Carroll County Commissioners Open Session – February 19, 2026
Carroll County Commissioners Open Session – February 19, 2026
The Board of Carroll County Commissioners met on Thursday, February 19, 2026, for their regular open session. The meeting included commissioner comments, a legislative update, a presentation from the Police Accountability Board (PAB) and Administrative Charging Committee (ACC), a public hearing on a proposed temporary deferral of data processing centers, and several contract awards and approvals. The board also received briefings on the second-quarter FY26 budget, the FY25 Concurrency Management Report, and the FY27 Consolidated Transportation Plan (CTP) priority letter.
Commissioner Comments
- Commissioner Vigliotti reported visiting Glenwood School (a nonprofit serving students with learning differences) and H&S Bakery. He also met with Friends of Robert Moton about a museum project involving drafting students.
- Commissioner Guerin highlighted a book on school outcomes, "Failure Factory," and emphasized the importance of outcomes over funding.
- Commissioner Gordon noted a meeting with MAGIC (Mid-Atlantic Gigabit Innovation Collaboratory) and recognized National School Resource Officer Appreciation Day (Feb. 15).
- Commissioner Kiler discussed joint ESAC meetings, solar energy issues, wrestling state championships, and concerns about the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future education plan.
- Commissioner Vigliotti also noted that recent state legislation regarding immigration enforcement does not affect the Sheriff’s Office.
Legislative Update
- Legislative Liaison Pam Meister reported that most bills have been introduced. She highlighted several bills: Senate Bill 75 (grocery store liquor licenses), a Sunday deer hunting bill for Carroll County, and the unpaid property tax bill that passed committee favorably. The county sent letters supporting Shamrock Farms enabling legislation and the alcohol bill.
- Commissioner Kiler raised concerns about the middle housing bill and the need for the state to support infrastructure and school construction. The board discussed the importance of opposing the Silver and Starter Homes bills and supporting the Building Affordability in My Backyard (BAMBY) bill.
Police Accountability Board (PAB) and Administrative Charging Committee (ACC) End-of-Year Report
- PAB Chair Bill Wade and ACC Chair Tom Beyard presented the 2025 report. Key statistics: 83,867 total police interactions (calls for service and traffic stops) in 2025, 51 complaints filed (less than 0.1%), 4 officers charged with misconduct, and 1 recommendation for dismissal. The most common complaint category was professionalism (rudeness).
- The board discussed challenges with two-year terms due to required 40-hour state training. They proposed extending terms to three years and staggering appointments to maintain institutional knowledge. The board voted unanimously to adopt the change to three-year terms (motion by Commissioner Kiler, second by Commissioner Krebs).
- Other recommendations: annual presentation to commissioners, public outreach (booth at Fall Fest, civic group presentations), and a website comment button for non-complaint feedback. The board also discussed the need for expungement of frivolous complaints from officers’ records.
Public Hearing: Proposed Temporary Deferral of Data Processing Centers
- County Attorney Tim Burke explained that data processing centers are not currently addressed in the zoning ordinance. The proposed deferral would halt acceptance and processing of applications for eight months to study impacts on water, energy, noise, and neighboring uses.
- No public comment was received. The board discussed extending the deferral to one year to allow thorough study and to align with potential state regulations. The motion to approve a one-year deferral passed unanimously (motion by Commissioner Kiler, second by Commissioner Krebs).
Contract Renewal – Cohort Instructional Program at Carroll Community College
- Kristy Bixler (Human Resources) requested approval to renew the contract with Carroll Community College for $50,000 to fund the Sheriff’s Training Academy Police Entry Level Training (PELT) program for up to 30 students. Since 2019, over 215 participants have earned an A.A.S. in Law Enforcement. The motion passed unanimously.
Budget Update – 2nd Quarter FY26
- Budget Director Ted Zaleski reported that property tax revenues are on track, income tax is exceeding projections, and recordation tax is slightly above expectations. Expenditure challenges include a $350,000 increase from recent holiday pay changes and higher overtime and inmate population costs at the Sheriff’s Office. Savings in Public Works from open positions and lower fuel costs. The update was for informational purposes only.
Contract Award – 2026 Pipe Culvert Repairs/Replacements
- Public Works Director Bryan Bokey recommended awarding the contract to Stambaugh’s Inc. in the amount of $867,205. The project covers 28 sites on 10 roadways. Only one responsive bid was received, but it was within 1.3% of the engineer’s estimate. The motion passed unanimously.
Approval of Increase to Term Contract Project Limit for Skilled Trades and Professional Services
- Comptroller Jennifer Hobbs and Procurement Manager Carrie Dulski requested raising the internal project limit from $150,000 to $300,000 due to inflation and market conditions. Projects over $50,000 will still require board approval. The new term contracts will be for three years with up to seven vendors. The motion passed unanimously.
Briefing – Concurrency Management Report, Fiscal Year 2025
- Planning Director Christopher Heyn and Development Review Manager Laura Matyas presented the annual report. For FY25, the county approved 1,517 residential lots (preliminary) and 1,106 final lots. Building permits issued totaled 1,965 units over six years, below the 6,000-unit cap. Schools improved due to lower actual enrollments, but fire/EMS staffing is now fully countywide (as of February 2025). Planning & Zoning Commission forwarded the report with no recommendations. Commissioners discussed the lag in school enrollment data and functional vs. state-rated capacity for middle schools, leading to a brief disagreement between Commissioners Kiler and Krebs.
Approval of Resolution – 2025 Fall Amendment to Water and Sewer Master Plan
- Deputy Director Daphne Daly presented the amendment, which updates service area maps and capacity tables for Taneytown, Mount Airy, and Freedom. No public comments were received. The board voted unanimously to adopt the amendment and forward it to MDE.
Briefing/Discussion – FY 2027 Consolidated Transportation Plan (CTP) – County Priority Letter
- Daphne Daly and Clare Stewart presented the preliminary priority letter, listing five highway capacity projects (MD 26, 27, 32, 97, 140), two streetscape projects (New Windsor and Sykesville), and the Patapsco Regional Greenway trail. Commissioners discussed the need to prioritize projects and consider county seed money to advance planning. The letter will be brought back for approval on March 5, 2026, with a deadline of April 1, 2026.
Public Comment
- Catherine Adelaide, a member of the Carroll County Republican Central Committee, gave a report on upcoming events, including the legislative breakfast on February 28 and candidate filing deadline (February 24). She also provided a pro-life legislative update, noting that assisted suicide legislation has not been filed and that bills are being considered on abortion coercion and conscience rights.
Key Outcomes
- Extended Police Accountability Board and Administrative Charging Committee member terms from two to three years (unanimous).
- Approved a one-year moratorium on data processing center applications (unanimous).
- Renewed the Cohort Instructional Program contract for $50,000 (unanimous).
- Awarded the 2026 Pipe Culvert Repairs/Replacements contract to Stambaugh’s Inc. for $867,205 (unanimous).
- Increased the term contract project limit for skilled trades and professional services from $150,000 to $300,000 (unanimous).
- Adopted the 2025 Fall Amendment to the Water and Sewer Master Plan (unanimous).
- The board will further discuss and vote on the FY27 CTP priority letter on March 5, 2026.
- The meeting was closed for legal and budget discussions and then adjourned.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Thursday, February nineteenth, two thousand twenty-six open session for the Carroll County Commissioners. As we always do, we'll begin with the Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silent reflection. It's been there for two years. And it's it actually in the Eldersburg Business Center, where Merritt Properties is. That school um for whatever reason went away a few years ago and a business moved in there, and it was a shame because it was perfectly built for a special school. So Glenwood Academy out of Howard County uh saw the opportunity and came up and brought their school with them. They were meeting in an office building. And it's this very, very special school for students. It's a it's a nonprofit school serving students in Maryland through age one to two with learning differences, including dyslexia, ADHD, and autism, and their customized instruction is is excellent. The school was it was so much fun with seeing the students and just in all of their different personalities, and they're studying World War I. They have big displays of World War I everywhere, and they are just um it's just a phenomenal place. So I was pleased to get to visit the Glenwood School. Then in the same park there is uh is H N S Bakery, uh, which used to be Ottenberg Bakery, now it's HS Bakery. And they have a hundred employees there, they have a excuse me, a 24-7 operation, and they serve, they make sub rolls and breads, and they ship them all over the East Coast. And I will never eat another piece of bread again that I do not appreciate what goes on in that building, and just seeing what goes into a loaf of bread. So I brought a gift home for all of you. That is a sub roll from the bakery. Oh, it's smelling. Now I smell this bakery from my house, and now I can see what they do in there. Okay. There you go. It's fresh. Well, it's two days old now, but that's still fresher. And just how to take mine. Don't yeah, tell me twice. How they get the uh the ingredients and the the the um it's been there for a number of years, and H and S Bakery obviously is a huge bakery. They have locations all over um all over Maryland, and but this one is the sub rolls and the different types of bread, and I learned about wheat, I learned about white and all the different things that go in it. So pretty much any bread you buy on the shelf, any store brand around here, is made there. And they're pretty much all the same. Well, thank you very much for thinking of us. Always think of it. So one more, I also had a uh meeting with um friends of Robert Moton, and we've all talked about it for a long time, and they're bored, and I was very pleased with just um their vision for what they want to do with a museum in the old school, and we're gonna be talking about that later. But um, very impressive group, they have a plan, and the thing that I was very pleased about, they're including our wreck in um career in tech students in the drafting department to come up with a plan for how they're going to build out or they would like to build out the inside with the museum spaces, and they're actually doing a field trip to Harry Tubman Museum, which is in Cambridge, to see how that's done there, and then and then have a contest with these drafting students so they can put their talents to real world and have something come out of it. So very pleased that they pulled that in and they've been all over the county talking to different groups um about what they're trying to do and set up a foundation and philanthropy to be able to achieve their mission that they've been working on for this museum. So it was very fruitful day. All right, thank you. Uh good morning, Carroll County. Uh just a quick note. Um so obviously we're we're into budget session now, and the Carroll County Public School System budget is always uh a big topic of of conversation. And um I'm certainly not an expert on the school's budget, but um we've got some previous board of education members here, so I think we've got a lot of expertise. And uh I am a product of the Carroll County Public School System, and so is my wife and my sister and my three kids. So I think I know a thing or two about the Carroll County Public School System. And what I've been doing is I've been reading this interesting book by Chris Pabst. He's uh with Fox 45, I guess you could call him an investigative journalist, and he focuses very closely on school issues and this um very important issue of outcome. Um and I just, you know, you'll hear that word a lot over the next couple months, and you'll hear it throughout the state as in particular um this book focuses on the Baltimore County Baltimore City school system. And you know, this issue of outcomes is so important because it's easy just to say you can put more money towards a solution, but it doesn't really get you a solution. Uh Baltimore City is probably the the poster child for um in absence of outcomes, if you will. This book talks about how the Baltimore City School system since 2017 has an increase of funding of 500 million dollars. Uh and since 2017, graduation rates have increased by one percent.
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