Call to end county executive form of government
I once voted for the County Executive form of government, I made a mistake.
Initially, the County Executive position was to run day-to-day business, collaborate with the Council to improve the flow of government and be transparent to the citizens. Governed by our Charter, Executives were to make the flow of government more efficient, not run roughshod over the Council, employees and ignore citizen concerns. Few restrictions on abuses of power or repercussions for unethical actions were put in place allowing “kingdom building” and self-promotion, instead of cooperation, which prevents the smooth running of our county.
Council members are restricted from interacting with employees, so all information must come through the Executive, allowing facts to be hidden or misconstrued. Without Executive cooperation, the council can be handicapped by the Executive when open communication is essential to making informed decisions. Executives may fire ANY county employee at will resulting in “yes men” fearful of losing their jobs instead of true advisors. No public meetings are required of the Executive, so transparency becomes a catch phrase and not a reality, opening multiple ways to benefit private concerns.
The Executive position has harmed, not improved, our way of life. Under this form of government, we’ve experienced deteriorating services, i.e. removal of recycling bins and roads, increased fees, increased employee turnover and more citizen complaints. This office continues to expand by adding multiple assistants, secretaries, lawyers, revolving office décor and high price vehicles. This year, costs skyrocketed when the Executive decided to sue the Council. All paid for by your taxpayer dollars.
The argument that we need the Executive for a “balance of power” is flawed. Our present system is not a “balance” but a dictatorship that ignores any checks and balances on abuse of power. Council members are from different areas of the county, with seven different life experiences, give a far better chance of a wiser decision-making process and are less like to be tainted by personal gain than with ONE person making decisions on their whims or on requests from campaign contributors.
The County Executives’ actions speak volumes on how little respect that is for taxpayers and our elected representatives. Therefore, I hope and pray citizens vote to delete the position of County Executive and return to the form of government that served Wicomico County well for over 100+ years.
Remove an unworkable layer of bureaucracy, vote “yes” for question A.
Faye Holloway
Parsonsburg resident
Equally important is the need for term limits for the council members.
As pointed out here, the varied origin and experiences make for legislation that serves all, but it needs to be refreshed regularly.
Ten years is enough, more than fifteen is too much as we can see here as well
I prefer to leave it to each district’s voter to decide if their elected council member needs to have their term “limited”.
Sorry, Faye, but you are wrong! If the Voters asked for this vote it would be one thing. The council taking it upon itself to over rule the people who voted to put in a charter form of Government, is where the mistake lies.
Agree to term limits. From local to state to federal. No career politicians.
Also need for the OC City Council be held responsible for allowing a non CDL holding individual to be behind the wheel of any motor vehicle for the city.
Lines were blurred, wink wink know knod…..and the awful incident with a tram hitting and killing a child. Heads must roll, terminationsnot resignations MUST happen. Why as a deterrent for future schucksters who don’t want to follow the rules. I feel bad for the older driver, the passengers the fam……and OC needs to pay.
City folks and visitors will also pay because the.tram will not run until Summer 2025 if earliest. Meaning no trams for winterfest of lights. Also hearing a different winter fest of lights in 2024. Ask a council member, demand to know…put them on the hot seat…..
It is a. Election year too!