day celebration, with the $10,000 tally Worcester budgeted in FY21 bumped up to $25,000 for FY22.

Additionally, Perrone said a $40,000 grant is needed to help fund the Ocean Pines Recreation and Parks Department.

“Tourism, as we all know, is the economic driver for the county and it is for Ocean Pines,” he said.

Highlighting significant advertising expenditures by the association last year, Perrone said financial backing from the county during FY22 would offset costs to publicize recreation and parks programs, as well as other Pines amenities.

“We spent $30,000 for our local papers,” he said. “We also spent $12,000 for Google and Facebook targeted ads.”

Perrone also noted $31,000 was sunk into targeted advertising to promote the Ocean Pines Golf Course.

Other Ocean Pines FY22 requests not incorporated in the FY21 budget includes $150,000 to repair roads and bridges.

Snow Hill

Town Manager Gary Weber said the total county funding requested for FY22 is $2.1 million, reflecting a slight increase over the $1.83 million awarded for FY21.

The bulk of the increase is tied to a $200,000 grant to perform repairs on the Snow Hill Wastewater Treatment Plant following a roughly 500,000-gallon overflow of untreated effluent on Feb. 16.

“This was a result of high water tables and higher rainfall coupled with the inflow and infiltration issues that come with an antiquated wastewater infrastructure,” he said.

Weber said the treatment plant repairs are needed immediately, with the town first looking to finance a GPS mapping process to identify precise locations of fissures.

“This project will not only greatly impact the inflow and infiltration problem, it will also eliminate the leaching of sewage in the wetlands that drain into the river,” he said.

Additionally, Snow Hill seeks a $35,000 increase to its unrestricted county grant, which totaled $465,000 in FY21 with $500,000 sought for FY22.

“This money will help fund transportation initiatives for our children to and from the rec center on Saturdays and throughout the summer,” he said.

Berlin

Mayor Zack Tyndall said the towns FY22 funding request is just over $2.3 million, up slightly from the $2.1 million Worcester budgeted for FY21.

Tyndall said most of the money would be dedicated to public safety, including police, fire and EMS service.

Berlin Mayor Zack Tyndall

Although the unrestricted grant request from Berlin for FY22 was identical to the $465,000 sum approved last year, the town seeks another roughly $52,000 for three proposals.

Reflecting an overall 11 percent bump over the prior budget year, the total includes just over $39,000 for the first phase of a Rails-To-Trails project that would connect Snow Hill and Berlin through a passive-use recreation pathway.

Tyndall said the project would make use of easements alongside railroad tracks to provide biking and hiking routes.

The project support request would be used as matching funds for a Maryland Department of Transportation grant.

Other new funding sought includes $5,000 for a July 4 celebration and $7,500 to fund a feasibility study for a Flower Street Community Center.

“There’s a demand for that ,” he said. “There’s been discussion in the community for a very long time.”

Pocomoke City

Pocomoke City Mayor Jeremy Mason said the total FY22 funding request from the county is about $1.66 million, which is up about $48,000 from the $1.61 million approved for FY21.

Remaining unchanged from FY21 is a $465,000 unrestricted grant request.

Mason said Pocomoke seeks new funding of just over $32,000 from Ocean Downs Casino table game revenues paid by the state to Worcester.