Wicomico County council reviews overhaul of personnel manual; council oversight, hiring rules flagged for clarification

At a Wicomico County Council open work session, county human resources staff reviewed proposed revisions to chapters 1–6 of the county personnel manual and highlighted changes that shift operational authority from the council to executive-branch staff.

The proposed rewrite reorganizes and consolidates decades of provisions, but council members asked for clearer alignment with the county charter and for explicit language on several topics including position reclassification, grievance procedures for legislative-branch employees, veteran hiring preference and nepotism rules.

Donna O'Hara, director of human resources, told the council she had consolidated material and noted overlaps between the manual and the charter. "They fall under their own. The only thing that we do for them is provide their benefits," O'Hara said when explaining why some positions that are listed as exempt in the charter had been added to the manual's draft list. Council members raised that the charter's list of exempt positions supersedes the manual and asked whether the manual should be revised to match the charter.

Why this matters: The manual governs hiring, classification, benefits and discipline for county employees. Changes in who approves reclassifications, how long acting appointments can continue, and which procedures apply to elected-branch staff will affect oversight and…