Taneytown council seeks fresh start for Main Street program, agrees to revise economic development job posting

Taneytown City Council members and local residents spent the special March 12 meeting outlining a restart of the town’s Main Street program, debating the program’s mission, funding levels and how to recruit an economic development manager to lead downtown revitalization efforts.

The council discussed preserving the downtown’s historic character while attracting businesses that serve both residents and visitor traffic. Mayor Pro Tem McCarron and several council members emphasized that the Main Street manager must be a ‘‘salesman’’ able to recruit businesses and work with landlords, while council members and residents repeatedly said the program needs a clearer budget and more staff direction before large initiatives move forward.

Council members and staff described three immediate priorities: inventorying downtown commercial spaces through the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) tracker (DHCD offered intern support for data entry), clarifying the program’s operating ordinance and budget, and filling the economic development/Main Street manager role. Jim, the city manager, said staff will revise the job posting language and bring details back to council; the council reached a consensus to change the ad to ‘‘salary commensurate with experience’’ rather than holding to the current numeric range.

Why it matters: Taneytown’s Main Street program is the principal vehicle the city is using to try to revive downtown storefront occupancy, improve facades and attract more weekday and evening visitors. Council members and downtown business owners said success will require a combination of staff capacity, stable funding and business buy-in.

What the council and residents said - Councilmember Tillman framed the program’s mission as revitalizing the historic district, recruiting businesses that serve both residents and tourists, and using city leverage to connect property owners and merchants to grants and loans. Tillman said the town must balance preservation with change so longtime residents are not displaced. - Mayor Pro Tem McCarron and others urged starting with a shared vision and ‘‘guardrails’’ set by council while letting a future Main Street advisory board develop the detailed strategy. - Jim, the city manager, said the DHCD tracker can be used to inventory buildings in the Main Street district; he reported that DHCD offered intern support to help with data entry. - Several community speakers — including Paul (a downtown merchant), Sharon Tillman (business owner and resident), Scott Davis (business owner) and Mitchell Masser (resident) — urged stronger funding and clear direction. Paul warned that past efforts had been ‘‘a disservice to the Main Street entity’’ and urged the council to use existing plans and not discard prior work.

Budget and staffing discussion - Current and previously allocated sums: Council members said the city’s current dedicated Main Street operating line is small (repeatedly stated in the meeting as $12,000). Staff noted the state had promised a $25,000 Main Street grant amount tied to the program, but council members said the city will need additional, stable operating funds to make the program functional. - Salary posting: The council reviewed the existing job advertisement (posted range described in the meeting as about $43,048–$53,695) and heard staff and public criticism that the range was too low to attract experienced candidates. Several speakers argued that the right candidate would likely command a salary materially higher than the posted top end. One councilmember proposed an upper budget figure of $70,000 as a starting point for discussion. - Outcome on hiring approach: The council directed staff to revise the economic development/Main Street job posting to use open-ended language (‘‘salary commensurate with experience’’). Some council members said they would prefer a market study before establishing a final salary; others supported increasing the published top end to be competitive. Staff said there were no applications at the time of the meeting.

Program scope and authority - Inventory and outreach: Council and staff agreed the Main Street manager should maintain an up-to-date inventory of available commercial spaces and actively recruit businesses, rather than waiting for applicants. The city will leverage previous studies and a prior commercial realty inventory where possible. - Board authority and limits: Council debated how much autonomy a future Main Street advisory board should have. Some members said the board should have authority to propose and manage pilot projects (for example, a leased incubator storefront) but any spending outside committed funds must return to council for approval. - Funding model: Staff reviewed the commonly suggested ‘‘one-third’’ model (local funding, fundraising, grants). Councilmembers disagreed on committing to a permanent percentage of the city budget; some favored a fixed, stable contribution and others favored annual budget review given competing capital needs such as roads and infrastructure.

Next steps and timeline - Staff will revise the job posting to ‘‘salary commensurate with experience’’ and re-post. Council asked staff to compile recent advertising expenses and bring them to the next meeting so members can judge current operating costs. - Council set a possible special meeting if no acceptable applications are received by the end of the month.

Votes at a glance - Motion to hold a closed session on March 10, 2025 (to consult with counsel on legal matters): made by Councilmember Foster, seconded by Councilmember Fuller; closed meeting occurred (transcript records the session and attendees). No public action resulted from that closed session. - Motion to adjourn (March 12, 2025): moved by Councilmember Tillman, seconded by Councilmember Chaney; council voted in favor and adjourned.

What remains unresolved Council did not set a final, recurring funding level for Main Street, nor did it adopt a detailed operating ordinance for the Main Street board. Councilmembers asked staff to bring back prior Main Street reports, previous budgets/advertising expenses, and a revised job posting for review in the coming weeks. Community members urged the council to move beyond planning to concrete spending and visible improvements to buildings, signage and evening business hours.

Reporting note: Quotes and attributions are drawn from the March 12, 2025 Taneytown City Council meeting transcript; names and roles follow how speakers identified themselves at the meeting.