On the Monday, December 22 installment of OPEN AGENDA (S2 E79) we discuss the County Executive's $293 million Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) for FY 2027-2031. The Executive presented the CIP at last week's County Council meeting, but no discussion could be had because this was the first that the Council had seen of it. Although submitted on-time, why wasn't the CIP provided to the Council in advance so that deliberations could begin during one of those very rare occasions that the Executive was actually in the room? There were some notable omissions from the CIP, including funding to correct EMS system deficiencies that were identified by the SWOT Analysis more than a year ago. Apparently, public safety is not among the Executive's highest priorities. Other items were over-funded such as school weapons detection systems that received allocations significantly greater than the Board of Education's highest estimate. Is building “fat” into certain line items a maneuver by the Executive that will enable her to later reallocate the excess funds to her pet projects without public scrutiny? Also of concern are the sources of funding for the CIP. More than a third of the projects are to be funded by state grants and loans, but can we really count on this money at a time when Maryland is in a fiscal crisis and distributions to the counties are already being reduced? Remarkably, other funding sources are shown as “to be determined” or are simply unidentified. Is it a good management practice for the Executive to contemplate capital projects with no idea how they will be paid for, thus rendering the CIP into nothing more than an unrealistic “wish list?”

Since no other news outlet will take the time to break it down for regular citizens, we did. Please note the timestamps and consider sharing.

1:30 The CIP is finally revealed

2:30 Emergency Services in the CIP/Fire Fighter Concerns

3:20 Absence of Chase Unit/Emergency Equipment Funding

4:28 Fire Chief’s Association vs. the county executive?

5:30 Wicomico’s 911 Emergency Center Problems

8:53 New County Library Funding/Plans

10:11 Fruitland Primary Funding Questions

13:35 New County Health Department Building Questions

15:48 Hurdle Building Surplus building scandal?

16:49 County Executive’s spending habits

18:50 Uncommitted Sources of Funding in the CIP

22:30 Cell 7 and Landfill Revenue

24:00 Ferry Service Concerns

25:15 Wicomico River Dredging Concerns and Multi-million Dollar Costs

OPEN AGENDA will be taking a break over the holidays but we'll be back after the first of the year. We wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and a happy and healthy New Year!