SNOW HILL – Recent storms and flooding have prompted county leaders to resume the practice of sending staff to the National Hurricane Conference.
In April, for the first time in a decade Worcester County will send more than a dozen employees to New Orleans for the 2017 National Hurricane Conference. The Worcester County Commissioners voted 6-0 this week to authorize spending an unbudgeted $31,200 to cover the cost of the trip.
Kelly Shannahan, the county’s assistant chief administrative officer, said he’d looked into renewing the practice of sending employees to the annual event at the request of John Tustin, the county’s public works director.
“Given the recent flooding events and storm events we’ve had over the past couple months, Mr. Tustin thought it would be a good idea to send a few staff members to the hurricane conference this coming year,” Shannahan said.
While the county used to send multiple employees to the conference each year, that practice was discontinued in 2008.
“We used to send several staff members each year,” Shannahan said. “Those that attended said it was one of the best conferences they’d ever attended.”
In 2017, the conference will be held April 17-20 in New Orleans. Shannahan said he had reached out to the county’s department heads and asked them for recommendations on who would benefit from going to the conference. That resulted in a list of 16 employees from emergency services, the fire marshal’s office, administration, public works, development review and permitting and environmental programs as well as two commissioners. Shannahan said the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office reported that members of its command staff had already attended the conference.
Shannahan contacted conference organizers and was able to negotiate a $50 per person discount if the county sent more than 10 people. In all, the trip is expected to cost $31,200, or $1,950 per person.
“There is not specific money budgeted for this however you could authorize an over-expenditure,” Shannahan said.
The commissioners voted 6-0, with Commissioner Merrill Lockfaw absent, to do so.
“As somebody who’s been to this several times and learned a lot every time I’ve gone, I can’t stress how important it is for our area that we have people attend this,” said Commissioner Joe Mitrecic, who attended the conference as a member of the Ocean City Mayor and Council.
