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When the previous Oxford Town Manager retired at the end of June, residents hoped that the controversy and lack of transparency in town matters walked out the door with her. They also hoped that new Commissioner President, Norm Bell, would help "right the ship."
Sadly, that has not yet happened. That fact has been clearly on display this week in both the town meeting and events afterward.
While the general conduct of town meetings has been streamlined, transparency issues remain regarding town committee selections and addressing town employee conduct.
The one promising product of Tuesday night's town meeting was Town Resolution 2414, passed unanimously by the Commissioners. Here is the link to that resolution:
2414-Res-Admin-Guide-for-Employees-adn-Commissioners.pdf (oxfordmd.net)
The resolution addresses confusion and overreach by town employees regarding their responsibilities and powers since a new Town Manager has not been hired. Here are some highlights:
The Commissioners also defined the responsibilities and duties of each of the current town staff members while assigning themselves specific departments to oversee and be liaisons between that department and fellow commissioners. Bell will work with commissions and human resources, Costigan will work with media, communications, emergency planning, risk assessment for the USDA grant, police and public works, and Greer will oversee finance/capital improvement plan and grants.
While the resolution is a step in the right direction, there are some concerning aspects to what it contains. For one thing, the language describing "repeat DISGRUNTLED citizen complaints" presents a negative attitude from the town office toward citizens whose taxes pay town employee salaries but who also ask questions and point out problems. The word "disgruntled" is dismissive and indicates that when complaints are made, it's the fault of the citizen complaining and not an issue the town needs to solve. This is the attitude which was maintained under the regime of the past 18 months and not one that should continue.
Also, having Commissioners only notified of "repeat" issues regarding employees and appointees is troubling. Sometimes the first issue an employee/appointee has is the one Commissioners need to deal with immediately, especially if it is one problem that indicates that the employee/appointee will not do his/her job fairly and with the same professionalism and fairness to all residents of the town. Let's hope that Commissioners are notified of any issues that will affect an employee/appointee's performance on the job.
It appears that Clerk/Treasurer Vickie Sharp has been designated "in charge" of the town office until a town manager is hired. This is consistent with the Town Charter as the Clerk/Treasurer is one of two office staff members defined in the charter. This is also designated in the Employee Manual* that if we do not have a Town Manager the duties would be completed by the Clerk/Treasurer with guidance from the Commissioners.
*We have never seen a copy of the employee manual.
The meeting also included discussions about the following:
TREE TRIMMING AROUND THE POWER LINES: Representatives of Delmarva Power discussed the trimming of trees in the town to protect power lines and some of the complaints from Oxford residents. It got contentious at times as citizens complained that they had not received notice of the trimming of trees in their yard but also that trees had been trimmed so severely that their appearance and viability was compromised.
Delmarva representative Jeff Middleton said that 40 to 50% of power outages in the U.S. were caused by tree limbs and that the State of Maryland has certain standards they must follow when trimming. He also stated that it was not the intent to injure or harm trees. He said the trimming had been going on every four years for sixty years.
Resident Jane McCarthy shared that trees are extremely important to the town and wondered why there was no effort to put power lines underground. Middleton explained that some towns had done that but that it was very expensive and would be at the town's expense.
Bill Hinman, a resident on the Strand, asked if those costs would be built into customer's electric bills as well. The answer was yes.
Other town residents discussed the power company working more with residents to assure the trimming is done without disfiguring or harming the trees.
After some back and forth between residents and Middleton, covering topics such as disfigurement, sun scald of trees cut too severely, and possible cooperation between residents and the power company, options of citizens hiring private tree services working with the power company were explored.
Barbara Paca reminded officials that there were experienced arborists that the town and DPL could consult in the process thus assuring the protection of the trees and our environment.
Delmarva officials and the town agreed to communicate more efficiently about future trimming dates and procedures.
DUGOUT MEMORIAL PARK: Discussion then went on to the plan to redesign the Dugout Memorial Park. Planner Williams said they had forty residents respond regarding the park and the top ideas to be funded by a grant were a picnic area, redoing the baseball field, and bocce ball areas. The grant will fund most of these as well as garbage cans, park benches, and solar lighting.
SOIL TESTING DIRT PILE: The oversized mound of dirt at the fringe of the park was mentioned as this hill was constructed using left over soil from several dredge projects. Attorney Lyndsey Ryan said the timeline of where the soil came from was being investigated but was not finalized. Many residents requested the soil be tested since there was some doubt of where it was from and whether it is toxic. Other jurisdictions or waste removal companies would not take it. Many wonder why.
As citizen Graham Norbury said, "Why not just test the soil?"
APPOINTMENTS TO PLANNING COMMISSION: Three new members of the Planning Commission, Russell Gray, Skip Case, and Ken Jacoby, were sworn in by Bell. While many congratulate these gentlemen on their appointments, other residents wonder what the process and protocol is for getting on one of these commissions. Is there one? Are appointees selected by qualifications, which are not stated for any of the committees? Is it merely an arbitrary choice by the vote of the Commissioners? Are committees still a nice reward to give those who are friends or political supporters? Many questions remain including how many applicants there are for positions and how the town communicates officially with applicants to let them know where the Commissioners are in the selection process.
LETTERS ATTACHED TO MEETING MINUTES: Residents also asked why citizen letters were not being attached to meeting minutes online as stated on the last page of minutes posted on the website. When asked about this earlier in the month, the Clerk/Treasurer told residents of the town that they could only see these letters if they stopped by the town office. This was in direct opposition to what was promised at the end of each set of published minutes. Commissioners confirmed that these letters would be available on the website as stated. Commissioner Greer said that there had been a "miscommunication" between staff and the Commissioner regarding the issue. Below is what is written at the end of each set of minutes. There is no way to find the letters on the town website as stated:
In lieu of reading letters aloud at the meeting, Commission President Bell read the names of people who had written in favor or against the proposed plastic bag ban.
This prompted one resident to ask why there was no mention of at least nine letters written to the Commissioners regarding recent staff and committee member misconduct.
The letters about paid staff ask about a recent event when the Town Planner had unleashed a tirade against the citizens of Oxford for filing PIA's and asking questions:
Many town residents were shocked at her actions and wrote letters questioning what the consequences were. Some wanted a public apology. Others suggested she be put on probation or even let go.
Other letters were written concerning the actions of a current Ethics Committee member who wrote an email in March of this year denigrating and slandering former town employees and a current Commissioner. He also verbally attacked a female Oxford resident in the local market and then defended his actions by calling her a "political operative"(see definition below). Residents wondered in correspondence to the Commissioners if he should be allowed to continue in his position and some had written suggesting his removal from the committee.
Here is the definition of a "political operative": a person who does secret work for a government or political organization
CIA/FBI operatives [=agents]
political operatives [=spies]
I doubt this person who was attacked is one of those.
After looking to the town lawyer for advice, Commission President Bell seemed to shrug his shoulders as an answer. The letters were not read, causing many citizens to wonder if concerns regarding these issues would ever be addressed. Transparency denied, once again.
During two of her public comments, resident Barbara Paca respectfully stated that if the town truly had leadership with the vision to implement ideas presented by citizens, the town could develop a comprehensive plan to do the work required to make Oxford better.
It doesn't seem like the town has that yet. Maybe the search for a qualified, professional, ethical town manager will help with part of that equation. The other part of that is a full complement of Commissioners who are willing to do the work and to listen to constituents instead of a small, favored group.
Clearly, the jury is still out on the second part.
What began as a hopeful transition in July to "openness" and transparency in the town with the recent election may have taken one step forward and two steps back. Let's hope that is not the case and these recent stumbles are merely the result of some in charge "learning the ropes."
Livestream of meeting:
