Worcester County commissioners discussed several items on July 5, including a grant application for a body camera, solar panels for recreation centers, the Airbnb tax and public works department purchases.
Body camera grant
One of the items on the agenda was for the commissioners to approve a grant application to help pay for the body camera program the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office was to set up, but no amount was forthcoming. provided.
Commissioner Chip Bertino asked when the amount would be available, and Lt. Robert Trautman replied that he did not know.
Trautman said it was possible to get $379,000, which would go back into the general fund.
The item was voted on separately and approved unanimously.
Solar panels
The Worcester County Recreation Center at Snow Hill was fitted with solar panels in 2013, and the deal is up for renewal.
When the agreement was signed, a tariff was set although it does not cover the entire cost of the energy used by the recreation centre.
Instead, the county gets an energy credit from the market which is sold to others to compensate when energy quotas are not met.
Energy is a commodity that is traded as a renewable energy credit.
In the end, this offsets the energy bill by about $500-$600 per month.
Public Works Tractor
Dallas Baker, the county’s director of public works, requested approval to purchase a John Deer tractor and boom to cut ditches for about $219,000.
In addition to the tractor, Baker also asked the commissioners to enter into a lease for a skid steer loader for $22,000.
The department has budgeted $262,000 for these purchases, and Baker said there should be just over $20,000 left.
Both purchases received unanimous approval from the commissioners.
Airbnb tax collection
County Attorney Roscoe Leslie told commissioners the room tax was increased a few months ago to encourage online platforms like Airbnb to collect the tax.
Airbnb is fine with the tax, according to Leslie, and wanted to finalize the deal with a memo.
Bertino asked if other companies would offer a deal, which Leslie said was a possibility, but many companies just hand in and pay.
“Airbnb just likes to formalize things,” he said.
Comments are closed.