Board of Town Commissioners - Regular Meeting

Good evening. It is now 7 o'clock on May the 18th and the Bella Board of Town Commissioners Town Hall meeting is now in session. I'm going to call the roll. Commissioner Foss. Present. Commissioner Chismar. Here. Commissioner Taylor. Here. And Commissioner Hanley. Here. All right. Everyone's here and next on our agenda is the invocation.

Madam Chair, O risen Lord, you've climbed the heights beyond our sight on the day of the ascension. The clouds that received you are not a curtain to hide you, but a veil through which your glory streams. Lift our eyes from the weight of the earth and teach our souls the language of the heavens and draw us into the current of eternal life. May we live as citizens of the kingdom above, turning confusion to understanding and hatred to love. bearing the light you have kindled until the day we see you return, not descending into shadows, but breaking them forever with the dawn of your face. Amen.

Amen. If now you will please stand and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

All right. First is the approval of the agenda. May I have a motion?

Yes, Madam Chair. I move that the agenda be approved.

Thank you. And do I have a second? Second. All right. Any discussion or changes to this evening's agenda? All right. Mr. Krantz?

Thank you, ma'am. Chair, for approval of the Bel Air Board of Town Commissioners Town Hall Meeting Agenda for May 18th, 2026. Commissioner Foss, how do you vote? Aye. Commissioner Chismar? Aye. Commissioner Taylor? Aye. Commissioner Hanley? Aye. And Chair Edding?

Aye.

This evening's agenda is approved. Thank you.

Thank you. Next is the approval of the minutes. May I have a motion?

Madam Chair, I move that the minutes of the Board of Commissioners meetings held on April 28th, 2026, April 30th, 2026, May 4th, 2026, and May 7th, 2026 be approved as submitted.

Thank you. Do I have a second?

I'll second.

All right. Any discussion or corrections to the minutes? All right. Mr. Kringens?

okay thank you madam chair for approval of the april 28th april 30th may 4th and may 7th bel air board of town commissioner meeting minutes commissioner foss how do you vote aye commissioner chismar aye commissioner taylor aye commissioner hanley aye and chair edding aye the minutes are approved thank you all right and now we get to the heart of our meeting this evening the presentations the proclamation for historic preservation month and mr krantz who has that

There you go.

Thank you, Mr. Krantz. ... ... ...

play all the roles here with us all right so this is proclamation is for preservation month whereas historic preservation is an effective tool for managing growth revitalizing neighborhoods fostering local pride and maintaining community character while enhancing livability and whereas historic preservation is relevant for communities across the nation both urban and rural and for Americans of all ages all walks of life and all ethnic backgrounds and whereas it's important important to celebrate the role of history in our lives and contributions made by dedicated individuals in helping to preserve the tangible aspects of the heritage that has shaped us as a people. We the Bel Air Board of Town Commissioners do hereby proclaim the month of May 2026 to be designated Preservation Month in the Town of Bel Air and call upon the citizens of Bel Air to recognize and participate in this special observance. And certainly we have a number of historic properties right here as well as the historical society which is right down the street so we are all about our history and preserving it and thank you for all you do thank you all right it's for you thank you and then next we have all right i know you could making the awards yeah for the um winners and everybody is a winner. You all did a great job. We're so happy to have all of your artwork here with us tonight so we can admire it and I will let you take it away. Great. Thank you.

So good evening. My name is Laura Bianca Pruitt. I am a planner 2. And the staff liaison to our historic preservation commission. Every year the historic preservation commission as part of their community outreach has a poster contest for fourth graders where you're where you draw any of our wonderful historic properties in the town on a 10 by 14 paper in black and white pencil and so tonight we have awards for our first, second and third place overall winners as well as we have three honorable mentions for each of our three schools that have participated. And our schools this year are Harford Day School, Homestead Wakefield Elementary School and St. Margaret's School. So tonight basically our first place winners will receive, so everyone will receive a certificate and a goody bag. Our first, second and third place winners also will receive, I'll pull one over. a special goody bag that contains a copy of the book Bel Air and architectural and cultural history 1782 to 1945, as well as a few other goodies in the bag, as well as a gift card prize. And for our honorable mention winners, we thank Vagabond Sandwich Company and the Frosted Rooster for donating gift cards. And then you also receive a book And the book that you all will receive is Bella Chronicles by Carol Diebel, who was our former planning director and is still very active with the Historical Society of Hartford County and this year with the America 250 Hartford Committee. So without further ado, Without further ado, what I will do is I will call up the each winner and if I could maybe get Commissioner Hanley, our board of town commissioners liaison to help hand out the awards and the goody bags and make sure that I still have these separated out. So all the ones in the box are for honorable mentions and then these three are for our prize winners. I think I actually did the winners first. So we could probably just put these up here. You want to grab that last one? You go ahead and start. So we'll cut right to the chase with first place. M. Reed Core drew the Bella Armory and she's from Hartford Day School. Congratulations.

and stay here stay here because we're gonna have a group photo at the end

Our second place winner is from Homestead Wakefield Elementary School and she drew the Hayes House, Anna Selvage. Anna is not here this evening. Our third place winner is from St. Margaret's school, Colin Lynch drew the Wilgus Bennett house. All right and now honorable mentions we're doing an alphabetical order based on school and then alphabetical order by last name for students. So starting with Hartford Day School we have Nalia Furcan Morales drew the Hanway Finney House. Next we have Trent Simmons who drew Emmanuel Piscopal Church. Everybody is out enjoying the nice weather I guess. Rory Withers drew the First Presbyterian Church. All right and now our honorable mentions from Homestead Wakefield Elementary School. Our first one is Abiba Bharti who drew the first national bank. Ashley drew the full floor. Molly Scott drew the proctor house. Now moving on to St. Margaret's School. We had a second drawing for the Wilgus Bennett House which is on 139 East Broadway and this honorable mention was drawn by Anna McSpadden. Okay. Joining the First National Bank is Elena Merchant. And last but not least, Edgar Moe drew the Rebecca Evans house.

Okay, all right.

Would the rest of the commissioners come up for group photo, please?

if you all can step forward just a little bit perfect line up behind you great job

we can folks could come up we have a huge group photo you could do one of the time thank you thank you

Thank you.

Another benefit of winning the contest or being an honorable mention is that these drawings are also being made into placemats that will be displayed at Vagabond Sandwich Company. And so now we will students, families, we have not just any cookies but cozy cookies in our community room. So what I'll do is I'll lead us all over for a short reception.

Thank you.

Enjoy those cookies.

All right. Moving on with our agenda next will be the public hearing on resolution 1268 dash 26. The fiscal year 2027 tentative budget and first we will hear from this luta Lisa Moody, the director of finance.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Just a few moments to get the presentation up. So our first public hearing, which was in April, we focused on the general fund. This evening we're gonna focus on the two enterprise funds, the sewer and the parking fund, as well as the special revenue fund. Next slide. So starting off with the sewer fund, revenues and expenses in this fund have increased a little over $293,000. From the revenue side, the base charge, which is based on the meter size and the rate per thousand gallons in the sewer service charges includes a 2.6% increase based on the December 2025 consumer price index. The rate and the meter size also includes an increase of 7.4% to compensate for the Harford County bulk rate increasing a total of 50% since fiscal year 2022, while the town's rate has only increased a total of 21%. The last time the town increased the rate and the meter size that wasn't an annual CPI increase was in fiscal year 2014. The rate would increase a total of 10% from $7.50 to $8.25 or $0.75 per thousand gallons, which would be effective July 1 of 2026. Next slide. On the expense side, again, balanced budget, so you'll see the same numbers at the very top for 27, 26 and the change. Breaking it down into certain components, 447,455 will fund the routine expenses to basically operate and maintain the sewer system. So this includes salaries, utilities, supplies, maintenance, repairs, and outsourcing of our sewer bills. $2,232,000 is budgeted to fund the payment to Harford County, who transports and treats the town's sewage. $472,469 will reimburse the general fund for its pro rata share of salaries, benefits, and overhead that are attributed to the fund's operations. $80,000 will fund the replacement of the 2014 Chevy 2500 sewer Express van and $688 will fund interest only debt service payments for existing bonds. We do not expense in this fund principal payments on debt that goes against the liability. So that's why it says only interest only. Next slide. Moving on to the parking fund, there is a $56,189 increase in this fund. Harford County reimburses the fund two-thirds of the operating costs for the parking garage since the town and the county both owned the garage with a two-thirds, one-third split. The county also reimburses the fund two-thirds of the annual contribution to the Capital Improvement Reserve account, which is required through the MOU of $10,080. The town has three main revenue sources within this fund. The first one being meter collections, which includes the town meters themselves as well as the use of ParkMobile. All three of these are based on history and meter collections are budgeted 129,000. Parking fines is the next source of revenue at 135,000 and then our lease fees are our third. These are based on actual monthly leases for the three lots, the parking garage and two independent leases at a little over $73,000. Next slide. Moving on to the expense side, still within the parking fund, we've broken it down between lots, parking garage, and other, and the reason we do that is because, again, the county and the town own the garage collaboratively, so we have to maintain a separation of the parking garage to know what the two-thirds requirement reimbursement is from the county. From the lots section of the budget, almost 238,000 is budgeted for operations, which includes monies owed to the general fund for its pro rata share, salary benefits and overhead, very similar to the sewer fund that are attributable to the parking funds operations. From the parking garage, $230,000 is budgeted for operations, including monies owed, again, to the general fund, as well as funds to pay for interest-only debt service payments. Again, this fund is an enterprise fund like the sewer fund, so principal payments are not expensed. They reduce the liability on the balance sheet. There's also an engineering condition assessment project that's budgeted in the parking fund for $18,000 that would also be split two thirds, one third with the county. The parking garage also includes a $15,000 transfer to the Capital Reserve for future capital work. I mentioned that on the revenue side for the county's two-thirds share. And then in the other section of the parking fund is $160,877, mainly for depreciation costs on capital expenses. And there's a 19% collection fee that's paid to the vendor who processes the town's parking tickets. Next slide. Lastly, the Special Revenue Fund shows a reduction of $22,354. This fund, its purpose is really to account for grants and special projects that don't lend themselves the normal fiscal year budgeting. So mainly the accounts in here are, like I said, grant driven or special projects that revolve year after year after year. A few of them are Explorer Scouts. This is mainly grant driven through the Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention and the estimate is $27,000. Our seized property federal treasury is budgeted at 32,000. We're still anticipating receiving as a result of the partnership and the task force. Seize Property, Federal Department of Justice. We're anticipating $30,392, which is our portion of three forfeiture sharing cases. This is with the DEA, but it has been outstanding for a few years now, so we just continue to anticipate collecting that. The A&E district project is also grant driven. The budget is $19,950. It represents an operating support grant through the Maryland State Art Council. And then lastly, CDBG, which is the Community Development Block Grant, is budgeted at 27,000. This is an estimate of the fiscal year 26 allotment grant year. Staff has not determined what project the funding will be spent on yet, but could be, which is why it shows in the budget. that is it that completes again general fund was the first public hearing tonight we completed the other three uh funds so thank you again to staff commissioners for everyone's hard work and time during the budget season all right thank you very much miss moody and now we will continue with the public comment portion of the public hearing and the first name on my list is mr john stump mr stump welcome back

The podium is yours for three minutes. And you can dispense with your full address because you have signed in and we all know where you live. Actually, it just put give us your zip code to be fine. Thank you.

I wanted to take an opportunity to express my appreciation for your response to my emails. and for the efforts in addressing the health insurance issue. I recognize that balancing a budget is not easy, and I understand that the town faces difficult financial decisions every year, and this year is no exception. But the original request for new officers was made because of a need. That need has not changed simply because the budget numbers have changed. As the community continues to grow and change, the demand for our police department also grows. An additional officer is an investment. Our safety, our security, our quality of life is always out front. Please remember, the criminal element always pays attention to what the community prioritizes and what the community does not prioritize. I appreciate your support in funding one new police officer. I believe the people of the Bel Air expect public safety to remain a priority. Thank you very much for allowing me to speak all these months. And Chief Moore, to you and your staff, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Stone.

The next name on my list is Jessica Riley Hammond. And I know you've been here before as well. Three minutes as the timer shows. And if you could just give your zip code.

2-10-15 and I'm Jessica Riley Hammond. Thank you for letting me speak this evening. I wanted to briefly express my support for our police officers and the work they do for this community. Through both my work in mental health and social services, In my previous work in the emergency room, I have worked side by side with first responders and know firsthand how difficult and stressful these jobs can be. I understand that the cost of everything has gone up, and that includes the cost for the town. But I do not believe we should balance those rising costs by effectively reducing the benefits of the officers who serve and protect our community every day. i understand as you all know or many of you know i'm running for county council district c and i understand this is ultimately a town decision but bel air is part of my district and public safety matters deeply to our residents retaining and recruiting qualified officers requires competitive compensation and benefits especially at a time when the cost of living continues to rise thank you for your time thank you

And last on my list is Alex Morrow.

Good evening. My name is Alex Morrow. I'm the president of the Bel Air Police Association, the union that represents Bel Air's police officers. About a week and a half ago, a union member told me that one of the commissioners asked him why the police union was so angry. I won't spend my time tonight debating the logic of a modest tax increase versus the cuts that are proposed in this budget. I've been told clearly that's not happening. So if we're going to operate in the reality that you've said, I think it's important to address why what you call anger is actually a deep sense of frustration and despair. For the first time, we are being vocal and public with that frustration. For years, this union tried to handle things quietly. We sat down with the town administrator, we spoke behind closed doors, and we attended the listening sessions. We trusted that a soft-spoken approach would lead to fair results. But handling things quietly hasn't worked. It has only led to frozen merit steps and cost of living adjustments that fall below inflation. This year, the town has come for our health care. We have taken a hard public line because we can no longer afford to be ignored. We are asking for the bare minimum, a merit step, a 4% quota, and for our healthcare to remain unchanged. This is simply to keep our heads above water. When we try to educate the public about these needs, we aren't being difficult. We don't have collective bargaining rights, so we certainly aren't making demands. We are being honest about what is at stake. Our past silence was mistaken for permission to let us fall behind. You can be nice to employees in person, but true kindness and leadership is reflected in your budget. To pass this budget as it stands would demonstrate a significant gap in the creativity and the leadership that this town deserves. We aren't asking for the world. We're asking for you to value the people who serve Bel Air. Thank you.

Thank you. All right, so we will close the public hearing it. Oh, are there any? Is there anyone else here that wishes to speak that hasn't signed in? You can certainly make your decision now to step to the podium. All right, there being none, we'll close the public hearing at 732. Mike, thank you. Under new business, we have ordinance 861 dash 26 prohibiting data centers in the town of Bel Air. May I have a motion?

Yes, Madam Chair, I move that ordinance number 861-26 prohibiting data centers within the municipal limits of the town be received by the Board of Town Commissioners.

Thank you. Do I have a second?

Second.

Thank you. And is Mr. Baer presenting or you?

I'll begin. There you go. This piece of legislation came about after significant public reaction to a proposed data center at Mountain Branch. And the county has swiftly moved to prohibit very clearly and permanently data centers in the county. Now, we understand that if something is not permitted in the town code, it is prohibited, but my concern is if the county is moving directly forward with prohibiting and we don't, it leaves a Bel Air-shaped hole in the middle of Harford County where theoretically they could be permitted. Now, after some discussion at the two work sessions ago with Commissioner Chismar and Mayor Edding, we came up with, I think, a creative way to make this clear. We cleaned up the prohibited uses section of the code, expressly saying that any use not prohibited any use not permitted is prohibited and then we specifically say junkyards and data centers are among those things not permitted and therefore expressly prohibited but we don't limit it to just junkyards and data centers. The reason for junkyards being that that was already existent in the code as a clear prohibition so we're just cleaning that language up. Overwhelmingly the public outcry on this has been very clear that Vibrant commercial property like the mall should not be turned into a small data center site. We'd like to see it remain commercial. We'd like to see it remain where our citizens can go and exchange money for goods and services. A data center which, as I've shared previously at previous work sessions, this is one of the rising economic demands of the future. And this piece of legislation would leave the town protected in that regard. For any technical commentary, certainly Director Berry, you're welcome to speak to this.

really don't have anything more to add I know there's been some good conversation a discussion about it so I appreciate the work that has been done any questions or comments from the board and is there anyone here that wishes to make a public comment on this piece of legislation only

Thank you, Madam Chair. This is to vote to receive Ordinance 861-26, and a public hearing would be scheduled for June 22nd, 2026, here at 7 p.m. at Bel Air Town Hall. So the vote to receive Ordinance 861-26, Commissioner Foss? Aye. Commissioner Chismar? Aye. Commissioner Taylor? Aye. Commissioner Hanley? Aye. And Chair Eddy?

Aye.

The ordinance is received, thank you.

next is resolution 1271-26 the fiscal year 2027 final budget matt yes madam chair i move that the proposed resolution number 1271-26 providing for the adoption of a final budget for the town of bel air for fiscal year 2027 be adopted by the board of town commissioners with the following amendments under general fund decrease real property taxes by 21 956 which was originally increased to balance the budget and balance the budget Increased stormwater management in Harford County by $492,846 for additional monies estimated by Harford County. Added in a new line for transfer to stormwater management reserve as well for the same amount. Decreased transfer from capital reserve by a net amount of $77,618 by removing $127,573 in technology capital projects and Excuse me, 49,955 in the town building capital projects. Increased salaries, benefits in the various departments for money stored in the other account within the miscellaneous department for the 2.9% COLA in the amount of $306,809. Decreased salaries and benefits in the various departments for a 1% decrease in dental and vision premiums and a 10% decrease in life and long term disability premiums and a reduction to all three workers compensation rate classes. Increased salaries and benefits in the various departments by 16,465, which represents the increase in the town health insurance coverage from 95 to 96%. Employee portion decreased from 5 to 4%. Decreased salaries, benefits in the town administrator department by $3,148 for the resident rebate. Decreased expenses in the town administrator department by $1,125 for the MML fall conference and MML emergency management dues. Increased OPEB actuarial valuation and GASB pension review in the finance department by $560 to fund an increase in the proposals. Decreased salaries benefits in the planning department by removing the part-time code enforcement officer proposal. Decrease expenses in the planning department by $1,095 for the Harvard leadership academy. Decrease capital projects in the planning department by $10,000 for the disc golf project. Decrease expenses in the commissioners department by $100 for the MMA dues. Decrease expenses in the technology department by $15,515 for various licenses. Decreased hardware software capital in the technology department by $127,573 for various capital projects. Decreased expenses in the public relations department by $2,000 for the MML summer conference. Decreased insurances in the benefits department by $11,879 for the employee assistance program, which is now free through our new life and long-term disability provider, and changes to vacant health, dental, and vision benefits. Decrease miscellaneous expenses in the miscellaneous department by $8,270. This removes the contribution for the Harford Land Trust, $500, the contribution for a pump park, $5,000, and the wellness program except for the water schoolers, $2,770. Decrease other in the miscellaneous department to transfer monies for the 2.9% COLA to the applicable salary and benefit accounts in the various departments for a total of $306,809. Increase salaries benefits in the police department to add a lateral police officer position. as well as other adjustments to salaries, benefits for new hires and internal changes. Increase expenses in the police department by $16,793, mainly for expenses related to adding a police officer position. Decrease equipment capital in the town shop department by $10,000 for the purchase of a toolbox. Decrease Boys and Girls Club in the committee section by $1,000. Added transfer from SSCI in the amount of $415,000 to fund the sewer main lining, $250,000 project, as well as the pump station engineering project, $165,000. Increased salaries benefits for the money stored in the other account for the 2.9% COLA in the amount of $8,083. Decreased salaries benefits for a 1% decrease in Dental and vision premiums, a 10% decrease in life and long-term disability premiums and a reduction to the applicable workers' compensation rate class. Increased salaries benefits by $371 which represents the increase of the town's health insurance coverage from 95% to 96%. Employee portion decrease from 5% to 4%. Decreased town operation expenses for the money stored in the other account by $8,083 to transfer the monies for the 2.9% COLA to the applicable salary and benefits accounts. Added pump station engineering in the amount of $165,000 for a project at the Kelly Pump Station. Added sewer main lining in the amount of $250,000 for a project from Atwood Road to Route 24.

Thank you. Do I have a second?

I will second.

Thank you, Commissioner Chismar. And Ms. Moody, anything further to present on the budget? No, ma'am, I do not. All right. Thank you, though. Thank you. All right. So the budget as it stands has been amended somewhat significantly. There is no tax increase in the budget. There is a reduction in the 5% contribution to 4%. And there is the addition of a police officer to the police department. This has been a very unusual budget process for me this year because I was shocked that we had a number of meetings starting in April, April the sixth when the budget was introduced by the town administrator, followed by a number of work sessions, a public hearing on April the 20th. And we heard here on the board nothing from anyone until there was a May the first Facebook post. I wouldn't have seen the Facebook post, Facebook being the sea of changing things that it is, unless someone had pointed it out to me. So I went and read it, and being a direct person, I called up the AFL-CIO Local 229 president, and we had a conversation. He followed that up with a letter on Monday, and his letter says that property taxes must be increased. Well, part of the reason was that property values have gone up astronomically, but there have been only two tax increases, so Bel Air shouldn't have property issues. I cannot increase property taxes on people in town when we have more than 20% of our population is over 65. Those people that are surviving on Social Security have gotten a 2.8% increase increase in their money for 2026 with no step or merit. 10% of our population that's under 65 has a disability. Our median household income here is about $75,000 in 2024 dollars. It is not really a wealthy town and I hear often at the door You know, I've lived in my house for a long time and I'm paying so much in taxes now because the value of my house has increased dramatically, but I'm still living on the same income. I cannot break a promise to the folks that live here that have, you know, been here for years or living in the same home or surviving on Social Security or their other limited income and raise taxes. The other thing the letter said was it's no longer sustainable to oppose new housing and commercial development. These policies are short-sighted. The people in town have made it very clear that they are not interested in massive development. They are not interested in dense housing. They are desirous of staying Bel Air the way Bel Air has been. It's a small town and folks wanted to stay that way. And that was a promise that I made to them when I was running as well. So another promise that I really cannot break. Our development has to be something that fits the character of our town. The letter went on to suggest another revenue stream, speed and red light cameras. They'll generate revenue for the town and increase public safety. That is something that was hotly contested in the legislature when local jurisdictions were given the ability to put up speed and red light cameras because The citizens were assured it was for traffic safety and not for raising revenue, but it turns out that maybe those citizens' fears were a little bit correct, and we cannot allow that to become a way to raise revenue in the town. It's got to be driven by public safety and absolutely nothing else. I know the police department places these cameras based on traffic safety, not some sort of gotcha location to raise revenue, and we're very limited in where we can put them. The state has said we can only put them in certain locations. So that's not really a place where we can look for additional revenue. We have to learn to live within our resources, and I certainly have no problem with the police department, public works, or any other employee wanting more money, more steps. less pay for their health insurance. I have a problem with the way you went about it. The final thing in your letter that really, really was shocking is that statement that it's not lost on our members that you're running for Harford County Council. We wish you luck with your campaign. We will be watching your leadership and decision making closely during this time. That was a threat and I take it as such. I won't be intimidated. I'm not going to raise taxes. I'm not going to see Bel Air become Towson and I'm not going to use red and speed light cameras to raise revenue. I look forward to working with you to see if we can figure out the budget so that you can be more satisfied with working here at the town, but I also noted that about 16 officers make over $100,000, which to many of our employees and to many of our residents is a pretty good salary for a town of Bel Air. Three make over $90,000 and four make over $80,000. I think that next year a better way to approach this would be maybe a work group to look at what the other jurisdictions are doing. The county requires a 6% contribution to health insurance, not four, not five, but six. Baltimore County requires 15% or 25% depending on what plan you pick. Maryland State Police, it's 20%. A lot of these things are the devil's in the details. It's not a Facebook fight. It's a work group. to see what our other municipalities similar to us are doing and what we can afford I can tell you that I went through the budget with a big red pen for hours sitting with that book to find every penny that I could so that we could save the one percent from the five and so that we could afford another police officer, which I certainly will help with you guys being able to get time off for work. I know that is a real problem when you cannot take time off and you're tired of working overtime, so I'm hoping that will help some, but it's just not in the cards for 4% and 0% health insurance. 0% health insurance, I have found nobody that pays 0% for the health insurance, not one single jurisdiction. It might be out there, look for it, but I have not seen any single one. So this is the best we could do on the budget without raising taxes and frankly without cutting positions because that's the only thing left is we would have to fire somebody else in order to make some of these dollars work and I wasn't willing to do that. So this is the best we could do. I understand your frustration but the dollars that we have are the dollars that we have and we can't spend more than we've got.

I made a similar promise when I ran for town commissioner that I would not raise taxes. And it's simply a promise that I can't break. I cannot price people out of their homes. I cannot price seniors out of their homes. I just cannot do it. We were thrown a major curveball this year with a 20% increase to our healthcare premiums. The former town administrator and the director of finance presented this budget to us. in a way that sought to mitigate that increase. We have severely worked it with the help of the Director of Finance, who after 30 years knows what she's doing. And what we've been able to come up with is a way to fund a new police officer and restore some of that healthcare benefit. Mr. Merrow, thank you for coming out tonight. Thank you for speaking to us. I appreciate your presence here. One thing that I do want to communicate directly to you is you mentioned having met with the town administrator behind closed doors. I was not aware of any of those meetings or their contents. They were not made aware to me. And so I do look forward in the future to working with you and being able, before the cart has already left the barn, being able to hammer these things out. Because I care deeply about the quality of life of our employees and I care deeply about the quality of services that we provide to our residents. But as I've said before, I simply cannot countenance the tax increase that was asked for. It would be equivalent to me breaking my word, and I am a man of my word, and I intend to be a man of my word with how I vote tonight and not raising taxes. I completely understand the frustration, I really do. I am a young person on a budget, having just bought my first home. We are making that mortgage payment every month, and I feel it, and I feel you, I really do. And that's precisely why I can't support increasing property taxes. So I appreciate you coming out tonight, and I look forward to working together in the future on these budgetary issues.

Yeah, I'd like to say a few remarks. You know, I think I wrote to you, Mr. Morrow, about this is not the way we expected this budget to go. We were going in thinking that we could get two police officers. We didn't know that the health insurance would be raising that much so we can go in with keeping the same benefits package to all the employees. And that, when we found the 20%, it just threw us a big curveball. uh we did find money to do the one get one police officer i know family time is important because you're doing a lot of the police force was doing a lot of overtime but we still have to provide the services to our community and that was the balancing act that we had to deal with I put in 40 years as a public servant with the Department of the Army, and there were many, you know, I feel for you. COLAs and step increases and things like that didn't always come. There was a span of about three years where our COLA was zero. And every year it was very frustrating that, you know, Social Security and the retirees would get a COLA and the active employees would get one or two percent lower than Social Security and the COLA's. So it was, but the thing is we do the job and you do the job because you're there to serve. It takes a special person to do that, even for the town employees. all the town employees they're here to serve and that takes a special person to do that and you know there are times when it we don't get everything that we want hopefully in the future we can make up for some of that i know that's been done in the past um we can give a bigger cola or whatever but That's the job we took. I took that job. I took that job with the Defense Department and did it for 40 years to serve my community and my country. And that's the same way that the employees of the town and the police officers are doing the same thing. They just have it in them to do that. I wish we could give everything that you said, that you were asking for. Maybe we can find more next year to help overcome some of this. But I think this was just the best we can do. It was a good balance, I think, for what we had and what we were able to do. And like I said, I just wish we could have come through with more monies, but they just aren't there.

I would like to thank everybody for coming out and speaking tonight. I'd just like to reiterate that Mayor Edding and Commissioner Chismar, they went through an already lean budget and identified any remaining, we can call it fat, but anything that was not completely essential, and they removed that in order to fund an additional police officer. So with that, in order to meet the request, we would be required to raise property taxes. And I agree with my fellow commissioners, I cannot support that. I started by looking at the average municipal tax rate in Maryland. The average is 47 cents, the median is 41 cents, and Maryland is at 54 cents right now, or Bel Air is at 54 cents right now. So we're already above the average. Property assessments. The town of Bel Air just was reassessed January 1st, 2026. I went and looked at Kings Crossing, Hearthstone, and Legacy at Gateway, our senior citizen communities. Some of those properties increased by as much as 20%, if not more. So without us even raising property tax, those people are paying up to hundreds of dollars more in property taxes in addition to healthcare costs, fuel costs, everything else. I could not handle displacing senior citizens that have lived here their entire lives by raising property taxes. In addition, town citizens will be facing increased water rates this year. I believe it's 16% this year, 14% to follow the following year in increase. They will also be facing a 10% sewer increase. So with those things being said, I think it's very important that as a town we live within the taxpayers means.

Thank you, Bel Air Police Department. Thank you for coming out tonight. And I truly do appreciate the job that you do. And being new to the board and new to the budget process, this was almost just overwhelming. And the budget that we received, it was just a lot leaner than we thought that we'd be able to do. And we are trying to live within our means. and i'm very hopeful that um we can do something more for you next year and i'm truly sorry we weren't able to fund it the way that that you wanted it to be funded and um but thank you so much all right since we've heard from all the commissioners is there anyone here that wishes to make a public comment at this time on the final budget only all right there being no one mr kranz

Thank you, Madam Chair. This would be the vote on Resolution 1271-26 as amended. Commissioner Foss, how do you vote?

Aye.

Commissioner Chismar? Aye. Commissioner Taylor? Aye. Commissioner Hanley? Aye. And Chair Edding?

Aye.

The final budget for fiscal year 2027, Resolution 1271-26 is passed.

Thank you. Next we have resolution 1272 dash 26. The appointment of Rachel Diener as the finance director. May I have a motion?

Yes, Madam Chair, I move that the move the resolution 1272 dash 26 endorsing the interim town administrators recommendation to appoint Rachel M. Diener as director of finance be approved by the Board of Town Commissioners.

Thank you Commissioner Chismar do I have a second I second that Thank you Commissioner Foss So a little bit of background Lisa Moody our town's current director of finances planning to retire in July 2026 after serving the community for 30 years Chapter 82, personnel of the town code requires the appointment of department heads to be made by the town administrator with the approval of the board of town commissioners. So after seeking applications and reviewing qualified candidates and their qualifications, myself, interim town administrator Michael Krantz, would like to recommend the appointment of Rachel M. Diener to the position of director of finance for the town of Bel Air.

staff recommends that resolution 1272-26 be approved all right anybody have any questions for mr. Krantz I have no questions just a comment to say welcome that was what I was gonna say yes welcome back actually we're glad to have you would you like to make a statement

Thank you. I'd like to thank the board for allowing me to come back and serve the town and work with these fine department heads. And I worked with Lisa and I know I have big shoes to fill, but I'm grateful to be here and it took us a while to get here so I want to thank my husband for playing along and traveling with me to come back here to the town of Biller we were very impressed with the speed with which you returned to to the area so congratulations on making that happen and

welcome back and we're looking forward to working with you I can't tell you what a level of comfort I have knowing that you've you know you have been here before and you've worked with Lisa so I feel like we'll have a really smooth transition I'm very happy about that so welcome back thank you thank you so much I suppose we have to vote is there any public comment on the appointment of Rachel Diener

I just wanted to say this was a very easy decision because Ms. Moody spoke so highly of Ms. Diener and given Ms. Moody's experience and how good she is at her job it seemed like an easy decision.

I couldn't agree more.

With no further ado, this is for the vote to appoint Rachel Diener as Director of Finance for a time to be chosen as we work out her final transition. This will just authorize it. So the approval of Resolution 1272-26. Commissioner Faltz? Aye. Commissioner Chisholm? Aye. Commissioner Taylor? Aye. Commissioner Hanley? Aye. And Chair Edding? Aye. Resolution is approved. Thank you.

It's official. Welcome aboard.

I'm excited to meet those two great Danes, too.

Next we have the sidewalk trip and hazard removal contract. May I have a motion?

Yes, Madam Chair. I move that the proposal of precision concrete cutting 215 Millborough Road, Wilmington, Delaware to furnish all labor, materials, and equipment to remove sidewalk trip hazards in a number of locations in town for the amount of $44,225 be accepted by the Bel Air Board of Town Commissioners. Thank you, Commissioner Faust. Do I have a second? Second.

Thank you, Commissioner Taylor. Mr. Klein.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. We've been here and done this before. This is our ninth year, so I'm happy to present it again because I think it's proven very successful in our town. As we all know, concrete sidewalks age and are exposed to external forces. Individual panels may heave or settle, creating uneven joints that pose serious tripping hazards for pedestrians. Ensuring a safe, level walking surface is critical for public safety. Our team is confident that the proposed method offers the most effective and cost-efficient solution to eliminate these hazards and restore sidewalk integrity. The Town's procurement regulations permit the purchase of supplies or services from a sole source when only one provider is practical due to their exclusive method or service. Precision Concrete is the sole source provider for this project, having secured several US patents for their method and equipment used to eliminate these trip hazards. The Department of Public Works, in coordination with Precision Concrete, has identified 637 sidewalk trip hazards within the Homestead neighborhood. Of these 29 locations will be repaired at no cost under warranty from prior years. All repairs will be measured, inspected and documented through GIS integration, and each repair will carry a three year warranty from the date of completion. staff recommends that the bel air board of town commissioners approve the proposal from precision concrete cutting the proposal includes providing all labor materials and equipment necessary to remove sidewalk trip hazards at various locations throughout the town for a total cost of forty four thousand two hundred and twenty five dollars

Thank you, Mr. Klein. I know this is something that you've been doing routinely. I see them as I walk around town. Any questions for Mr. Klein?

I have a question. I spent a significant portion of my weekend actually on Lynwood and the surrounding streets in Homestead Village. And I actually did trip like three times. I'm serious. You know, because I've got my head in a clipboard and I'm not looking at my shoes. And I never fell over because I'm able to catch myself. But I did. My foot would catch on the lip and I would go stumbling a step or two forward. So how apropos it is that we have this contract this evening, because I was thinking to myself as I was walking some of those streets, Linwood, Hunter, really all of Homestead Village, but particularly we're looking at Linwood here. We understand why these things happen. It's no fault of the towns. This is the way that trees are and the way that nature is when you try to pour slabs of concrete over a naturally dynamic moving surface like the earth. but this is money well spent and this is something that will improve the quality of life for residents who just want to get a good walk in their neighborhood absolutely and some may question why we're only working in homestead this year well we try to maneuver that

equally throughout the neighborhoods year after year. So one year, this year Homestead will get most of the attention. Next year might be the North End or the Main Street downtown area. So we like to move them around and give everyone some some love, you know, with with the work in their communities. Is it common to have to go back to places that have already been addressed? You can see we did 29 locations this time, Gavin, that are getting free. Really, the main reason for the majority of these is tree roots. Of course, they'll cut the sidewalk. However, that root will continue to grow, so it will push up and cause more of a hazard as age goes by, but they'll still come back and get us for free on those. We will take the tree out if it's really causing a big, big problem.

Mr. Klein, I've never seen your maps before, but I assume the red markers are the warranty, reduce, the replacements.

I didn't really truly look at that. I looked at the back.

They're mostly yellow with a few reds, so I'm assuming the red.

No, it's blue if you look in the back.

I'm talking about on the maps, that shows the location.

On the back pages, they're blue. I'm not sure.

Right, the address pages?

Yeah, the address pages are definitely blue, and they're definitely written in warranty. Right. Well, they say replace. Is that warranty? Is that the same thing?

no they're requesting to replace replace the panel of those because they're it's just too much of a hazard to cut let me look into it and i'll get back to you i was just yeah understand right right i do see the blue at the end that's a warranty yeah and there's a bunch of green or i don't know what color blinds and maybe that's green it says that is green that is great yes that's a replace but anyway

I do a lot of pushing of strollers nowadays and it really I was looking at a couple of these pictures and it's hard unless you have like one of those bougie strollers that have the big huge wheels that can go over anything. I mean you hit one of those and it can be dangerous. It stops you in the tracks and then the baby jolts and so I'm glad to hear that you're doing this especially in Homestead.

I'll have to look into that there is some green. It looks green.

It says replace in the text. I don't know what that means. Okay. It may be replaced the panel because it's so broken up. I don't know.

Yeah, usually when it needs to be replaced, we do the conventional dig up and report. Okay. Yep.

All right. Any more questions for Mr. Klein?

All right.

Any member of the public here that wishes to comment on this contract? There being none. There's nobody left except David. We're ready, Mr. Grant.

Thank you, Madam Chair, for the approval of the sidewalk trip hazard removal contract. Commissioner Foss? Aye. Commissioner Chisholm? Aye. Commissioner Taylor? Aye. Commissioner Hanley? Aye. And Chair Edding? Aye. The contract is approved. Thank you.

All right. Next, we have the by two minutes concrete street resurfacing at various locations within the town of Bel Air. May I have a motion?

Yes, Madam Chair. I move that the bid of Barnes Paving 440 Franklin Street, excuse me, Bel Air, Maryland to resurface seven sections of town streets in Basketball Court in Allison Park in accordance with contract specifications for an amount not to exceed $559,000 be accepted by the Board of Town Commissioners.

Thank you very much. May I have a second?

Second.

Thank you. And Mr. Klein, once again.

Thank you, Madam Chair. This contract includes a comprehensive resurfacing initiative addressing seven sections of streets within our town. Specifically, it includes the resurfacing of Linwood Avenue from Deerbrook Road to the dead end. Maitland Street from Churchville Road to Eastern Avenue. South Atwood Road from Baltimore Pike to Marketplace Drive, Grayson Square, which is located in Majors Choice, Hall Street from Rock Spring Road to the town boundary, and Wilson Street and Courtland Street from Main Street to Hickory Avenue. In addition, the contract calls for the paving of the basketball court in Allison Park. Funding for this project, totaling $505,000, has been allocated in the streets budget under the following accounts, curb and gutter repair, street construction, and curb ramp construction. $53,894 is a community development block grant, which will help fund the cost to resurface Courtland Street. The staff recommend that the bid of Barnes Paving to resurface seven sections of town streets and the basketball court in Alice Ann Park in accordance with contract specifications for an amount not to exceed $559,000 be accepted by the Board of Town Commissioners.

Thank you very much. Thank you. Any questions? No? And there's no member of the public here to comment, so we will just proceed to the vote.

Thank you, Madam Chair. This is for the vote to approve the contract by two minutes, concrete street resurfacing. Commissioner Foss, how do you vote? Aye. Commissioner Chismar? Aye. Commissioner Taylor? Aye. Commissioner Hanley? Aye. And Chair Edding? Aye. The contract is approved. Thank you.

All right. Next, we have the recreation building roof replacement contract. May I have a motion?

Madam Chair, I move that the proposal of rough roofing and sheet metal incorporated 1420 Nect Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland, to replace the roof at the rec building for $85,873 be accepted by the Board of Town Commissioners.

Thank you very much. May I have a second?

Second.

Thank you. Mr. Klein.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Last one of the night for you. The roof of the Bel Air Recreation Building has deteriorated and requires replacement. The facility is used by the Bel Air Recreation Department to store uniforms and equipment for various sports programs. It also serves as storage for the Lions Club, which maintains wheelchairs and other assisted devices for community members in need. Over the years, the Department of Public Works has performed multiple repairs to address the ongoing leaks. Despite these efforts, moisture infiltration has persisted, raising concerns among the recreation committee volunteers and potentially impacting stored materials. Due to the continued deterioration and ineffectiveness of our repairs, full roof replacement is now necessary. This project will be half funded through the town buildings budget with the remaining costs shared by the Bel Air Recreation Committee. These proposals were obtained for the replacement of the roof including gutters and downspouts with rough roofing submitting the lowest responsive bid. The proposed roofing system includes a 20-year, no dollar limit, NDL warranty, providing full coverage for labor and materials with no cap on repair or replacement costs. As you remember, we discussed that at the last meeting, and when I went back to the office the next day, I learned that they gave me the wrong proposal. It was the first proposal that was submitted to Rough Roofing, and I'm happy to say my guys went back to them and said, no way, we definitely need something much bigger, and they got the 20-year NDL. So I'm comfortable with that and much happier than 5 or 10.

That makes a big difference. It does.

Yep. So this contract includes the removal of the existing mansard roof perimeter and associated framing. New infill insulation and cover board will be installed across the entire roof and mechanically fastened with plates and screws. A new 60 mil membrane roofing system will then be installed, complete with 24 gauge perimeter metal flashing. The project will conclude with the installation of new 6-inch K-style gutters and downspouts. I don't know if anyone had the opportunity to look at the picture of the roof and that I provided in the packet. And you can see the difficulty in this roof compared to most roofs with all that Mansford roofing and how it was attached to the existing roof. It was very tough for us to ever get a nice seal on that with, you know, another big patch or something like that because of all those voids that were attached to the existing roof.

There's so many penetrations.

Yeah, exactly. Steve. Yes, sir.

So all that will be going away?

Yes, but it'll be put back up, but it'll be under other. You won't have all those. You won't have those penetrations that you're discussing.

Right, you won't have those reinforce, the bars or whatever you want to call those things.

If you read in the proposal, they talk about the perimeter wood blocking. That's how that will be fastened.

Okay.

Yep. So the staff recommends that the proposal of rough roofing and sheet metal to replace the roof at the Bellaire Recreation Building for $85,873 be accepted by the Board of Town Commissioners.

so my only question is and I think you told us this the last time doing this roof it's hugely expensive but the next time we need a roof we won't have all this extra expense because the problem is the way it currently is correct all right thank you and if if we do need to make a little patch or something they will come back and make it for us in the next 20 years with material and workmanship so that's great great

so are we also does it also replace that again colorblind tan or whatever corrugated steel around the roof that'll also be replaced i believe it does okay yep all right members of the public here

Thank you, Madam Chair, for the award of contract for the recreation building roof replacement. Commissioner Foss? Aye. Commissioner Chismar? Aye. Commissioner Taylor? Aye. Commissioner Hanley? Aye. And Chair Edding? Aye. The contract is approved. Thank you.

Thank you. All right. Next, we have the Harford County Community Development Block Grant Notice of Intent. May I have a motion?

Yes, Madam Chair, I move that the notice of intent from Hartford County regarding continued participation and cooperation agreement between the town of Bel Air and Hartford County for community development block grant funding be approved for signature by the Bel Air Board of Town Commissioners.

Thank you. Do I have a second? I second. Thank you, Commissioner Foss. And Ms. Robertson?

Thank you, Madam Chair. Since 1996, the Town of Bel Air has been part of a cooperation agreement with Harford County to be part of their Community Development Block Grant Program, or CDBG, which is a federal grant program administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. That program provides annual funding on a formula basis to states, cities, and municipalities to help develop viable urban communities. In Bel Air, we have a limited number of low to moderate income tracks that qualify for the use of this funding, and we typically use the formula funded grant allocation for infrastructure improvements or economic development projects. In recent years, we've used this funding primarily for repaving projects in qualified areas such as the one that Director Klein just mentioned on Courtland Street that we'll be doing this year. In the past 20 years, we've also used it for improvements to the armory for ADA accessibility at Armory Marketplace and improvements to the culvert on George Street. CDBG is a federal program and we can elect to participate as a subrecipient in Harford County's CDBG program or we can choose to be excluded from the county's program in which case we would need to notify both the county and the Housing and Urban Development Department of the termination of our cooperation agreement. As it is to our advantage to participate as part of Harford County's allocation, Bel Air, as well as the other two municipalities in Harford County, have been subgrantees of Harford County instead of applying directly through Housing and Urban Development. Every three years we receive a notice of intent letter from Harford County asking if we would like to participate for the upcoming three federal fiscal years. We recently received that notice of intent for federal fiscal years 2027 through 2029 and this form requires our selection to participate and a signature from an authorized official which is why this is before you this evening.

staff recommends that the town of bel-air elect to participate to be a sub-recipient in the harford county community development block grant program for federal fiscal years 2027 to 2029 thank you very much any questions for ms robertson we've been doing this since 1996 that's a pretty long run all right it's worked well for us all right so we are going to vote on our participation so

This is for the vote to approve the CDBG block grant funding for to be signed by the other board town commissioners. Commissioner Foss? Aye. Commissioner Chismar?

Aye.

Commissioner Taylor? Aye. Commissioner Hanley? Aye. And Chair Edding? Aye. It is approved. Thank you.

All right. I will take care of signing this tonight so you can have it. Next we have the Harford County Town of Bel Air sewer service agreement addendum. May I have a motion?

Yes, Madam Chair. I move that the attached addendum to the Harford County Town of Bel Air sewer service agreement pertaining to the revision and the sewer use of charge ENR fee and the system development fee be approved by the Board of Town Commissioners. Thank you very much.

Do I have a second?

Second.

All right. miss moody thank you madam chair in december 2025 the town received a proposed revision the sewer user charge from harford county this is the charge which the county levies on the town as a bulk customer and user of its sewage transmission and treatment facilities changes in the user charge are provided for in the county town 1988 sewer service agreement This agreement requires that each annual change in the user charge be adopted by both the county and the town in a contractual addendum. Even though the ENR fee and the system development fee are not included in the agreement, the county and the town agreed that both should be included in each addendum and have been in previous years. The town received a proposed addendum to the agreement from the Harford County Law Department for the new fiscal year 26 user charge of $5.66 with the ENR fee of 16 cents for each 1,000 gallons of sewage treated, as well as the system development fee of $11,289 per five-eighths equivalent area connection charge. The previous fiscal year 25 user charge and ENR fee were $5.36 and 14 cents for each thousand gallons of sewage treated respectively, while the system development fee was $10,803. The 30 cent user charge increase was due to a decrease in the applicable Harford County expenses for fiscal year 25, as well as a decrease in the flows. The Public Works Department as well as the Finance Department reviewed the supporting data provided with the proposed user charge, requested additional documentation multiple times, and ultimately found the charges to be calculated accurately and in accordance with the method set forth in the 88 agreement. the enr fee was added in fiscal year 2016 and will continue until the county's debt service has been paid off to fund the project the staff recommends approval of the annual addendum to the harford county town of bel air sewer service agreement thank you very much miss moody any questions for miss moody all right now this was we went in the work session we went over this this would be about 10 increase which remember that was like a dot maybe a dollar or two on everybody's if they were assuming two to three thousand gallons of water usage no that that is our rate to our customers this is the county's rate to us this is treating this this is the county's addendum that that ten percent has to do with our revenue from from our customers

this is what we pay the county to treat our sewage this doesn't address the rate increase that we will be charging no gotcha okay just so we're just accepting that this is the rate that we're going to have to pay is that basically what this is yes you're you're approving the the addendum based on the public works in my department review and analysis okay

All right. Any further questions for Miss Moody? There's no member of the public here to make a comment. So we are ready for the vote.

Thank you, Madam Chair. This is for the vote to approve the addendum to Hartford County Town of Bel Air sewer service agreement. Commissioner Foss?

Aye.

Commissioner Chismar? Aye. Commissioner Taylor? Aye. Commissioner Hanley? Aye. And Chair Edding? Aye. The agreement is approved. Thank you.

Next, we have the check signing policy amendments. May I have a motion?

Yes, Madam Chair. I move that the amended Operations Administration Finance Policy IE6 authorizing the withdrawal of town funds on deposit with any commercial banking institution within the state of Maryland be approved by the Board of Town Commissioners.

Thank you very much. Do I have a second? Second. Thank you very much. And Ms. Moody.

Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. This is just a housekeeping change in this policy. The commercial banking institution requires the filing of a board approved policy specifying the officials of the town who may withdraw funds. Since the town's main checking account is with M&T Bank, signature cards are required to be filed with the bank. The town's accounts payable checks include one life signature, which is typically the director of finance, and a facsimile signature of the board's chair. However, anyone listed on that policy has check signing authority. Based on the appointments of the interim town administrator, Michael L. Krantz, and the new director of finance, Rachel Diener, the names are added to the policy, and Harry E. Hopkins is removed from the policy. The policy will include both finance directors names until the current director retires in July. And the director of finance has been added as a signer to live payroll checks as well. The town administrator has had that authority solely in years past. And with this transition, it prompted me to add the director of finances again it's just uh so business can continue when necessary that's very important especially for payroll yes yes ma'am um the staff recommends that the board of town commissioners approve the policy thank you very much any questions for miss moody no all right we're ready for the vote thank you madam chair for approval of the amended uh check signing policy commissioner foss aye commissioner chismar aye commissioner

Commissioner Taylor aye Commissioner Hanley aye and Chair Edding aye it is approved thank you all right next we have public announcements all town offices will be closed on Monday May the 25th an observance of Memorial Day residents whose trash is usually picked up on Mondays will have theirs collected on Wednesday May the 27th Tuesday trash pickup will happen as scheduled next week bulk trash and yard waste will not be collected next Wednesday While town offices will be closed on May 25th for the holiday, we will be hosting a Memorial Day ceremony in Shamrock Park that day. The ceremony, which is being coordinated by the American Legion, starts at 1030 a.m. and includes patriotic music performed by the Bel Air Community Band, displays of military memorabilia, a wreath-laying ceremony, and more. Admission is free and people of all ages are welcome as we pay tribute to those who lost their lives while serving our nation in the armed forces. The American Red Cross will hold a blood drive at the Bel Air Armory on Wednesday, May the 27th from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. To make a life-saving blood donation, visit redcrossblood.org. You can also register by calling 1-800-RED-CROSS, which is 733-2767, or using the Red Cross Blood Donor app. Are you looking for an opportunity to explore Bel Air and support a good cause? Well, then register for Scavaganza, a scavenger hunt through Cecil and Hartford counties, including Bel Air, which benefits the Boys and Girls Clubs of Hartford and Cecil counties. The three-day event starts at noon on Friday, May 29th, and runs through 9 p.m. on Sunday, May 31st. Participants use that time period to visit as many landmarks and participating businesses as possible in the two counties and complete missions at those sites for a chance to win up to $2,500 worth of prizes. Cost is $20 for a two-person team and $40 for a four-person team. Sponsorship opportunities also are available. Visit bgch, no, bgch. harfordcecil.org forward slash scavaganza for more information and to register. That is not easy. That was tough. The Bel Air Lions are hosting the Bel Air Bingo Bash on Friday, May 29th in the Bel Air Armory. Visit belairlions.org to purchase tickets. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the games begin at 7 p.m. Proceeds will benefit the Bel Air Lions local service projects. The Bel Air America 250 Student Art Exhibition, featuring artwork created by students in Bel Air Public Schools, will be on display in the Bel Air branch of the Harford County Public Library through the end of May. The exhibition, which was coordinated by the volunteer members of the Bel Air Cultural Arts Commission in coordination with Harford County Public Schools and the public library system, is open to the public during the branch's business hours. The Bel Air Town Commissioners and the Bel Air Economic and Community Development Commission are seeking nominees for Bel Air's Business of the Year, and the Town Commissioners are seeking nominations for Citizen of the Year for 2026. Visit the Town of Bel Air Annual Awards page on our website, belairmd.org, to submit your nominations. The submission deadline is June the 8th. The Committee for Seniors and Citizens in Need will meet at 8.30 a.m. on Thursday, May the 28th in the Bel Air Police Department Community Room. The Historic Preservation Commission will meet at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May the 28th in Bel Air Town Hall. And the Board of Town Commissioners will hold a work session on Wednesday, May the 27th at 5.15 p.m. in town hall with the next town meeting being monday june the first at 7 p.m in town hall and please note that our work session is on a wednesday not a tuesday due to a conflict in our schedule so we'll we'll be then anything that i missed there's always something that i missed no angela's not looking at me so i guess not i can say for the art exit no last minute additions oh wow that's amazing i i will say that the um the america 250 student art exhibition um i know commissioner floss and i were there commissioner chismar was there it was really really uh interesting to see the different methods that the kids used to create their art pieces um one was like a rub off they the whole page is charcoal and they rub off sections to create a picture so it's it's like in reverse um they had a scratch off one where they did kind of the same thing it was really neat and then there were a number of other you know cool pieces that were 3d and uh it was really kind of fun so i enjoyed it all right that was public comments commissioner comments i am going to start because i want to say mr klein i haven't walked around today i did walk around a lot this weekend and i uh I thank you I thank you for all the things that you've had to look into you know it's it's it's great to have somebody and thank you to the police department for doing the well check Commissioner Taylor and I were just a little concerned when we you know noticed that a house had not picked up their packages and their FedEx stickers were on the door and there was a car in the driveway we were just like i hope everything's okay because i i usually have my neighbors pick up my packages i don't leave them out there on the porch so um thank you so much for checking on that i would i would hate to have not said anything and and then find out i should have spoken up so i appreciate the effort

Well, what a phenomenal success the Bel Air Derby was. So well attended, so much fun, just so much joy coming from those participants. Obviously, congratulations, of course, to the winners, the three cars who podiumed, but really to just everyone who participated. threw in in terms of making that day the wild success that it was. Special thanks, Dave Gizach. And I feel like our town mascot is Amy Biondi, and her daughter, of course, is the Lions mascot, so it really does run in the family. And there are countless Lions, too many to name, to thank, who all show up and show out. One other thing that I did just want to put on the record that I don't believe any of us mentioned one other word on the budget is, it is important to note that this budget that we passed not only fully funds but actually over funds the formal request of the police department. And I think that we are really going to benefit from this new police officer. I think it is a bit of good that was able to come out of the intense intense work that went into to you know reworking this budget obviously we mentioned that it does all that without raising taxes but it's also worth noting that the general fund shoulders the large majority of the increase to the premium that that's going into the general fund as compared to what the the new employee contribution is so this was a difficult year no doubt about it I'm a little bit glad that Ms. Diener was here because I feel like we can only go up from here. But really, the way that I want to end this, having all that been said, is Lisa, after 30 years of service, you went out with a bang. But I really appreciate your attentiveness to this and your fiscal responsibility and making sure that our objectives could be achieved to the degree that they could within the means of the taxpayer because that's ultimately the name of the game here. And so thank you for that.

Town Derby was incredible. That was my first time there. It was a lot of fun. I'd like to thank all of the town employees, police and public works, as well as Mr. Krantz. He was there bright and early. Christine was there handing out certificates. So that was awesome. There will be a bike safety event this Wednesday the 20th at 6 o'clock. I'm hoping to make it there. I think that these kids on bikes, it's continuing to be a problem in the town. It seems like there's just more of them. I don't even know where they're coming from. So I'd like for us to do what we can do because I think it was last week or the week before a young man in Folsom was hit and killed. So I'd hate to see that happen.

Well, it is my pleasure to announce that Bel Air has a brand new citizen. Joseph Ambrose Foss was born yesterday at 8.35 p.m. Oh, no, today. Yes, Sunday. I'm sorry. I'm just like, so just very exciting. And he does live in the town of Bel Air. So they live right in there. I also wanted to thank Commissioner Hanley for when we did the bike to work and he was so supportive of me and he made sure we started out in the front of the pack and then the pack went. I was behind, and I think my legs were like, and I got up, and the one police officer said, oh, you know, I pulled over and said, hey, you can go ahead. I live off Broadway. I'm going to go home, and she said, that's all right. The pack is, I've already lost the pack. I can, you know, follow you, and I'm like, no, no, it's okay. Thank you, and so I went home, and then, Commissioner Hanley called me and said, are you okay? Did your chain break? You didn't come back. So thank you so much. That was so much fun. And I also wanted to give hats off to Commissioner Hanley, and I showed up at the Derby, and he's got a bag and a glove, and he's picking up like the red Solo cups, like the bar trash that was left over on Main Street. So that was really awesome. And Lisa Moody, thank you so much. It's only been a few months that I've known you, but it's just been a pleasure. Anybody that can get me to understand the budget, my husband is really impressed that you were able to do that. So thank you all so much.

yes Lisa you could take a have a sigh of relief done right now it's it's all downhill you can relax now so we got a lot of catch-up work to do and a lot of training to do but anyway it's not as much as this intense probably is this budget drill but anyway thank you for what you did I had a couple comment that the Derby was great was talked to a lot of people on the streets I talked to mr. Kranz about the the flags for our veterans that will be said there will be coming up that go on the street posts, right? We'll be put having those put up this before Memorial Day. On the post. Yes, sir. The downtown heroes. Yeah. So I had several people do that. I had to ask Mr. Kranz when they were coming up. He says by the end of the month, and then I was like, well, yeah, Memorial Day is usually by the end of the month, but not this year. So they'll be going. I know. I thought I saw some already up.

Yeah.

Yeah. Okay. Okay. Because the ones on Main Street were all the derby signs.

I see. I see.

But I did see one at the corner of –

where South Main turns into North Main. I know that that one's up because I saw that coming on my drive over to Town Hall. Okay. Yeah, this Pennsylvania Avenue. Right, right. Okay. Okay.

I did not see that. But all I saw a lot of the derby signs, but okay, great.

All right, well, I think that is it for Commissioner's comments. Yes, Ms. Moody. I just have one- Yes, ma'am. Because I forgot to mention this. If you would like to give me your budget books, I'll take them. store them until next year but you all will all the pages will need to be changed so that's it's still not quite done yet Steve we still have to change all the budget pages but once we do that you all will have a complete final copy that's in your commissioner uh room so if you want to hang on to them that's okay um rachel will come knocking on your door next year once we need them but if you'd like to give them up i will take them now thank you lisa's very fiscally responsible and we reuse our binders from year to year yes and i appreciate that lisa i would do the same thing

All right. Anything else from anyone? All right. In that case, may I have a motion to go into closed session?

Madam Chair, I move that this portion of the meeting will be closed under the provisions of the Maryland Open Meetings Act General Provisions Article 3, Section 305B1, Subsections 7 and 8. The topics of discussion will be to consult with counsel to obtain legal advice and to consult with staff or other individuals about pending litigation regarding the Harford County Circuit Court case number C12CV25001030, Harford County, Maryland, versus Town of Bel Air, Maryland, et al. and the Harford County Bel Air Parking Garage Workgroup Requests. to discuss a personnel matter the reasons for closed session discussion of above topics are because public discussion of confidential information and legal strategies can compromise the attorney-client privilege and inhibit the ability of the public body to receive candid and uninhibited legal guidance and because public discussion of a personnel matter could breach the expectation of confidentiality and fail to protect the privacy of individuals involved as well as the integrity of the deliberative process thank you very much do I have a second

Second All right thank you and before we take the vote and move into closed session we will not be conducting any further business at the end of our closed session we will be adjourning for the evening so Mr. Krantz I think we're ready for the vote Thank you Madam Chair this is a vote to move into closed session Commissioner Foss Aye Commissioner Chismore Aye Commissioner Taylor Aye Commissioner Hanley Aye and Chair Eddy Aye Okay now I'm going into closed session