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 day-to-day operations across departments.

Major points discussed

- Charter vs. manual: Council members repeatedly pointed out inconsistencies between the charter's list of exempt positions and the draft manual. Mr. Benson, County Council member, emphasized the hierarchy: "the charter would supersede the personnel manual," and asked staff to reconcile the difference.

- Reclassification and delegation of authority: The draft moves some approval authority from the council to executive-branch staff. Under the proposed language, the director of human resources could deny reclassification requests and, if denied, the request would not be forwarded to the council. Council members noted this is a substantive change from current practice and asked for explicit cross-references to chapter 3 and the charter.

- Acting appointments and recruitment timeframes: New language would allow the director of administration to extend acting appointments beyond 120 days in 30-, 60- or 90-day increments, up to one year, before council review would be required. Council members asked for clarity about the point at which council approval would again be required.

- Systems and records: The draft states most but not all personnel transactions will be processed in Munis. O'Hara clarified that the time-clock system "imports the data into the Munis system," and other systems (for example, CivicPlus for online applications) interface with Munis.

- Sheriff and corrections language: Section 402 (hiring processes for law enforcement and corrections) was revised to require notification to the county attorney, human resources and the director of administration when the sheriff or corrections makes changes to departmental policies. Council members confirmed the sheriff reviewed and approved revised wording, and asked staff to note whether any portion conflicts with collective-bargaining provisions or agreements covering deputies or corrections staff.

- Veterans preference and selection scoring: The current manual uses a point system that awards veterans five points in interview scoring; the draft removes the old numeric point system and instead says veterans "may be given preference" when equally qualified candidates exist. Council members asked staff to specify how preference would be calculated and recommended use of firmer language (for example, "shall" rather than "may") or explicit procedural steps.

- Nepotism and consensual relationship rules: Nepotism provisions were moved into a single chapter to avoid scattered, inconsistent language. Council members asked for clearer definitions (for example, whether "consensual romantic relationship partners" includes employees currently dating) and cautioned that any waiver process must include safeguards so it does not create perceived or actual preferential treatment.

- Other items raised: council members asked staff to confirm that veterans' reemployment rights language and other statutory protections are retained elsewhere in the manual, to restore an apparent payroll deduction for the State Employees Credit Union if appropriate, and to clarify references to retirement chapters that were renumbered in the draft.

What staff said next: O'Hara said the draft consolidated material so users would find all rules on a topic in one place, and that she had circulated the manual to department heads and affected offices last year. She also said she would: remove or reconcile items inconsistent with the charter; clarify grievance procedures for legislative-branch employees; reword sheriff-related language where necessary; and supply the council with the missing chapters (notably the full nepotism chapter and veterans/military service language).

No formal votes or policy adoptions occurred during the work session. Council members requested additional review and cross-checking with the charter, payroll, finance and the county attorney's office before any adoption.

Ending

Staff will return revised language on the identified items at a future work session; council members and staff recommended a periodic review schedule for the manual so the county does not wait decades between comprehensive updates.