ICE Bill’s Passage To Impact Worcester Jail
Page 48
BY CHARLENE SHARPE
STAFF WRITER
SNOW HILL – Though Gov. Larry Hogan could veto a bill that would prohibit the county jail from working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, county officials are still preparing for decreased revenues going forward. The legislature this week passed the “Dignity Not Detention Act,” which will ban local jails like Worcester County’s from housing detainees for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In a budget discussion Tuesday, the Worcester County Commissioners agreed to decrease jail revenues as a result but held out hope the county’s contract with ICE wouldn’t end immediately. “Governor Hogan they think is going to veto it,” Warden Fulton Holland said. “We should be good for another year.”
The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch
Worcester County has been housing up to 200 immigration-related detainees through a contract with ICE since 1999. Revenue from the ICE agreement provided the jail with $5.1 million of its $9.2 million budget in fiscal year 2019. The legislation approved this week would prohibit governmental entities in Maryland, including Worcester County, from housing ICE detainees as of October 2022. Senator Mary Beth Carozza said this week she voted against the legislation and offered an amendment that would have exempted Worcester County from the legislation. “Making Maryland a sanctuary state would threaten public safety and put Maryland and Worcester County at risk of losing millions of federal dollars,” Carozza said. “I will continue to oppose all efforts to make Maryland a sanctuary state.”
Though Carozza’s amendment failed, Hogan indicated in a press conference Monday that he intended to veto the legislation if it passed. “I would veto any sanctuary bill that passed the legislature today,” he said. “Hopefully that won’t happen. But we would definitely veto that.” During Holland’s budget presentation to the commissioners Tuesday, he said projected ICE revenues were being cut $2.5 million in the coming year. Commissioner Joe Mitrecic said the county needed to plan on losing all of its ICE revenue eventually. As a result, personnel levels will also have to be looked at carefully, he said. “Every position now really has to be analyzed,” he said. “We have to assume we’re going to lose ICE completely. That’s the assumption we have to operate under.”
Berlin Business Grants Total $194K
April 16, 2021
BY CHARLENE SHARPE
STAFF WRITER
BERLIN – The town’s Main Street program awarded 43 grants, ranging from $2,500 to $6,000, to local businesses this month. Thanks to $7 million awarded to Main Street Maryland programs by Gov. Larry Hogan in February, the Berlin Main Street program was able to award $194,113 in grants aimed at helping businesses address impacts of COVID-19. “We’re thrilled to be able to offer this grant to our businesses,” said Ivy Wells, the town’s economic and community development director. “They sacrificed so much over the last year.” According to Wells, Main Street programs began working with the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development on a funding proposal to present to the governor last fall. Wells talked to local merchants to see what sort of support they could use as the pandemic continued and submitted the town’s application back in November. When the governor announced funding in February, local businesses were quick to apply for help. Berlin Main Street received $600,000-worth of applications. While some were for physical changes, others were for rent. In the end, a committee awarded 43 grants totaling $194,113 to the town’s businesses. “I’m happy to announce many of the restaurants are putting in to-go and curbside pickup windows,” Wells said. She said J & M Meat Market had plans to install a window, as did Boxcar on Main and Main Street Deli. “People feel more comfortable walking up to a window,” Wells said. Other shops, such as Sisters, received grants to help modify their businesses in other ways. Wells said Sisters was reworking its interior to allow for more social distancing. Other shops applied for funds for awnings, which would allow them to put merchandise on the sidewalk occasionally. “You need an awning for rain and shade,” Wells said. The Atlantic Hotel received a $5,000 grant to go toward improving its outdoor seating areas, which became incredibly popular during the pandemic. “We’re very grateful to have it,” said Laura Stearns, manager of the Atlantic Hotel. “Last summer because of COVID we did more outdoor dinging than we ever have in the past. We wanted to make some improvements to make it more conducive.” She said the hotel was adding sod and new seating to its beer garden area. More bistro tables have also been ordered for the front of the hotel and there are plans to install up-lighting with lights that come from the porch roof. “It’ll look more like the landmark it is,” Stearns said. While the $5,000 grant covers just a portion of the improvements, Stearns said it was appreciated. “It gave us the incentive to get things done we already had in mind,” she said.