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Wicomico County · County Council · 2026-08-18
Recap With Transcript
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The August 18 session was dominated by the Wicomico County Nursing Home. Council introduced emergency Legislative Bill 2026-11, which would create a new chapter of the county code governing the nursing home, set out the administrator's duties, and establish an advisory nursing home commission — over the objection of the county's law department, which argued the situation does not meet the charter's test for emergency legislation. The bill was introduced unanimously after an hour of debate, a failed amendment on meeting times, and a motion to table that died for lack of a second. County Executive Julie Giordano came to the public-comment podium afterward to ask council to table the bill, calling it a response to hearsay from disgruntled employees; a succession of former nursing home staff, the NAACP, and Delegate Sheree Sample-Hughes told council the opposite.
The rest of the agenda was comparatively routine but not trivial. Council unanimously adopted Legislative Bill 2026-08, rewriting the county's accessory-apartment rules to comply with a 2025 state law that makes accessory dwelling units a permitted use by right in any district allowing single-family homes. Council also accepted two state road-paving grants, added two nuisance code enforcement officers, and in a work session heard a recommendation to move 282 over-65 retirees from United Healthcare to an Aetna Medicare Advantage plan on January 1.
Council opened with a proclamation honoring the Wicomico Composite Squadron, Civil Air Patrol, named 2025 Maryland Squadron of the Year. Vice-President Jeff Merritt read the proclamation and then surprised the squadron commander with a certificate recognizing him as 2025 Maryland Squadron Commander of the Year. The commander told council he joined the Civil Air Patrol at 13 in 2003 and described the squadron's work in search and rescue, emergency services, aerospace education, and cadet programs, including deployments to disaster relief in North Carolina. The squadron has served the county for 41 years.
No one signed up to speak at the public hearing on Legislative Bill 2026-08, so Planning Director Tracy Taylor walked council through it. The bill responds to Senate Bill 891 / House Bill 1466, passed in the 2025 General Assembly session, which preempts local zoning and requires counties to allow accessory dwelling units by right wherever single-family homes are allowed. Taylor said the county repurposed its existing "accessory apartment" section, adopted the state's definitions, and kept its existing parking standard so it would not have to commission a parking study. State law permits an ADU of up to 75% of the primary dwelling's square footage; the county chose a 50% cap so the unit still reads as subordinate to the main house. ADUs do not count against district density, and the bill applies only to single-family lots — not duplexes, townhomes, or multifamily. The bill passed 7-0 on a roll call.
The nursing home bill consumed most of the morning. Council's attorney read a lengthy statement explaining the emergency designation: that calls and emails began arriving before the August 4 meeting, that council held a closed work session and then heard sharply different accounts in public comment, and that research turned up only a 1972 bill (Chapter 5, Bill 5) authorizing the county to acquire and operate the home, with nothing in the charter or code since governing oversight of the 102-bed facility. He also noted the county executive had stated publicly that the county has "no say" over nursing home operations. The bill would require the administrator to report to council at least quarterly, create a commission meeting monthly at the nursing home, and direct that a personnel system be recommended by the executive and established by council.
Councilman Joe Holloway moved to require the commission to meet in the evening, later amending it to alternate morning and evening meetings. Several members — Merritt, Hastings, Shields, and President John T. Cannon — argued the commission should set its own schedule and that rigid rules would shrink the volunteer pool. The amendment failed 5-2. Councilman James Winn then moved to table the bill, saying he had not known it was being drafted until the agenda came out and that council should work through it collaboratively with the administration and legal staff in an open work session. The motion died for lack of a second. On the vote to introduce, the bill passed unanimously. The public hearing and final vote are set for September 15.
Council then moved quickly through the remaining items. Resolution 128-2026 accepted two MDOT grants covering 80% of repaving costs on Spring Hill Lane and Gordy Mill Road, with roughly $198,922 in county match moved from the roads blacktop line. The deputy director of public works said the $3.5 million blacktop budget absorbs the match without delaying other roads, and described a new pavement-management software package the county will own outright for under $1,000. Resolution 129-2026 reclassified the existing nuisance code enforcement officer to manager, retitled a zoning technician as an officer, and created two more officer positions — one manager and three officers in all. Three residents spoke in support, citing dilapidated houses, untagged cars in yards, and overgrown lots. Tracy Taylor said the department has since partnered with Tyler Technologies for a citation module, in-car tablets, and printers at a reduced price, with training expected in two to three months.
Council also approved a salary increase for a new emergency services GIS specialist position to match a specific candidate, two Human Rights Advisory Committee appointments, a Recreation and Parks Commission appointment, a mandatory SECURE 2.0 amendment to the county's 457(b) plan, a sole-source designation for Vermeer equipment service, and the internal auditor's FY26 annual report. On the audit report, Cannon pressed the auditor about the fact that zero auditees returned her quality-improvement surveys.
County Attorney Paul Wilbur told council the law department supports creating a commission but not doing it by emergency measure, because the department is not aware of any state or federal regulator finding a health and safety emergency at the facility. A department attorney added that if an action taken under emergency authority were later challenged and no emergency basis were found, the county would face a second avenue of litigation it would not face under the ordinary process — which, staff explained, would add a 60-day waiting period after the executive's signature but otherwise follow the same two readings.
Council's attorney countered that nothing about the nursing home is codified anywhere, that this was discovered only after complaints began arriving in early August, and that if the facility is a county "agency" as the law department contends, then the current administrator was never submitted to council for confirmation as Section 413 of the charter would require. He also noted that the two prior bills council passed on an emergency basis — on title health and on cannabis zoning — were recommended as emergencies by the law department itself.
Councilman Joe Holloway pressed on what the commission could actually do and was told it is purely advisory, with no personal liability for members and no authority to direct the administrator. Wilbur flagged the personnel provision as the larger problem: nursing home employees have operated under their own personnel manual for decades, and reconciling that with the county manual by the bill's November 17 deadline is, in his view, not achievable. Council's attorney said he included the provision precisely because he cannot determine what the nursing home employees legally are, given that the home is a wholly owned part of the county and not a separate corporation.
County Executive Julie Giordano came to the podium during public comment and asked council to table the bill. She said county tax dollars do not pay nursing home salaries — that the home runs on Medicare, Medicaid, and private pay — and that council met the new administrator in closed session after her hiring without raising confirmation concerns, as had been the practice with the previous director. She said the legislation inserts the legislative branch into executive personnel matters and is driven by hearsay, and she urged members to tour the facility with the new administrator before acting. She circulated a handwritten leave sheet she said showed how the home tracked vacation and sick time, pointing to repeated cash-outs she characterized as a prior employee using leave as a personal piggy bank.
Several former nursing home employees said flatly that they were not disgruntled. One who said she had handled payroll for nearly 13 years said she was told by phone she was no longer allowed on the premises after a single payroll error, and alleged the administrator has outsourced MDS assessments, billing, and payroll to people who worked for her at previous facilities, has told staff not to speak publicly, and prefers part-time hires to avoid paying insurance premiums. Another former employee and a resident's family member described short-staffed halls where one aide is responsible for feeding and positioning an entire wing.
The NAACP's branch vice president, speaking for the chapter president, said employees have brought the organization complaints about wages and qualifications but will not give their names for fear of retaliation, and alleged the new director has held 10 positions in eight years. He called the facility "a jewel in this community" and asked council to examine the county's hiring oversight.
Delegate Sheree Sample-Hughes, whose District 37A contains the nursing home, thanked council for moving quickly. She said she has met with affected employees, described what she called a systematic dismantling, and said roughly 78 employees have been forced out or terminated — some, she said, by phone call. She also suggested one substantive change: adding one or two citizen members to the commission membership in Section 49-5, such as a family member of a resident, which would bring the body to an odd number.
Staff and the county's benefits consultant recommended moving 282 over-65 retirees from United Healthcare to a non-integrated Aetna Medicare Advantage plan effective January 1, after last December's renewal came in sharply higher. The county currently pays $546 per month per retiree; staying with United would rise to $623 integrated or $563 non-integrated, while the Aetna non-integrated bid came in at $485. Retirees would save about $10 a month. Holloway pushed repeatedly on pharmacy access, recalling complaints from a prior plan change; staff said the Aetna network is larger than United's and that a new service called Retiree First, included at no added cost, will help retirees navigate the transition. Council gave consensus to bring a resolution on September 1 authorizing the executive to sign.
Council recognized the squadron as 2025 Maryland Squadron of the Year and separately presented its commander with a certificate as 2025 Maryland Squadron Commander of the Year. The squadron has served the county for 41 years and has deployed members to disaster relief in North Carolina and elsewhere in Maryland.
Passed 7-0 on roll call after a public hearing at which no one spoke. The bill rewrites the county's accessory-apartment provisions to comply with SB 891 / HB 1466, making ADUs a permitted use by right in any district allowing single-family dwellings. The county capped ADU size at 50% of the primary dwelling, below the 75% the state allows, and kept its existing off-street parking standard to avoid a required parking study.
Introduced unanimously as emergency legislation creating Chapter 49 of the county code, defining the administrator's duties, requiring quarterly reports to council, and establishing an advisory nursing home commission meeting monthly. The law department opposed the emergency designation; an amendment on meeting times failed 5-2 and a motion to table died for lack of a second. The public hearing and final vote are set for September 15.
Passed unanimously, accepting state grants covering 80% of repaving costs on Spring Hill Lane and Gordy Mill Road and transferring roughly $198,922 from the roads blacktop account for the county's 20% match. Public works said the match comes out of a roughly $3.5 million blacktop line and will not delay other paving projects.
Passed unanimously as amended, reclassifying the existing code enforcement officer to manager, retitling a zoning technician as an officer, and creating two new officer positions. Three residents spoke in support, citing dilapidated and boarded-up houses, untagged vehicles, and overgrown lots. An account-number typo was corrected by floor amendment.
Passed unanimously, raising the budgeted salary for a new, never-filled GIS specialist position in emergency services to match a specific candidate's experience and education. A resident later questioned during public comment why the FY27 budget figure had to be increased within weeks of taking effect.
Council unanimously confirmed two appointments to the Human Rights Advisory Committee and one to the Recreation and Parks Commission. The parks appointment was formally submitted by the assistant director of administration on the county executive's recommendation.
Passed unanimously. The county's benefits manager and a representative from Empower explained the amendment is mandatory for IRS compliance under SECURE 2.0, which among other things requires age-50 catch-up contributions above a certain income level to be treated as Roth contributions as of January 2026. Staff said no material changes affect current plan members.
Passed by the required supermajority, designating Vermeer as sole-source vendor for parts and service on Vermeer and Wildcat equipment. Public works said using another servicer would void warranties.
Passed unanimously. The internal auditor reviewed completed projects, carryover projects from FY24 and FY25, and the status of prior recommendations. Cannon noted that surveys sent to all auditees for the office's quality-improvement program drew zero responses.
County Executive Julie Giordano asked council to table the emergency bill, disputed that county tax dollars fund nursing home salaries, and urged members to tour the facility with the new administrator. Former employees, a resident's family member, the NAACP, and Delegate Sheree Sample-Hughes told council the opposite — describing terminations by phone, outsourcing of clinical and billing functions, short staffing, and what Sample-Hughes called a systematic dismantling. Other commenters raised the Las Vegas trip accounting, Safari at the Quarry, the landfill's Cell 7 schedule, and the pending FY25 audit.
Members spoke at length about the nursing home, with Ennis and Merritt both citing Sample-Hughes's letter as a blueprint and Shields describing the calls that prompted her involvement. Merritt used his time to dispute what he called false and defamatory public statements by the county executive about his former printing business, and read from an email reply the executive sent to a council staff request for project status updates. Hastings noted the recent deaths of two former county school board members.
Staff and consultants from Bolton recommended moving 282 over-65 retirees from United Healthcare to a non-integrated Aetna Medicare Advantage plan on January 1, cutting the county's cost from $546 to $485 per month and saving retirees about $10 a month. A navigation service called Retiree First, already used by the City of Salisbury and the school board, is included at no added cost. Council gave consensus to place an authorizing resolution on the September 1 agenda.
nursing home zoning housing public comment budget code enforcement county administration public works
Based on the auto-generated transcript of the August 18, 2026 Wicomico County Council meeting, as archived by PAC 14. Personal names are rendered inconsistently in that transcript; anything that could not be matched to a known official is given by role instead.