(March 31, 2016) A fly on the wall during the March 23 meeting of the Ocean Pines Budget and Finance Committee might have enjoyed the in-depth, behind-the-scenes glimpse at how the association and county interact – during annual budget hearings, and in general.
Committee members John Trumpower and Dennis Hudson began the session with an informal discussion about a pair of tax differential studies – one in Ocean City, and one happening at the county level. The question raised was would either study benefit Ocean Pines, which, some have suggested, is funded unfairly when compared to neighboring municipalities.
Hudson argued that the issue did not have enough visibility among Ocean Pines residents, but said a letter sent to the county, by General Manager Bob Thompson, “goes a long way in doing that.”
He went on to say the board of directors, as well as county representatives to Ocean Pines, Chip Bertino and Jim Bunting, could do a better job in bringing the differences in funding to public light.
Trumpower agreed.
“I think the appropriate pressure needs to be put on our two representatives. The only thing the county has a vast majority of is commissioners,” he said. “It comes down to where’s the money going to come from. It’s pretty simple.”
“I just think that we need to – some how, some way – get their attention,” Hudson said. “Have we not been writing this up, screaming about it for five years?”
Director Tom Terry, the board liaison to the committee, said that, yes, Ocean Pines has been sending the county requests that were in line with what Berlin, Snow Hill and Pocomoke receives for at least the last five years.
“This is the first year that it’s been put really out into the sunlight, because it was time, quite frankly. After five years, it’s enough,” he said. “In past years, some of the positioning has been, Ocean Pines charges too much for dues, so they don’t need any money. They have too much in reserves, so they don’t need any money. They’re the wealthiest community – and that’s our representatives [saying that].”
Committee Chairwoman Pat Supik said that wasn’t “the point of the discussion,” to which Terry agreed.
This year, Ocean Pines asked the county for $1.84 million in grant funding, a roughly 80 percent increase over what it had received during the last two years, which was about $1.15 million. For comparison’s sake, this year Pocomoke requested $1.53 million (a four percent increase), Snow Hill asked for $1.62 million (a 10 percent increase), and Berlin sought $1.79 million (up two percent).
Thompson said OPA President Pat Renaud and Vice President Cheryl Jacobs made the funding pitch to the county this year, on March 1 in Snow Hill.
“What happens, for those who haven’t been, basically, the municipalities are invited in to come make their budget requests, so it’s Snow Hill, Pocomoke, Berlin, Ocean City and Ocean Pines,” he said. “It doesn’t take very long, and they make their requests, but you’ve already given them the written requests.”
Thompson said the commissioners offer “very little reaction, positive or negative,” at those meetings. He said he had not spoken to Bertino or Bunting about the requests.
“To my knowledge, they haven’t followed up with any of us [and] that’s not unusual,” he said. “They’re weighing all the needs from all the county requests – it’s not just us.”
Hudson asked if the two representatives from Ocean Pines would work with the two representatives from Ocean City (resort Commissioner Joe Mitrecic and West Ocean City/Berlin Commissioner Bud Church) on the differential study, effectively giving the two communities a majority on the seven-member county board.
“Our commissioners just don’t know how to use their leverage,” he said.
“They have an eclectic approach,” Thompson said. “The differences between them may prevent them from collectively focusing.”
Trumpower said the “elephant in the room” was where additional money, given to Ocean Pines from the county, would come from.
Terry, however, said that if Ocean Pines gradually caught up to what others receive in grant funding, the impact would be minimal.
“Over these five years, the request has never been to move Ocean Pines from $98 [the current level of per-resident funding] to $198 in one year – it has always been to slowly begin to adjust this in a trend over time, so that no other community gets hurt badly in this transition,” he said. “I understand the position they’re in, but, at some point, the transition and trend needs to happen so that there’s an adjustment.”
Hudson argued that the association would never get traction with the county commissioners “unless the public knows what we know.”
“The Ocean Pines resident [needs to] know they’re a low class citizen, and they’re not getting their money,” he said. “Let them speak for themselves. I think there’s very little you’ll have to do after that.”
Supik suggested that, once the Ocean City tax differential study is published, Ocean Pines could have slightly more leverage.
“It can’t get any worse,” Hudson said.
Committee members John Trumpower and Dennis Hudson began the session with an informal discussion about a pair of tax differential studies – one in Ocean City, and one happening at the county level. The question raised was would either study benefit Ocean Pines, which, some have suggested, is funded unfairly when compared to neighboring municipalities.
Hudson argued that the issue did not have enough visibility among Ocean Pines residents, but said a letter sent to the county, by General Manager Bob Thompson, “goes a long way in doing that.”
He went on to say the board of directors, as well as county representatives to Ocean Pines, Chip Bertino and Jim Bunting, could do a better job in bringing the differences in funding to public light.
Trumpower agreed.
“I think the appropriate pressure needs to be put on our two representatives. The only thing the county has a vast majority of is commissioners,” he said. “It comes down to where’s the money going to come from. It’s pretty simple.”
“I just think that we need to – some how, some way – get their attention,” Hudson said. “Have we not been writing this up, screaming about it for five years?”
Director Tom Terry, the board liaison to the committee, said that, yes, Ocean Pines has been sending the county requests that were in line with what Berlin, Snow Hill and Pocomoke receives for at least the last five years.
“This is the first year that it’s been put really out into the sunlight, because it was time, quite frankly. After five years, it’s enough,” he said. “In past years, some of the positioning has been, Ocean Pines charges too much for dues, so they don’t need any money. They have too much in reserves, so they don’t need any money. They’re the wealthiest community – and that’s our representatives [saying that].”
Committee Chairwoman Pat Supik said that wasn’t “the point of the discussion,” to which Terry agreed.
This year, Ocean Pines asked the county for $1.84 million in grant funding, a roughly 80 percent increase over what it had received during the last two years, which was about $1.15 million. For comparison’s sake, this year Pocomoke requested $1.53 million (a four percent increase), Snow Hill asked for $1.62 million (a 10 percent increase), and Berlin sought $1.79 million (up two percent).
Thompson said OPA President Pat Renaud and Vice President Cheryl Jacobs made the funding pitch to the county this year, on March 1 in Snow Hill.
“What happens, for those who haven’t been, basically, the municipalities are invited in to come make their budget requests, so it’s Snow Hill, Pocomoke, Berlin, Ocean City and Ocean Pines,” he said. “It doesn’t take very long, and they make their requests, but you’ve already given them the written requests.”
Thompson said the commissioners offer “very little reaction, positive or negative,” at those meetings. He said he had not spoken to Bertino or Bunting about the requests.
“To my knowledge, they haven’t followed up with any of us [and] that’s not unusual,” he said. “They’re weighing all the needs from all the county requests – it’s not just us.”
Hudson asked if the two representatives from Ocean Pines would work with the two representatives from Ocean City (resort Commissioner Joe Mitrecic and West Ocean City/Berlin Commissioner Bud Church) on the differential study, effectively giving the two communities a majority on the seven-member county board.
“Our commissioners just don’t know how to use their leverage,” he said.
“They have an eclectic approach,” Thompson said. “The differences between them may prevent them from collectively focusing.”
Trumpower said the “elephant in the room” was where additional money, given to Ocean Pines from the county, would come from.
Terry, however, said that if Ocean Pines gradually caught up to what others receive in grant funding, the impact would be minimal.
“Over these five years, the request has never been to move Ocean Pines from $98 [the current level of per-resident funding] to $198 in one year – it has always been to slowly begin to adjust this in a trend over time, so that no other community gets hurt badly in this transition,” he said. “I understand the position they’re in, but, at some point, the transition and trend needs to happen so that there’s an adjustment.”
Hudson argued that the association would never get traction with the county commissioners “unless the public knows what we know.”
“The Ocean Pines resident [needs to] know they’re a low class citizen, and they’re not getting their money,” he said. “Let them speak for themselves. I think there’s very little you’ll have to do after that.”
Supik suggested that, once the Ocean City tax differential study is published, Ocean Pines could have slightly more leverage.
“It can’t get any worse,” Hudson said.