Dorchester County Council advances eight Charter Review proposals for November ballot

Dorchester County Council voted unanimously to advance most recommendations from the Charter Review Commission and agreed to draft individual Resolutions and ballot language for eight proposed amendments to the county charter.

Council President George L. Pfeffer, Jr. opened the March 19 public-comment period by explaining the process for placing questions on the ballot and what some terms mean. On proposed search rules for the County Manager he said “'alternative search measures' involves sourcing an outside hiring firm or headhunter to fill the County Manager position.” County Attorney Charles MacLeod outlined the procedural steps: the Council will vote on which recommendations to move forward, the County Attorney will draft Resolutions and ballot language, public hearings will be held on each Resolution, and adopted questions will be sent to the State of Maryland Board of Elections for approval and placement on the November general election ballot.

Residents who spoke were split on several provisions. Terry Wheatley said she opposes residency changes for the County Manager and Finance Director; Cheryl Hannan endorsed the recommendations except the residency changes. Mayor Steve Rideout told the Council that “1,300 citizens signed a petition” supporting the County Manager residency change and transparency measures. Allen Nelson urged that placing the questions on the ballot allows voters to decide term limits and that changing residency requirements could broaden the applicant pool.

After public comment the Council voted to proceed with all eight recommendations. The recorded votes reported by the clerk were: County Manager responsibilities (5–0), County Manager residency (5–0), Administrative review (5–0), Director of Finance residency (5–0), Budget due date (5–0), Budget adoption (5–0), Transparency (4–1; Councilman William V. Nichols opposed), and Term limits (3–2; Nichols and Ricky C. Travers opposed). The Council also thanked the Charter Review Commission members for their work.

The immediate next steps are drafting separate Resolutions and scheduling public hearings on each proposal; if adopted, the questions will be submitted to the State Board of Elections for placement on the November ballot. The clerk’s minutes record the Council’s direction and vote counts, and County staff will prepare the legal language and hearing schedule.