Town Hall Report

by James Rada, Jr.

Thurmont

Charter Review Committee Established

The Thurmont Mayor and Commissioners passed a resolution to establish a charter review committee, which will review the current town charter and make recommendations to the mayor and commissioners of suggested changes by September 1, 2027.

The mayor and commissioners also approved the following residents to serve on the committee: Members—Kevin McGuire, Wes Hamrick, Ross Lillard, Michael Toms, Louis Powell Jr., Sally McIlrath, and Kenneth Oland; Alternates—Meredith Wivell, Bill Blakeslee, and Sarah Waldron.

Impact Fee Changes Discussed

The Thurmont Mayor and Commissioners recently discussed possibly increasing the impact fees the town charges developers for each new housing unit built in town. This has been an ongoing discussion, and the suggestion is to increase fees by around 2.81 percent. This would only keep the fees current with increases to the Consumer Price Index. They are also considering creating an emergency services impact fee to cover the increased need for police, fire, and ambulance service that new development creates. The proposed increases are:

Water connection fee: $4,145 to $4,300

Water impact fee: $3,935 to $4,100

Wastewater connection fee: $5,065 to $5,200

Wastewater impact fee: $5,575 to $5,800

Roads impact fee: $2,760 to $2,900

Parks impact fee: $1,840 to $1,900

Emergency Services impact fee: $0 to $1,500

The total of all impact fees would increase from $23,320 to $25,700. The commissioners plan to vote on these changes at a future meeting.

Town Receives a Clean Audit

Mike Samson and Frank Posega with Zlenkofske Axelrod, LLC, presented the results of the annual independent audit of Thurmont’s financial statements for Fiscal Year 2025. Zlenkofske Axelrod, LLC, gave the town an unmodified or clean opinion, which is the highest rating that can be given. The auditors had one concern, which Chief Administrative Officer Jim Humerick said had been addressed and would be reflected in the audit of Fiscal Year 2026. The issue involved language that was recommended to be added to contractor agreements and third-party contracts with contractors.

Thurmont May Institute Fee for Credit Card Payments

The Thurmont Mayor and Commissioners continue to discuss the idea of charging a fee for credit card payments of water, sewer, and electric bills. The fee could be a convenience fee (flat charge) or service fee (percentage of bill). The goal would be to offset the roughly $175,000 the town pays annually to process credit card payments.

New Board Appointment

The Thurmont Mayor and Commissioners recently approved the reappointment of Kenneth Oland to serve on the Thurmont Board of Appeals.

Emmitsburg

Solar Fields Helping Town Save at EV Stations

Emmitsburg Town Manager Cathy Willets provided the Emmitsburg Board of Commissioners with a comparison of town’s EV station costs using solar and power through Potomac Edison. During January through June last year, the stations used 15,213 KWh, all provided from Potomac Edison. The average cost per KWh was 23 cents. For the second half of 2025, power to the EV stations came from both Potomac Edison and the solar fields. For this, the stations needed 18,405 KWh at an average cost of 16 cents per KWh. The result is that the use of solar power for the EV stations reduced the average cost per KWh by 30 percent. For last year, although more KWhs were used for the second half of the year, the cost was significantly less.

Town Receives a Clean Audit

Michelle Mills and Addie Blickenstaff, CPAs with Deleon and Stang, presented the results of the annual independent audit of Emmitsburg’s financial statements for Fiscal Year 2025. They gave the town an unmodified or clean opinion, which is the highest rating that can be given. The auditors did have a concern over how the town is allocating salaries and benefits to employees working in multiple departments. This has mainly arisen over actions the Board of Commissioners directed to try and shrink the water fund expenses.

The town has assets of $50.5 million, up 13.5 percent over 2024. The town’s liabilities are $10.3 million, up 38.8 percent over 2024. General fund revenues were $2.6 million, up 2.7 percent over 2024 and general fund expenses were $2.4 million, up 18.9 percent over 2024.

Budget Transfers Made

The Emmitsburg Board of Commissioners approved $181,340 in budget transfers from the Fiscal Year 2025 budget:

$45,000 — to retail strategies Revitalize Downtown.

$11,088 — to cover the shortfall for a new rooftop heating unit.

$5,300 — to purchase a storage shed for ball field no. 3.

$25,000 — for paving.

$80,100 — to the Memorial Park Playground mulch project.

$14,852 — to the Green Street project.

Storm Inlet Project Bid Award

The Emmitsburg Board of Commissioners awarded Hobbs Excavating, LLC, the contract to replace the storm inlet on Federal Avenue to deal with the drainage problems on the street. “During heavy rain, water often ponds in the roadway since the existing storm drainpipes and inlets are old, partially clogged, and undersized,” according to town documents. Hobbs Excavating will remove the deteriorated pipes, install new 18-inch reinforced concrete pipes, build two new storm drain inlets, and make grading adjustments to allow water flow into the system properly. The project will be funded from the sewer fund.

New Grant Awarded

The Town of Emmitsburg recently received a $13,000 Sustainable MD grant with no match from the town required. The money will be used to expand the Emmitsburg Community Garden on Cedar Avenue by purchasing a small 8.5-foot x 8.5-foot greenhouse, more raised beds, rain barrels, a rules sign, a lawn mower, and a bench.