Board of Carroll County Commissioners Open Session – March 19, 2026
Board of Carroll County Commissioners Open Session – March 19, 2026
The Board of Carroll County Commissioners held an open session on March 19, 2026, to conduct budget agency hearings from Carroll County Public Schools (CCPS), Carroll Community College (CCC), The ARC, the State’s Attorney’s Office, and the Department of Public Works. The Board also addressed legislative updates, grant applications, equipment purchases, transportation planning, forest conservation mitigation fees, and a subdivision plat recordation request. The session began at 9:00 a.m.
Consent Calendar
- Grant – FY2027 Jurisdictional Family Services: Unanimously approved submission and acceptance of $839,428.65 grant.
- Grant – FY2027 MACRO Alternative Dispute Resolution: Unanimously approved submission and acceptance of $96,606.41 grant.
- Approval to Purchase – Portable Radios and Accessories: Unanimously approved $616,705.80 purchase from Motorola Solutions for the Detention Center.
- Spending Authority – Primecare Medical, Inc.: Unanimously approved $85,492.28 for catastrophic medical expenses for incarcerated individuals.
- Budget Transfer – Consultant Support Services: Unanimously approved resolution to transfer $112,185 from Grants Unallocated to Unified Planning Work Program grant for roadway feasibility studies.
- Contract Award – Consultant Support Services for Planned Roadway Concepts & Transportation Network Modeling: Unanimously awarded to Wallace, Montgomery & Associates, LLP in the amount of $172,185.
- FY2027 Consolidated Transportation Plan – County Priority Letter: Unanimously approved the priority letter and directed staff to circulate for delegation signatures.
Public Comments
- Catherine Adelaide, member of the Carroll County Republican Central Committee, provided updates on local Republican club meetings, pro-life activities, and encouraged opposition to harmful bills. She thanked commissioners for public safety messaging regarding St. Patrick's Day.
Discussion Items
- Budget Agency Hearing – Carroll County Public Schools (CCPS): Superintendent Cynthia McCabe and staff presented a projected revenue increase of $20.5 million ($14 million county, $6.5 million state). Requests included funding for a Liberty High School feasibility study, Century High School roof replacement design, and Piney Ridge Elementary HVAC renovation. A $6 million budget gap will be closed by reducing 15 teaching FTEs through attrition and eliminating 7 FTEs from a sunsetting Blueprint program. A five-year forecast highlighted challenges from declining enrollment (436.75 students) and rising costs. Commissioners discussed future modernization needs, especially for Freedom Elementary and Liberty High School. Commissioner Kiler asked for cost projections for Liberty modernization; staff estimated around $140 million.
- Budget Agency Hearing – Carroll Community College (CCC): President Rose Mince and staff requested two adjustments: moving the technology matching grant to FY27 and increasing it from $350,000 to $500,000 annually, and approval of a $450,000 feasibility study for the Trades, Technology, and Training Complex (T3C). Dr. Mince emphasized that without the feasibility study, the county would forfeit approximately $90 million in state capital support. Ben Shepherd, owner of Apple Plumbing, highlighted severe workforce shortages in the trades. Gary Collart pledged $1 million from the Collart Foundation. The CCC Foundation committed $2–3 million. Total project cost is estimated with 52–53% state share. Commissioners expressed support for the project and noted the need for workforce training. Commissioner Kiler asked about operating cost impacts; staff indicated minimal long-term increases.
- Budget Agency Hearing – The ARC: Don Rowe requested $38,410 county match (20%) to purchase two wheelchair-accessible vans, funded 80% by a grant. Discussed transportation challenges for people with disabilities. Commissioner Kiler noted potential cost savings compared to county-operated vehicles. The ARC operates 40 vehicles.
- Budget Agency Hearing – State’s Attorney’s Office: State’s Attorney Haven Shoemaker and Special Counsel Alan Culver requested a 2.5% salary increase above the projected 3.5% county increase (total $150,000) and a new litigation support position ($98,230 with benefits). They cited retention issues due to competition from the Attorney General’s office, and increased workload from new laws regarding expungements and public information requests. They noted a 34% decrease in crime in 2025.
- Budget Agency Hearing – Building Construction: Director Bryan Bokey and Kayleigh Hop proposed a $50,000 Project Development Fund to conduct feasibility studies for capital projects, citing the example of Courtroom #6 (initial estimate $2.4 million, after study $5.6 million). Commissioners supported the idea.
- Priority Carroll – Commissioner Kiler: Reported on attendance at MML, Manchester Fire Department recognition of Lt. Kavanaugh for saving a child, ribbon cutting at The Cove family shelter, and CCC trustees meeting. Expressed concern about employee retirements and retention.
- Priority Carroll – Commissioner Vigliotti: Provided an update on PSAG power line proceedings. Commissioners unanimously oppose setting a target end date for hearings and report that PSAG surveyors are misleading property owners about access. Reaffirmed opposition to power lines.
- Priority Carroll – Commissioner Krebs: Noted visit to the Humane Society, thanking them for animal control services.
- National Agriculture Day Proclamation: Commissioners proclaimed March 24, 2026, as National Agriculture Day, celebrating 250 years of progress. Recognized 1,180 farms with over $138 million in agricultural commodities and over 80,000 preserved acres.
- Retirement Recognition: Miss Patty Schaefer was recognized for 21 years of service in Development Review.
- Legislative Update – Pam Meister: Provided updates on deer hunting bill (Delegate Boyce’s bill may restrict current all-day Sunday hunting; staff directed to ensure Carroll’s local law is not weakened), Mason’s law moving forward, bond bills, unpaid property tax bill, district planning commission, budget bill status (Senate did not accept 100% teacher pension cost shift, maintained governor's version), and distillery bill not moving. Commissioners expressed concern about hunting bill.
- Approval of Resolution – Forest Conservation Mitigation Fees: After extensive debate, the Board approved (4-1, Commissioner Krebs dissenting) the resolution establishing fee structure: $54,450 per acre for subdivisions/site development (corrected from $54,540 typo) and $27,225 per acre for single-family residential. Commissioner Krebs expressed concern about raising costs for housing and wanted a comprehensive package including options for utilizing existing forest, landscaping credits, and reduced maintenance periods. Staff was directed to bring additional options within 60 days.
- Request for Determination of Exceptional Circumstances – Byron Hills Subdivision: Board unanimously approved immediate plat recordation for a 4-lot subdivision in the Freedom area despite school capacity issues, citing minimal impact (1–2 students expected) and declining enrollment. The project had already received planning commission approval.
Key Outcomes
- Approved all consent items: grants, purchases, contracts, transportation letter.
- Approved budget transfers and contract awards for transportation modeling.
- Approved forest conservation mitigation fee resolution (4-1).
- Approved exceptional circumstances for Byron Hills plat recordation.
- Directed staff to bring back additional forest conservation options within 60 days.
- Upcoming budget agency hearings continue next week; joint meeting with CCPS on April 23rd.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Thursday, March nineteenth, two thousand twenty-six open session for the Board of Carroll County Commissioners. We will begin as we always do with the Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silent reflection. I pledgedly and to the Republic for which it stands. Justice. $1 million for a technology refresh for devices that are out of warranty. And then of note, originally we had $4 million in for uh the startup of the charter school, but they've let us know that they'll be deferring uh to FY28. So you won't see that $4 million in here. Um lastly, um today we also want to just do a quick five-year uh glance for you so that you can see what we're um forecasting for the next five years. Um for just one moment um on this slide. Uh we'd like to turn our attention to the capital budget. Um first I want to thank the commissioners for providing the direction to include the feasibility study uh for Liberty High School in FY27. Um that action was going to be among our requests. And this feasibility study will make it much easier for us to have the conversation about whether we're going to make the bigger decision to fund the modernization in the near future. Um we really need that feasibility study in order to do that. Um our other request for FY27 capital funding is that you would fund the design costs for the Century High School roof replacement and the Piney Ridge elementary school HVAC renovation. Um this would require to move our priorities with within the existing six-year plan, but not change the six-year plan at all. Um this action recognizes the deferral of the free Freedom Elementary and Sykesville Middle additions in our CIP. And more importantly, it puts us in a position to maximize the available state CIP funding for FY28. Without this action, uh we'd be leaving state funding on the table, which we certainly don't want to do. At this time, I'll turn it over to John. Okay. Good morning. Morning. So this slide addresses the ongoing revenue increase. So there you see the $14 million that the superintendent just uh just outlined. Also, as you know, some of our funding comes from the State. So given what's happening in the General Assembly now, we do anticipate about $6.5 million in additional State revenue to work with. So that brings their projected total revenue in the in the in the request to 20.5 million. And now we're looking at um our known or anticipated expenditures. In some cases, these are known, and in some cases these are anticipated. Um that top lines the big one that includes sort of what we would always refer to as our inflationary impacts, or you might want to say the cost of doing business. Some of that is um is part of that ongoing process, utilities, insurances, et cetera. Uh the rest is employee compensation increases. Um we have five unions, two of those negotiated agreements are settled and ratified, and three are actively being negotiated even as we sit here. Um there is uh on the second line, and this is now becoming a pattern for us, unfortunately. Um that is a carryover into fiscal twenty-seven from the negotiated agreements with two of the unions last year. And so some of our employee groups have negotiated um what we often refer to as an annual interval, or sometimes you might have historically referred that. Heard that referred to as a step increment or a step increase. In last year's uh contracts, we were not able to fund the annual step increase for the full year, and so it was deferred until a certain point in the year so that it would be budget neutral and fiscal 26, but in fiscal twenty-seven, we have to be able to fund that that step for the entire year going forward. Uh Dr. McCabe talked about maintenance and um technology as part of uh the board's one-time or capital funding requests, and so there you can see those two items outlined. There's also separately, but I I guess I've heard you discuss it in watching your meetings. There's also the separate one million dollar request we sent for the um for some assistance with the replacement of the lights at uh Franciscott Key and South Carroll. Uh so here we are with the projected revenue versus the projected expenditures, which leaves a gap of six million. And the plan to to close that six million dollar gap or the request to close that six million dollar gap includes the reduction of the 15 FTE that the superintendent mentioned. We have you know our known enrollment changes this year is minus three uh 436.75 FTE of children. And what we're trying to do is um go back to a pattern that unfortunately we used in in the decade that Superintendent Guthrie was was our superintendent, where we sort of try to maintain our student-teacher ratio based on the declining enrollment, and so that would equate to us reducing 15 teaching FTE to sort of relate to that 436 uh decline in student enrollment. Those would not likely be people being laid off or or terminated. Those would be uh positions that would be eliminated through attrition, retirements, separations, leaves of absence, et cetera.
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