Hyattsville City Council Regular Meeting - January 27, 2026

The Hyattsville City Council met virtually on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, starting at 7:00 PM (called to order at 7:05 PM) and adjourning at 9:25 PM. All 11 councilmembers were present. The agenda was amended by unanimous consent to add a proclamation honoring outgoing Deputy City Administrator Laura Reams. The meeting included public comment, a city administrator update on Winter Storm Fern response, a Treasurer's action plan on audit recommendations, appointments, consent items, adoption of Resolution 2026-01 on Council Rules of Procedure, and discussion of a proposed personnel manual charter/code amendment.

Consent Calendar

• Minutes of the December 1, 2025, and December 15, 2025, Council meetings were approved unanimously.
• FY26 Special Revenues Fund Budget Amendment: The Council appropriated the remaining $269,918 of COVID-19 FEMA Reimbursement Grant Funds to close out costs for vaccines, equipment, and testing sites that are 100% reimbursed by FEMA for the period ending June 30, 2025. Approved.
• Renewal License Agreement with Friendship Arms, LLC: The Council authorized the City Administrator to enter into the renewal license agreement for the City's use of an office at the Friendship Arms building for the Mental Wellness Check-in Initiative. Approved.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Erin Hogeboom thanked the Mayor for the opening moment of silence and thanked city staff (Cindy Zork, Leslie Riddle, and Hal Metzler) for their timely assistance with parking and traffic at the Greenwood School during pick-up and drop-off.
• Daniel Broder (Ward 2) thanked everyone who attended a recent ranked choice voting event, strongly encouraged the Council to implement ranked choice voting, thanked the Department of Public Works for clearing streets during the winter storm, asked the city to continue standing against ICE, and thanked Laura Reams for her years of service.

City Administrator & Staff Updates

• City Administrator Tracey Douglas acknowledged that this was Laura Reams's last meeting with the city, congratulated HR Director Jay Joyner on completing the Public Sector HR Association Senior Certified Professional certification, and gave an overview of snow response and upcoming programs.
• Acting DPW Director Hal Metzler described the snow-clearing process: 13 trucks plus skid steer and wheel loader were deployed, with priority given to arterial and connector roads, then residential passable lanes, intersections, and curb-to-curb clearing. Crews worked Saturday through Monday evening and returned Tuesday; most city streets were still in the first two clearing phases.
• Emergency Operations Manager Reginald Bagley reported that Prince George's County residential roads were 52% complete, Operation Silver Shovel had reached capacity, warming centers and shelters remained open, county schools were closed through Thursday, and meal support was available from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. He also explained the WSSC essential water use alert effective January 27, asking residents to limit nonessential water use to prevent main breaks and maintain fire-flow pressure. Utilities reported only minor outages outside the immediate Hyattsville area.
• Race and Equity Officer Shakira Louimarre gave equity updates: city staff were participating in the Urban Institute Upward Economic Mobility Action Learning Cohort; roughly 140,000 households, about 41%, in Prince George's County are below the ALICE threshold; staff completed the National League of Cities homelessness cohort; an updated homelessness encampment administrative procedure was nearing completion; Dewberry's data analysis was nearing completion with an equity mapping dashboard; and upcoming events included a community cultural conversation on February 5 and a Black History Month genealogy event on February 11.
• Councilmembers asked follow-up questions about staff resources, sidewalk snow-removal enforcement, and the WSSC alert, and expressed appreciation to DPW, HPD, and Laura Reams.

Presentation: Treasurer Action Plan on Audit Committee Recommendations

• Treasurer Ron Brooks presented the City's action plan responding to the Audit Committee's 10 recommendations. Key points included: the FY24 audit was expected to close within three weeks; the FY23 ARPA single audit was expected to be filed within two weeks; the current ERP system (BC Systems) was deemed incompatible and cumbersome, with a termination notice planned by Monday of the following week and a new RFP expected by end of March 2026; the monthly close would be reduced from 15-20 days toward 10 or 7 business days; the capital asset capitalization threshold would increase from $2,500 to $10,000; and quarterly financial reports were back on track.
• Audit Committee Chair Daniel Lange thanked Treasurer Brooks and said the committee would meet again to draft a response to the action plan.
• Council President Solomon asked for a written summary of ERP challenges within one week, and Councilmember Straub asked for a tracking spreadsheet, expected within two weeks; she also suggested future reports should be vetted by the committee before presentation.

Appointments

• The Council unanimously approved the 2026 Council of Governments (COG) Policy Committee appointments: Mayor Robert Croslin to the Region Forward Coalition, Human Services and Public Safety Policy Committee, Climate Energy and Environment Policy Committee, and Chesapeake Bay and Water Resources Policy Committee, with the listed staff alternates (Tracey Douglas, Police Chief Jarod Towers, Sandra Shephard, and Hal Metzler). Motion by Council Vice President Redmond, seconded by Councilmember Waszczak.
• The Council unanimously approved Bradley Phelps (Ward 2) and Ross van Dongen (Ward 5) to the Hyattsville Environment Committee for two-year terms ending January 26, 2028.

Action Items

• The Council unanimously adopted Hyattsville Resolution 2026-01, adopting the Council Rules of Procedure. During discussion, members addressed the one-week anticipated agenda item list (to be shared via Trello and email), council workgroups, and access to the agenda management system. Motion by Council President Solomon, seconded by Councilmember Strab.

Discussion: Proposed Charter Amendment and Code Update on Personnel Manual

• Deputy City Administrator Laura Reams and HR Director Jay Joyner presented a proposal to remove the requirement that City Council approve the personnel manual by resolution. The personnel manual would instead be maintained, updated, and administered by the City Administrator or designee.
• They explained that the current manual is more than 150 pages, has not been comprehensively updated in many years, and that employment laws and HR best practices change quickly, creating legal and operational risks.
• Council authority would be retained over compensation and pay scales, the retirement and pension system, employee benefits, and budget appropriations for authorized staffing positions. All personnel policies would remain subject to the charter, code, ordinances, and state and federal law.
• Examples of needed manual updates included the definition of relative, remote work policy, Maryland parental leave (up to 18 weeks), a crime victim policy, the federal Fairness for Breastfeeding Mothers Act, and an anti-retaliation policy.
• Next steps: if the Council wishes to proceed, the City Clerk's office would schedule the required public hearing for the charter amendment, followed by Council consideration of the charter amendment and ordinance. No vote was taken on this item.

Proclamations

• The Council unanimously adopted a proclamation honoring Laura Reams for her years of service. The proclamation cited 14 years of service (2012-2026) in the roles of city clerk, director of communications and legislative services, and deputy city administrator, and highlighted election innovations, communications expansion, and the 2024 Maryland Municipal Clerks Association Clerk of the Year Award. Note: the City Administrator's remarks during the meeting referenced 13 years of service, creating a minor discrepancy with the proclamation's 14-year figure.

Key Outcomes

• All votes taken during the meeting were unanimous: approval of the amended agenda, minutes, appointments, consent agenda, Resolution 2026-01, and the Laura Reams proclamation.
• The Treasurer's action plan was received; next steps are an Audit Committee response, a written ERP summary, and a tracking spreadsheet.
• The personnel manual charter/code amendment was discussed only; the Council may direct the Clerk to schedule a public hearing if it decides to move forward.
• The meeting adjourned at 9:25 PM.