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Hudson resigns from finance cmte.

(April 21, 2016) Ocean Pines volunteer Dennis Hudson understands the concept of a Pyrrhic victory, and knows to win the larger war you avoid becoming mired in personal battles.
With an apparent impasse surmounted regarding inequitable county funding levels, Hudson opted to resign from the Ocean Pines Association Budget and Finance Committee.
“Sometimes you just have to step to the side,” Hudson said.
The move followed an April 8 meeting at the Ocean Pines Library that included County Commissioners Chip Bertino and Jim Bunting, OPA Finance Committee Chairwoman Pat Supik, OPA Vice President Cheryl Jacobs, OPA Treasurer Tom Terry and county Chief Administrative Officer Harold Higgins.
This year Ocean Pines has requested approximately $1.84 million in grant funding from the county, which reflects about an 80 percent increase over last year’s allocation of more than $1.1 million.
By comparison Berlin’s FY 17 budget request of $1.79 million reflects a two percent increase, Pocomoke has asked for $1.53 million or a four percent raise, and Snow Hill is seeking a 10 percent escalation at $1.62 million.
At an OPA Budget and Finance Committee meeting on March 23, Hudson, along with fellow committee member John Trumpower, aired their frustrations regarding higher levels of funding to the three county municipalities.
According to Hudson, Ocean Pines serves a population of 11,710 year-round residents, which is more than the combined populations of Berlin, Pocomoke and Snow hill at 10,864. He also noted that Ocean Pines ponies up three to four times more in property and income taxes than other towns in Worcester. The result is Ocean Pines receives the lowest funding per resident among these communities.
“This has been going on for five years,” Hudson said. “People need to know what’s going on.”
At the March 23 meeting, Terry acknowledged that for the past five years Ocean Pines has submitted budget requests in line with the amounts Berlin, Pocomoke and Snow Hill are allocated.
“This is the first year that it’s been put really out into the sunlight, because it was time quite frankly,” he said. “After five years, it’s enough.”
There is the impression that Ocean Pines can easily sustain services because it has more resources, Terry argued.
“In past years, some of the positioning has been, Ocean Pines charges too much for dues, so they don’t need any money,” he said. “They have too much in reserves, so they don’t need any money.”
With frayed nerves clearly visible, the gathering on April 8 provided an opportunity to educate and placate. Lasting about an hour and 20 minutes, Terry said the meeting was informative.
“We learned how the county designs its budget,” he said. “We just talked through where we were and how we could move forward to address the funding in Ocean Pines, and what’s the formula, so we got educated in how they do it.”
Looking ahead, Terry said Ocean Pines wants to work with the county and focus on providing equal services.
“We need to line up plans so each side knows what the other is doing,” he said. “We’re looking at population numbers but their formulas are not tied to population.”
Another nuance of county funding that affects the Ocean Pines parks and recreation budget was also brought to light.
“One of the issues that came up in that meeting that I did not know about was that the county can not fund anything that we have a pricing differential in,” he said. “In other words, if we charge more for a non-OPA member to do something, none of their funds can go for that — it all has to be equal.”
Asked to comment on Hudson’s sayonara following what all involved parties characterized as an amicable meeting, Terry had no comment, while Bertino expressed surprise at the departure.
For his part Hudson said he remains an involved community member and will continue to educate neighbors on issues of importance to Ocean Pines.
“I’ve been criticized that we didn’t do a good job,” he said. “For a volunteer, it’s too much hassle. I really want them to concentrate on Ocean Pines — not on me.”