Commissioners prepare West Middleton resolution and seek guidance on Senate Bill 1; auditor awaiting state guidance

Commissioner Lipinski told the Howard County Board of Commissioners he has prepared a resolution to bring at the next meeting confirming the county's planned action on the West Middleton property after a hearing. "As a matter of law, we have to have a resolution after the hearing was set," Lipinski said, adding he planned to tweak the text before presenting it to the board.

Separately, Auditor Jessica told the board she had not yet received guidance from the state or the Department of Local Government Finance on Senate Bill 1 and that she would update commissioners when that information becomes available. "I just had an auditor's conference, and they're kind of waiting on the state to push out some guidance as well as the DLGF," she said.

Commissioners discussed the complexity and potential fiscal impact of Senate Bill 1 and said the county would share information as it becomes available. One commissioner suggested the county could host training locally to help officials understand the law and its effects. "I and I don't I haven't talked to other commissioners about this, but I I would go as too far as to say that, we would be willing to host something here if they wanted to do it in this in this community," one commissioner said.

No formal vote was taken on the West Middleton resolution during the meeting; Lipinski said he would bring a draft at the next commissioner meeting for formal action.