A dispute among commissioners and between elected officials and county staff over how to allocate a projected shortfall in the Ocean Pines wastewater enterprise surfaced during the May 6 meeting and prompted sharp public disagreement among board members.

Context: commissioners have been considering options to address anticipated enterprise fund deficits in wastewater service areas. According to comments in the meeting, one proposal circulated for public discussion would spread the repayment of a projected shortfall across all service areas equally, regardless of whether a given service area contributed to that deficit. Some commissioners and community members have criticized that approach as unfair to areas that did not cause the shortfall.

At a March or April discussion referenced by multiple commissioners, staff presented a single option for public feedback; several commissioners and members of the public later described that as the only plan presented at an Ocean Pines forum. Other commissioners said additional options were developed later and criticized characterizations in promotional materials that suggested a particular set of commissioners ‘‘voted to require all service areas...to repay the shortage amount.’’ The exchange included sharp language and demands for clarification.

Commissioner comments: Commissioner Matriseck (name appears in the record with variant spellings) and Commissioner Bunting took responsibility for organizing a town meeting in Ocean Pines; they said staff from county departments attended and had the opportunity to speak. Commissioner Bertino disputed a printed summary shown to Ocean Pines attendees that he said misrepresented board action and demanded an apology for what he called an ‘‘inflammatory statement’’ in promotional material. Other commissioners said they had repeatedly explained the procedural status: a motion had been made to put a particular plan forward for a public hearing but that formal adoption of any rate change would require vote after the public hearing.

Next steps: the board reminded the public of a scheduled budget public hearing that evening (doors 5:30 p.m., meeting 6:00 p.m.) to receive comment on the fiscal 2026 general and enterprise fund budgets. County staff and commissioners indicated the public hearing is the appropriate venue for hearing public testimony and for considering any adjustments to enterprise fund rates.

Ending: Commissioners urged members of the public to attend the evening session. No final vote on rate structure was taken at the May 6 meeting; commissioners said the record will be clarified and that staff will provide the alternatives discussed during budget workshops at the upcoming public hearing.