Votes at a glance: council approves settlement, forfeiture appropriation, position corrections and auditor independence

The Wicomico County Council took action on several resolutions during its Feb. 18 legislative session. Key votes and actions follow.

Resolution 27-2025 — NAACP settlement: The council approved an amendment to the FY2025 operating budget to create a litigation settlement account and fund a $125,000 payment related to a settlement with the Wicomico County branch of the NAACP. Finance director Pamela (Pam) Olin told the council there were insufficient individual departmental budgets to cover the settlement and that the payment would be funded from fund balance. The county previously secured $50,000 from a third party (referred to as "Legit" in the hearing) to offset legal costs; county attorneys' invoices will be reconciled and any remaining offset pursued and reimbursed where appropriate.

Resolution 28-2025 — Sheriff's Office appropriation: The council approved an appropriation of $132,592.44 to the sheriff's office from local confiscated funds to cover routine operating expenses (vehicle maintenance, equipment, training). Major Todd Richardson described the funds as seizure proceeds used for law-enforcement expenses; the council confirmed these are local forfeiture funds not federal forfeiture funds and therefore more flexible in allowable uses.

Resolution 29-2025 — Position control amendments: Council approved corrections to position numbers and a title change in the Planning, Zoning & Community Development position-control exhibit to create an appropriate supervisory spacing between a new nuisance/code enforcement officer and positions beneath it. The corrections resolved typographical errors that appeared on the original resolution and passed unanimously after an amendment.

Resolution 30-2025 — Internal auditor independence: The council concurred with an organizational-independence declaration from the internal auditor. The auditor described safeguards and recusals used to mitigate perceived conflicts of interest and noted that the council president will approve auditor expenses going forward. The resolution passed unanimously.

Each resolution passed by voice vote or unanimous roll call; the finance director and department heads answered council questions before final motions.

Summary of outcomes: - Resolution 27-2025 (NAACP settlement appropriation): approved. - Resolution 28-2025 (Sheriff appropriation from confiscated funds): approved. - Resolution 29-2025 (position control corrections): approved, amended to fix typographical errors; unanimous. - Resolution 30-2025 (internal auditor independence declaration): approved; unanimous.

All votes recorded during the session were passed by majority voice or roll-call vote; where roll calls were recorded the council voted unanimously on these items.