Eastern Shore Town Faces Familiar Problems Many Small Municipalities Confront
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In Hebrew, there is an expression; "These are the bedtime stories that we tell ourselves." The expression has nothing to do with parents reading bedtime stories to children, but with families, cultures, countries, and even towns believing that a huge disaster lurking in the future isn't really there.
During the Oxford Town Commissioner's meeting on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, the residents of Oxford realized that the financial stories they had been told from around 2012 to 2024 were grossly wrong.
The meeting began with regular business which is summarized at the end of this article. The main business of the evening was a budget presentation by current Town Manager, Holly Wahl.
While it may seem extreme to use the Hebrew phrase in the case of Oxford, Maryland and its current financial situation, it's not. For years, town administration told residents that the financial outlook for the small Eastern Shore village was not only good, but rosy. Financial reports at town meetings were verbal explanations made by the former Town Manager. There weren't spreadsheets handed out or displayed to residents so they could look at them before meetings. When asked to display financial reports via a PowerPoint presentation, the Town Manager said it wasn't necessary.
During a commissioner's meeting on March 14, 2023, a sitting commissioner presented a long list of "accomplishments" of that former town manager. This list contained many of the grants the town had received from different agencies from 2012 to 2023. In fact, that list was used to show what a wonderful job the town administration was doing in keeping Oxford's budget balanced, as is required by the town's charter. The trouble is, you can't keep a town budget balanced by using grant funds as income. It's like counting your home mortgage as income and then going on a spending spree with the money that isn't really there.
That's not how it's supposed to work.
Here is the requirement for a balanced budget in the Oxford Town Charter:
Section C6-5. Budget.
The Clerk-Treasurer, on such date as the Commission shall determine, but at least sixty (60) days before
the beginning of any fiscal year, shall submit a draft budget to the Commission. The budget shall provide a complete financial plan for the budget year and shall contain estimates of anticipated revenues and proposed expenditures of anticipated revenues for the coming year. The total of the anticipated revenues shall equal or exceed the total of the proposed expenditures. The budget shall be a public record in the office of the Clerk Treasurer, open to public inspection by anyone during normal business hours.
You can find the town charter here:
Oxford Town Charter | Oxford, MD
An administration that truly wanted to be transparent would not have required a trip to the Town Office see how the town's money was being spent. Didn't they want people to know how the town's business was being conducted? Were they afraid people would see the charter violation?
A town cannot count grant money as general revenue or shift grant money from grants to cover salaries, operational costs, etc. outside of that specific, designated grant. Grants cannot be spent on operating expenses and yet citizens were led to believe grants were part of the revenue that operated the town. Again, a dangerous false fairy tale that showed residents a healthy town balance which was all smoke and mirrors.
There were other problems. The town was not accurately collecting water/sewer fees from businesses and possibly some residents. The Maryland Department of Environment requires reports from Oxford of how much water the town pulls out of the source aquifer. Here is the rule:
Any entity that withdraws groundwater or surface water in Maryland must hold a Water Appropriation and Use Permit, and permit holders are required to report their water withdrawals to the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE).
In Oxford's case, only 60% of the water reported being taken out of the aquifer was being paid for via water/sewer billing, leaving 40% not paid for. That could have cost the town approximately $100,000 a year, particularly if some businesses were allegedly using nearly 400,000 gallons of water a quarter but weren't paying for that amount.
In one instance, a commercial business had five water meters of which only two were working. That means the total water bill for that business was not accurate. It seems that no one in the town office made an effort to remedy the situation.
Let's not forget the huge elephant in the room, the water/sewage treatment plant which started with a cost estimate of $8 million dollars for completion but finished costing $18 million. It's a plant that is so large and over engineered that it could service towns like Easton with room to spare. It is estimated that the plant could service homes from Oxford all the way to Easton Club. Way too big for a town like Oxford!
While that may not seem to be a problem, the truth is the bigger the plant the more maintenance that needs to be done at a larger price. Maintenance was often overlooked, forestalled, or outright ignored until 2025, causing the town to try catch up now on needed tasks such as sludge removal and other expensive needs.
In the last fiscal year that the former Town Manager oversaw (2024), Oxford had a deficit of $140,345. That means, at the very least, the town income that year by $140,000. In order to "balance" the budget in 2024, the town withdrew from reserves. Reserves are just that, reserves to be used in case of emergencies like storms, flooding, etc. They are not to be used to hide slipshod accounting practices.
In addition to overspending yearly income which almost exclusively comes from property taxes and water and sewer, the town manager did not account for depreciation of the $18.2 million dollar Water and Sewer Plant which came online in 2021. This fact was noted in the Town's yearly financial audits. When an auditor notes something, it means they think it could be a problem and should be addressed.
Notes in the audits were not addressed.
In simple terms, depreciation is just another way of saying that a municipality is setting aside money because they know that they have an 18.2 million asset (the wastewater treatment plant) or another asset that is aging and will need consistent, yearly repair and replacement. Equate that to an expensive car that needs continuing expensive dealer upkeep. If you don't budget to do the basics and don't do the proper upkeep, the car will break down and cost you even more in repairs. The only difference with a municipality is that the maintenance of the asset is required to protect the taxpayer's investment and to follow State and Federal law. In this case, it's also about clean safe water and safe sewage management which must be a priority. From Maryland Local Government Code Section 16-306 (2025) - Audit Reports :: 2025 Maryland Code :: U.S. Codes and Statutes :: U.S. Law :: Justia
Every Maryland municipality must:
- Maintain a capital asset ledger
- Calculate annual depreciation for buildings, equipment, vehicles, infrastructure (unless using the modified approach)*
- Report depreciation expense in the government‑wide financial statements
- Include accumulated depreciation in the Statement of Net Position
- Have these statements audited under GAAS (also required by §16‑306)
Failure to comply can result in loss of state aid, because the Comptroller may withhold funds if a municipality does not file GAAP‑compliant audited statements.
*the "modified approach" means that the town or municipality maintains the asset in an aggressive manner and can prove it via records, inspections, etc. Most towns don't use that approach because it requires "extensive documentation." Most Maryland municipalities also do not use the modified approach because it requires extensive engineering assessments and the state's Uniform Financial Reporting Manual expects standard depreciation unless a jurisdiction can meet all GASB (Government Accounting Standards Boards) 34 requirements. Plus if a town does the modified approach, improvements pointed out have to immediately be fixed instead of over time.
The risk of not doing what is required? The town will have the feds and the state assessing fines and possibly shutting a facility down.
Another problem involving Oxford's Water and Sewer plant is that it is supposed to operate like a business. The fees it generates are supposed to support the plant expenses of that year and also provide for "set aside" depreciation dollars for future repairs and replacement. Instead, during the previous administration "set aside dollars" were used to pay salaries not allocated to water and sewer. For instance, police salaries. This is a huge problem.
Not only was the plant too large, but for reasons described above, it was not profitable. Even if it was, the small profit the plant makes cannot fully fund a capital/depreciation fund. In that case, the town is left funding and operating the rest of services from two sources of money:
Real estate taxes and Income Tax
- Real Estate FY 2026 $1,213,225
- Income Tax FY 2026 $290,724
Total: $1,503,949
That may seem like a lot of money, but it isn't when you consider that this has to cover all town employee salaries and benefits (Administration, Maintenance, and Public Safety). These alone potentially cost the town over 1 million dollars without employing a full time four officer police department. If Oxford attempted that option, the amount would be almost twice the total income listed above.
Unfortunately, ignoring depreciation of the Wastewater Treatment plant wasn't the only problem with "set asides.". As we described in a previous article, the Stormwater Fund is supposed to be set aside by Maryland municipalities to address problems with flooding. Instead, this money was used for salaries and for town dumpsters.
What this means is the state requires towns maintain a stormwater management plan, and that plan requires specific funding. We also note how stormwater management is supposed to be funded. It is not a self-supporting fund but must be taken from property taxes and SET ASIDE. This set aside never happened until 2025. Prior to that year, that money was used for salaries and town dumpsters. The town clearly violated state law (Environment Article, Title 4) and state regulations (COMAR 26.17.02), which together mandate that local jurisdictions create, operate, and finance stormwater programs consistent with state standards.
There were other problems that kept the town's finances to tank.
We highlighted these issues in this story:
Oxford's Financial Illusions Of The Past Lead To Difficult Decisions Now - The Easton Gazette
There are troubling contributing factors to Oxford's current financial status, but sometimes people miss the forest for the trees. Tuesday night, during a discussion of the required water meter upgrades and the need to get town maintenance workers to do that work, thus saving the town the approximately $800,000 it would cost to have that work done by an outside contractor.
Town Manager Wahl mentioned that this money saving installation work may mean that town maintenance crew hours would have to be reallocated to that task and other more critical jobs. This would mean that functions such as private property yard waste and junk removal that the town crews have done in the recent past may have to end. It was noted that contractors and even homeowners sometimes abuse this service by setting out truckloads of waste to be removed. The disposal costs the town money.
The town providing trash and waste collection was NOT a provided service until 2019. Here is the resolution regarding this practice:
Some residents complained that ending the pick-ups would hurt elderly residents and/or those who can't afford yard upkeep services. Another attendee stated that " residents need to wake up and stop complaining about leaf and twig pick up. We need discipline and focus to resolve critical issues. We need a plan for the next 10 years."
Other expenses would also have to be curtailed including providing porta-potties and dumpster in certain sections of town. The town also pays for these items.
As the meeting came to a close, several citizens presented a more hopeful take on the financial situation stating that the town can find creative and practical ways to alleviate financial problems. But, again, they reiterated that it would take focus and discipline.
It's hard sometimes to stop believing the bedtime stories and fantasies that lead us to think that everything is fine. Residents of Oxford love their town and want it to once again become the vibrant but quaint little town it has been for decades. This will require fiscal prioritization, citizen participation, and hard decisions.
The residents of Oxford can no longer tell themselves financial bedtime stories. And that might be a good thing for the future.
Other Discussions
- Owners of the Sandaway Suites and Beach, Wendy and Ben Gibson about their plans for the summer including providing a continental breakfast for the guests of their 18 rooms as well as plans to continue hosting weddings and improving tourism in Oxford strong by being a sponsor of Oxford Day and Plein Air. Chesapeake Bay Boutique Hotel Oxford MD | Sandaway Suites & Beach
- The Sheriff's Office reported 6 traffic stops throughout the town in March, 5 by TCSO and 1 by the Oxford Police Department. TCSO conducted 15 traffic assignments. There was one instance of malicious destruction of property at the Oxford Baseball park and one instance of fraud on Stewart Avenue. A juvenile suspect and his family came to an agreement with the Town of Oxford to pay for the damaged property. The fraud instance is under investigation.
- The Commissioners issued a special event permit to the Oxford Market for "Courtyard at the Oxford Market" on Oxford Day. This courtyard will include food, wine and beer, etc. in an outside venue during the Oxford Day event. Home | Oxford Market & Deli
- The Commissioners denied a permit for a snow cone vendor during the fireworks, stating that this would be in competition with other town businesses. It was also concluded that there was no good place to locate the vendor.
- The Commissioners authorized Commission President Katrina Greer to sign an agreement with Shore United Bank for a full-service ATM to be located at the town owned building at 104 Factory Street pending legal review.
