OC Today
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HOMELAND SECURITY With post-9/11 programs back in the news, OC fortunate for $5.1M from fed initiative – Page 16
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JUNE 5, 2015
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LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT AGAIN Participants in the Maryland Law Enforcement Torch Run make their way down the Boardwalk Monday morning. This is the 30th year for the relay, which brings the Special Olympics' "Flame of Hope" to the summer games at Towson University, which start today. Police officers and sponsors raised more than $2 million for the Special Olympics last year.
County tax rate jumps By Brian Gilliland Staff Writer (June 5, 2015) Starting July 1, Worcester County residents will see their property tax rate increase by 6.5 cents per $100 of assessed value to 83.5 cents, and Jan. 1, 2016 will bring a one-half percent hike to the income tax, increasing it to 1.75 percent. In a 5-2 vote, with Commissioners Bud Church and Joe Mitrecic against, the Worcester County Commissioners officially adopted the fiscal 2016 budget. Mitrecic said he supported the budget and the tax increases, but the exclusion of
funding for raises and costof-living increases for county employees and teachers, along with the elimination of an additional $200,000 to Ocean City’s grant, changed his mind. Mitrecic said the increased grant to Ocean City was not a fix for what the resort sees as double taxation, but would have “gone a long way” to stave off possible litigation. For years, Ocean City has desired a tax differential to offset the taxes resort residents pay for county services they don’t use because resort government provides them. Instead of a budget re-
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quest this year, Ocean City officials offered a memorandum of understanding that would phase in a differential. Church called the budget “short-sighted,” and said it did the most harm to employees who earn the least. Commissioner Chip Bertino of Ocean Pines, however, said the tight strictures on spending were necessary. “It’s not going to make everyone happy but does what needed to be done,” Bertino said. Earlier this year, County Treasurer Phil Thompson delivered the county’s revenue See COUNTY Page 5
Educators protest with ‘work to rule’ Wilson considering cost neutral way to grant teacher raises
By Brian Gilliland Staff Writer (June 5, 2015) At least a few teachers from each of Worcester’s 14 schools are participating in a “work to rule” salary protest in response to the absence of a raise in the Worcester County Commissioners’ budget for the next fiscal year.
“Work to rule” means doing only what the rules or contract require and nothing more. In this case, the teachers are entering school at the exact time they are required and leaving promptly at the end of the school day. The idea is to demonstrate how much more teachers in the county do beyond the dictates of their contract. During budget work sessions late last month, the commissioners voted See MONEY Page 5
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