OC Today
SPRINGFEST
FOUR DAYS OF FUN The 25th annual Ocean City festival kicked off Thursday, runs through Sunday – Page 49
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MAY 8, 2015
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Resort tax rate remains stable James opposes plan that puts off issues
LISA CAPITELLI/OCEAN CITY TODAY
SOUPED UP
Two-year-old Kyle Hinkle gets a ride on his dad Brian’s shoulders while his mom, Chris, gives him a taste of some of the soups offered during the Ocean City Downtown Association’s 11th annual White Marlin Festival last Saturday on the Somerset Street Plaza. The festival featured music and organizations exhibiting displays, but the highlight of the event was the Crab Soup Cookoff. See more photos on page 61.
County agrees to stadium study But beyond helping with analysis,officials remain noncommittal
By Brian Gilliland Staff Writer (May 8, 2015) Funding for the phase I study of an indoor/outdoor sports complex to be placed somewhere in Worcester County was given the green light Tuesday by the county commissioners with
the voice of opposition represented by Ocean Pines’ representative Chip Bertino. “This reminds me of the discussions we had about the Ocean City Convention Center,” Commissioner J. Bud Church said. Church said naysayers plagued that project as well, but it now stands as one of the area’s crowning achievements. “The money is well worth it
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to discover what we can or can’t do,” Church said. For his part, Bertino focused on costs and pointed to an increase in the amount required by the county to conduct the study. During a presentation on the project in January, county Economic Development Director Bill Badger estimated the county’s share at $12,000. That number has grown to $15,000, but Badger said he had the
money, today, in his current budget once he “reprogrammed” some advertising funds. “We added an outdoor portion and that number was based on off-the-record conversations I had,” Badger explained. The Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development will contribute $25,000 to the study, the See PUBLIC on Page 7
By Zack Hoopes Staff Writer (May 8, 2015) Barring some sort of major upset, Ocean City’s 2016 fiscal year budget will pass its final reading in two weeks without any major changes from what was introduced. The council voted six-toone this week to approve the budget on first reading. The move was considerably different from the past several years, when at least a few budget issues have been hotly contested. Even the single nay-voter, Councilman Matt James, said he “thought that David [City Manager David Recor] and the rest of the staff did a great job of keeping the budget status-quo.” However, James said after the meeting, he is still hesitant to go forward with a budget that puts off, but does not address, some pervasive issues with the city’s spending. “Every voter I’ve spoken with has made a point to ask why taxes would need to be increased,” James said. “There are a lot of people who look at the budget and find there are places where we can cut.” City taxes will not be going up by a great margin – only about three-quarters of a cent, from 47.04 cents per See STATUS-QUO on Page 5
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