Frostburg officials OK vaccine incentives, mail-in ballots
Oct. 23—FROSTBURG — Frostburg officials voted Thursday to use some of the $8.379 million in American Rescue Plan funding the city was allocated for smaller projects and vaccine incentive programs.
The mayor and City Council agreed to amend the vaccine incentive program for city employees to an amount not to exceed $26,500. If the city's 52 employees were to get vaccinated, there would be enough for each person to receive $500 from the program.
"It has at least moved the needle 10%, the incentive, so I think that's significant," said Elizabeth Stahlman, the city's administrator.
Another vaccine incentive program the council voted to approve was for employees of the two nursing homes in town. The programs allocated an amount not to exceed $135,000.
"They're both currently looking at HVAC opportunities and some other COVID-19 specific expenses, but they were both in agreement that vaccine incentives would help them as well. So this is budgeting $500 per employee at both nursing homes in the city," said Stahlman. "The way that one of the nursing homes has structured it, and how I feel that they both likely will go, is no one would receive the incentive until they met a certain threshold of vaccinations and then all vaccinated employees would receive it."
The discussed rate to which the nursing homes would have to reach before vaccinated employees would receive the funds is 85%, which is in line with the state average rate.
The three smaller projects that were given funds are general sewer projects, general water distribution projects and general water treatment plan projects — each under $25,000 and not to exceed $150,000.
Mail-in ballots
The mayor and Council voted unanimously to amend city code to provide for universal voting by mail, new protocols related to the casting and counting of ballots and elimination of absentee ballots.
The city used mail-in voting for the most recent city election and the 1,031 ballots cast was an increase over previous years. There were just 725 ballots casts in 2018, 418 in 2016 and 446 in 2014.
"It strikes the absentee ballot provisions because everyone is getting a ballot by mail," said Elizabeth Stahlman, the city's administrator.
As part of the provision, ballots "shall be mailed to registered voters no sooner than 35 days and no later than 25 days prior to the date of the election."
Brandon Glass is a staff writer for the Cumberland Times-News. Follow him on Twitter @Bglass13.
