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Commissioners discuss funding, coordination for MPRP fight; no transfer approved
Summary
After lengthy debate about process, public notice and authority, commissioners did not authorize a fixed transfer but directed staff to study options — including a dedicated coordination role — and report back on legal and budget implications.
The Carroll County Board of Commissioners spent more than two hours July 3 discussing a possible county response to the Mid‑Atlantic Power (MPRP) transmission project and whether to allocate county funds to support affected property owners and legal efforts.
Commissioner comments opened with a rebuke that a prior, off‑agenda discussion on the matter may have violated the Maryland Open Meetings Act. Commissioners pressed staff and the county attorney for legal clarity on whether the board could authorize funds for outside parties, and what processes—budget transfers, reserve allocations, or line‑item transfers—would be required to make funds available quickly.
No formal dollar transfer or appropriation was approved. Instead the board reached consensus to direct county staff and legal counsel to review options and return with proposals. Specifically, commissioners asked the county attorney and finance staff to examine legal constraints on passing funds to outside groups or individuals, evaluate using existing outside‑counsel budget lines, and consider establishing a county “coordination” function — either a staff position or program-management-type role — to centralize and coordinate litigation strategy, inter-jurisdictional collaboration, communications, and related tasks. Commissioners said the county should avoid duplicative legal work among the many parties already involved and consider acting as a convener or fiscal coordinator for shared experts or studies.
County Attorney Tim Burke and finance staff said the county already budgets for outside counsel and that additional legal spending is mechanically straightforward but must follow procurement and public‑meeting rules. Burke suggested a pooled approach — a single legal fund or “war chest” to reduce duplication among many parties — and said staff would draft implementation options. Finance staff noted the county’s existing contingency reserves and that transfers into appropriate budget lines (for example, outside legal counsel) are possible but would require a public action to move money.
Board members asked for clarity on what county money could legally be used for (direct grants to individuals are generally not permitted absent statutory authority; contributions to recognized nonprofits with proper authority are sometimes allowable) and for staff to identify both short‑term actions the county could take quickly and longer‑term resource needs. Several commissioners called for staff to return with a menu of options — from small, immediate actions (communications, signage, limited support) to larger legal engagements — and estimates of cost and legal feasibility.
At the close of the discussion the board did not vote to move funds; instead the commissioners requested a follow‑up briefing with legal and financial options and asked staff to explore creation of a coordination function and to identify what a targeted county appropriation would legally and practically permit.
