Howard County Council accepts two Board of Appeals withdrawal requests, takes no action on third

At a special virtual meeting, the Howard County Council moved into closed session to discuss recent letters of resignation and returned to say it had accepted the withdrawal of resignations for Jean Ryan and Felita Phillips but took no action on a third member, Lynn Furcob, Chair Opal Jones said.

The issue had become urgent because members said some resignation letters carried timestamps and could take effect before year-end. Ms. Walsh told the council that her recollection of prior legal advice was that, if resignations were circulated among the appointing authority, “those resignations had legal effect and were not, under Maryland law, rescindable.” Chair Opal Jones disputed that account, saying, “my understanding is that ... the county council never accepted any letter of resignation,” and that the council has not adopted a defined process for accepting or rescinding resignations.

Council member Deb Young proposed going into closed session to review recent communications from the county’s Office of Law and to consider whether those communications were confidential. The council voted to close the meeting under Maryland Code, General Provisions §3-305(b)(1) and (7), a motion Chair Jones moved and which was seconded. The administrator recorded the roll-call vote as: Chair Opal Jones — Yes; Ms. Rigby — Yes; Ms. Young — Yes; Ms. Walsh — Yes; Mr. Youngman — Yes.

After the closed session, Jones summarized the outcome: the council approved a motion accepting the withdrawal of resignation requests submitted on behalf of Jean Ryan and Felita Phillips. Jones also said the council considered three separate motions related to the third member, Lynn Furcob, and that none of those motions passed, leaving Furcob’s status unresolved. Jones said the council will continue to address the matter as the appointing authority and that additional meetings or work sessions may be scheduled.

The council discussed specific dates: members referenced emails dated Dec. 15 and Dec. 16 and noted that at least one member’s resignation could become effective Dec. 31 if not otherwise resolved. Several speakers urged clarity on the council’s process for accepting resignations and for recording the formal acceptance or rescission of such letters.

The special session concluded with the council returning to the public WebEx link, a brief recap by Chair Jones of the closed-session decisions, and adjournment. The recording and transcript were stopped at the end of the meeting.