EASTON — Voters in Talbot County will see a familiar question on November’s ballot.
The Talbot County Council passed a resolution Tuesday to place a question on the 2024 ballot to amend the county’s charter to raise residents’ taxes for public safety.
The amendment would allow, but not require, the council to add up to 1 cent per $100 of assessed value above the revenue cap for an additional seven years beginning July 1, 2026.
After the council passed a similar 1-cent resolution in 2020, a majority of Talbot County voters in the 2020 general election approved the charter amendment.
Martha Sparks, the county’s finance director, said the 1-cent resolution has allowed the county to add 26 public safety positions, including paramedics, EMTs, school resource officers and 911 operators. County Manager Clay Stamp vouched for the 1-cent resolution funding.
“In the last number of years, this additional funding has allowed us to see the best of our services,” said Stamp, who is also the county’s former emergency services director. “We’ve stabilized our workforce. We’ve been able to attract quality individuals as paramedics, correctional officers, deputy sheriffs. We’ve enhanced our technology, we’ve enhanced our coverage.”
The original resolution from 2020 amended the charter for five years up until July 1, 2026. Resolution 359, which was passed Tuesday, adds an additional seven years.
Originally, Resolution 359 was introduced as extending five years. Council Vice President Pete Lesher proposed an amendment Tuesday to tack on the two additional years.
His reasoning for the amendment was to ensure any future extensions can be voted on by the public during presidential elections, when the ballot is more “uncrowded” than other elections. County council and gubernatorial elections are set to be in 2026 and 2030, meaning that if extended to only 2031, the 1-cent question may have appeared on a crowded 2030 ballot.
“By adding another two years, rather than having this expire in a council election year (or) a gubernatorial election year, this will extend it to the next presidential election year so that should this need to be renewed another time, it can be done when there isn’t such a crowded ballot,” Lesher said.
Council members unanimously approved the amendment 4-0 before passing the resolution by the same vote, with Council Member Dave Stepp absent.
Sparks said she’s seen where the additional tax revenue has been spent, which is in “the areas that the public has supported,” noting the new positions and increased funding to volunteer fire departments.
“It’s very important for the public to know that they’re doing good things to help us,” Council President Chuck Callahan said.
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