Sussex County Council elects new president and vice president, approves annual appointments and legal counsel

Sussex County Council on Jan. 7 elected Douglas B. Hudson president and John L. Riley vice president and approved the county’s annual appointments, legal counsel list and rules of procedure for 2025.

The action established leadership and outside appointments the council uses throughout the year. The council voted 5-0 to elect Hudson president and 5-0 to elect Riley vice president. Council then approved a slate of county representatives to regional and state boards and committees and ratified the county’s legal counsel list and meeting rules.

The council said the election of officers follows a requirement in state law that bodies select officers at the first meetings of the year. After the officer votes, the council approved the list of county representatives for organizations including the Delaware Association of Counties (county director: Douglas B. Hudson), the Delaware League of Local Governments (Doug Hudson), Salisbury-Wicomico MPO (Matt Lloyd), the Sussex Conservation District Board (Steve McCarron) and Sussex County Land Trust (Jane Gruenbaum and John Riley). The council also approved the county attorney and assistant county attorney appointments and outside law firms to represent the county in land-use, board of adjustment and other matters; the county attorney named in the packet was Everett Moore and the assistant county attorney was Vince Robertson.

Council members voted unanimously to keep the county’s rules of procedure unchanged for 2025 and to approve the formal list of legal counsel firms provided in the meeting packet. The council also approved a resolution authorizing the signatures on county financial accounts to be the president, vice president and the finance director, naming Douglas B. Hudson, John L. Riley and Gina A. Jennings.

Votes on the motions were taken sequentially and recorded as unanimous where indicated on the record. The council chair noted the packet included the annual appointments and legal counsel list and that there were no recommended changes to the rules of procedure.

Council members spoke briefly during the organizational portion of the meeting, welcoming new members and thanking staff for preparation of the appointment lists. No separate public hearing was required for the appointments, which the council approved by motion and recorded roll-call votes.

The council next moved on to consent business and other agenda items after concluding the organization items.