The difference this year compared to last year is the major critics of Cruisin are not satisfied simply expressing their concerns through letters to the editor and social media posts the week after the event. They came before the Ocean City Mayor and Council this week to hammer home their outrage and let their elected officials know they want to see changes, not lip service like last year.
Long-time Ocean City resident Gabriel Mancini addressed a suggestion I have heard repeatedly in recent weeks — move Cruisin to April to cut down on traffic issues and conflicts with residents. “Our season has expanded from May to September … those months are now in season and a money making time for us. If you can bring those events, such as Cruisin in the end of April and the motorcycles to mid-October it would help a lot,” he said.
When I brought that consideration up to tourism folks last year, it was said to be unrealistic because there would not be enough lodging establishments open to meet the demand from the event. It’s a peak summer weekend from a crowd perspective, but there’s not enough units available in the hotels to satisfy all the people who come to town for Cruisin prior to Springfest.
Perhaps, and this is looking at the issue in a glass half-full capacity, maybe moving the event and the revenue it brings a few weeks up on the calendar will entice hotels to open a few weeks earlier and lengthen their operating seasons. It could be a positive and maybe there will be new revenue to be had earlier in the season that has previously been missed out on. It’s worthy of consideration and shouldn’t be summarily dismissed as it traditionally has been.
The Ocean City Planning and Zoning Commission public hearing on June 16 at City Hall on drafted legislation to establish a new residential district, where anything short of year-round rentals would be prohibited, is going to be a spirited affair.
Passions will be running high with year-round residents likely coming forward with horror stories involving unruly and disrespectful renters. On the flip side will be the non-resident property owners, who bought their units as investment properties with the intention to operate it as a rental in the summer months. Also represented will surely be rental companies defending themselves against claims they are not doing enough to ensure rental leases stating only families can be rented to are being followed.
Who I’m most interested in hearing from are the attorneys who will likely argue it’s an infringement on their clients’ private property rights and their understanding of the law at the time of purchase. Word is Ocean City will get around that by delaying official implementation on existing rental license for two or three years to ease the financial blow.
Members of the Coastal Association of Realtors have reportedly been meeting to discuss the proposal, and my guess is they will be well represented at the public hearing because this change will have major ramifications on the real estate market.
There is unnecessary fat in every government budget. Sometimes it’s easy to see, but difficult to address.
In Worcester County’s case, it ironically can be found in retired employees’ compensation, specifically health insurance coverage. It’s ironic because the Worcester County Commissioners are under fire for not treating their employees fairly by approving a budget that didn’t include step increases or a cost-of-living-adjustment. The reality, at least in this case, is the county is going way too far with its retiree health insurance policy.
Currently, if a worker is employed by the county for 15 years, he or she can retire and be under the county’s health insurance plan for life at the current 10 percent rate (county covers 90 percent of premium). Additionally, the employee’s dependents (spouse or children under 26) also get life coverage at the same 10 percent rate. The commissioners decided this week to up that level to 20 percent for the employee and dependents. That was a reasonable move.
A discussion was had to eliminate the dependent and only cover the employee health insurance after retirement, but that proposal failed in a 5-2 vote with only Commissioners Jim Bunting and Joe Mitrecic in support of the change.
It’s ridiculous in my opinion and a tremendous waste of money for the county to cover an employee’s dependent for life at the same percentage as the employee. How much money is being spent on this will be determined by a future study but this is a huge long-term expense that’s incredibly too generous and unnecessary. It’s one of these reasons the county was facing this year’s budget nightmare.
The county should cover the retired employees’ health insurance after the 15-year mark at the policy share rate, but it needs to change its approach to dependents to what Ocean City did some years ago. Ocean City covers 80 percent of its retired employees’ health insurance. The dependents can be on the town’s policy but the town doesn’t cover any of it. That’s fair and the way the county needs to go sooner rather than later.