Wicomico leaders outline busy year of expansion, investment in State of County address

In a State of the County address by Wicomico County Executive Julie Giordano and other officials Thursday, continued growth and additional investment marked the report on the past year.

The annual event served as a comprehensive update on current and future projects in the county as well as ongoing challenges with which the county is dealing. Among the compendium of goals were investments in the economy, education, public safety, infrastructure, quality of life, transportation and employee retention.

"There were six pillars of success that were our focus this past year and they are economic development, employee recruitment and (retention), modernization of local government, public safety, education and creating a more business-friendly county. These pillars are reflected in our budget and in daily decisions," Giordano said.

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'Economic development is a team sport'

According to David Ryan, director of the Salisbury Wicomico Economic Development, many of the strides in the regional economy are rooted in a strong workforce and partnerships that create it.

"Workforce development and real estate are major drivers in the (economy)," Ryan said. "Our major program is the establishment of an aviation maintenance and technician program at the Salisbury Regional Airport. We're fortunate that we have an airline headquartered in Wicomico County and that we retained scheduled airline service."

The location of the airport is one of the main reasons why the maintenance operations plan is key. The current shortage of qualified technicians and pilots with regional airports makes the Eastern Shore a hotbed of possible employees. Currently, training programs for both those positions already exist at locations like University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

Partnerships with the airlines, county entities and education partners like the UMES are one of the first resources available in training the next generation of employees. Tony Rudy, director of the Salisbury Regional Airport, added that upgrading everything from the runways to the convenience areas to the area's infrastructure are overtures to making that possible.

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"Projects like the building to house snow removal and fire department equipment and runway extensions are scheduled to break ground in spring or early summer," Rudy said. "Two projects are in the works such as a new cell phone tower to enhance cell coverage, and a new solar farm in the planning stages on a 20-acre parcel. It will be a 3.5 megawatt and save the airport $600,000 in energy costs and provide $1.6 million dollars in rent over its life."

The county will also save an estimated $8.5 million in electricity costs, Rudy noted, as a line for natural gas at the airport is also nearing completion.

Employee recruitment and retention efforts across the board

Donna O'Hara, director of Wicomico County Human Resources, also reported increased efforts to address turnover concerns.

According to O'Hara, there are more than 1,200 employees, which includes full-time, part-time, and seasonal employees. There are seven new job fairs to stoke recruitment, leading to contact with more than 300 job candidates. Marketing has been revised, with the county receiving the Training Service Award and the Risk Management Service Award this year, which showcase the efforts by the department.

"In 12 of our departments, turnover is down, with three departments not having any turnover at all," O'Hara said. "In seven departments, there was less than 5% turnover, which is a great improvement. We on-boarded over 150 full-time new hires in 2023. Over 40% of our employees are taking advantage of our deferred compensation program."

That allows employees to lower their taxable income with efforts continuing to educate all employees on enrollment into the program.

Preventative health screenings have also increased creating "a healthier workforce in the county," O'Hara said.

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What is Wicomico County's Local Management Board?

"These boards are in each county in the state and they identify priorities and target resources for the community. They plan and implement children and family services. This county brings together its diverse community and conducting needs assessments every three to five years," said Tim Bozman, director of the Wicomico County Local Management Board.

Among its highlights this year was a grant that provided laptops to individuals to close the digital divide in underserved areas, another grant to provide meals to the underfed and efforts to get inmates into educational programs, with some already finishing high school while incarcerated.

Finally, there was a financial literacy course offered to middle and high school students who live in poverty. That has served 641 individuals thus far.

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'A safe and efficient transportation network'

Mike Svaby, deputy director of the Wicomico County Department of Public Works, outlined the total number of employees working to maintain and expand roadways in the area.

"We employ approximately 50 full-time and part-time employees and are responsible for paving and drainage on an estimated 700 miles of roads. That includes nine dams, 26 bridges, 2 ferries and 32,000 feet of sidewalk, and four railroad crossings," Svaby said.

A pavement study is already in the works to assess road quality. Keeping those roadways clean meant removing 28 tons of roadside trash, with the county's landfill handling recycling duties on its 125 acres.

An estimated 152,000 tons of waste and sludge was processed at the location in 2023. Plans to dredge continue, with county waterways playing a more vital role in locations like the Port of Salisbury.

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This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Busy year of expansion, investment for Wicomico outlined by leaders