Allegany County staff previews consent agenda items; commissioners move to closed session

Allegany County staff reviewed a package of consent-agenda items at a work session and commissioners approved a motion to move into closed session to discuss three matters: a personnel issue, potential litigation and potential retention of a business.

Bennett, a county staff member, opened the review by saying the meeting would focus on the consent agenda and asked commissioners to flag items they wanted moved to the action agenda. He summarized a set of proposals that included personnel changes, grant acceptances, an appointment, a procurement and community-event promotions.

Why this matters: the items include several grant awards and program amendments that channel state and federal funds to local service providers and infrastructure projects, and a proposed job description change that would replace the existing liquor board clerk position with a liquor board administrator. Commissioners also signaled they would consider a personnel and legal matter in closed session, which could affect county staffing or litigation strategies.

Key items summarized by staff

- Job classification change: Staff said the package includes a change to Resolution 25-09 to replace the current liquor board clerk position with a new job description for a liquor board administrator. The presentation also listed two reclassifications in the state's attorney's office: supervisor of district court and chief of felony prosecution. Staff characterized these as internal reassignments rather than new positions.

- Cybersecurity grant: Staff reported acceptance of a state and local cybersecurity grant for fiscal year 2023 in the amount of $67,000 to be used for cybersecurity purposes (described in the meeting as "secure lower, cyber site security").

- Homelessness Solutions Program grant: Staff said a fiscal-year passthrough homelessness solutions program grant for fiscal year 2024–2025 totals $427,000 and will be split among HRDC (the local Human Resource Development Council), Family Crisis Resource Center, the Department of Social Services and HRDC's youth program.

- Homestretch amendment and broadband deployment: An amendment to the Homestretch difficult-to-serve properties program grant was reported. Staff said funding is now capped at $294,000 and the project deadline was extended to Sept. 30, 2026; the amendment will allow Comcast to directly receive funds for broadband deployment at 39 pre-identified difficult-to-serve properties.

- Appointment: Staff recommended appointing John Dudiak to the Allegany County Administrative Charging Committee for a three-year term, which staff said would expire on Aug. 7, 2028.

- Procurement and local grants: Staff described a proposed purchase of a 2017 Ford Explorer for the detention center at a cost of $17,000 from Corriganville Auto Sales. Two community-event promotion grants of $1,000 each were noted: one for Mount Savage Mountain Punk Arts (supporting three events) and one for the Cumberland Historic Cemetery Organization to advertise cemetery tours during Heritage Days.

- Maryland 911 grant acceptances: Staff listed three Maryland 911 grant amounts read at the meeting as $11,000, $16,000 and $123,000. The presentation did not provide further breakdowns at the work session.

Commission action and closed session

After the consent items were reviewed, a commissioner announced notice of a potential closed session for three topics: a personnel matter, consultation with counsel regarding potential litigation, and discussion of potentially retaining a business and receiving legal advice about that matter. A motion to move into closed session was made, seconded and approved by voice vote with commissioners responding "Aye." The meeting recessed to closed session and commissioners said they would reconvene in public session at 5 p.m.

What was not resolved in the work session

Staff invited commissioners to request that any consent item be moved to the action agenda for fuller discussion; none of the individual consent items were acted on or voted on for final approval during the public work-session portion recorded in the transcript. Several amounts and details (for example, internal budget line items and the precise allocation breakdown for the Maryland 911 grants) were presented without additional documentation in the transcript and were not finalized on the public record during the session.

Next steps

Staff indicated that items can be escalated to the action agenda for a future public meeting if commissioners request further details. The county will reconvene from closed session at the time announced by commissioners.