Update: Woodsboro releases budget, reversing vow to never release public employee salaries

Jun. 17—Woodsboro Burgess Heath Barnes emailed The Frederick News-Post a copy of the town's fiscal year 2023 budget late Thursday night, after the newspaper posted a story reporting on his previous refusal — in which he said the town has never released the salaries of town employees and will continue to follow that.

Barnes and Town Clerk Mary Rice both declined to provide the salaries of town employees and elected officials budgeted for the upcoming fiscal year this week, in violation of Maryland law, until Barnes changed course and provided the new budget that includes salary information.

In an email late Thursday night, after the News-Post's story about the refusal went online, Barnes wrote that the town should have had at least another week, under the Maryland Public Information Act, to provide a copy of the budget. He also wrote that "anyone can come in anytime and request to see the entire budget at the town office and that's how we have always done it in the past."

However, in a phone call on Wednesday, Barnes — a Republican candidate for state delegate in Maryland's 4th District — said the town has never released the salaries of its employees. It is not going to do so now, he said then.

After a meeting of the Woodsboro commissioners on Tuesday, Barnes initially gave a News-Post reporter a copy of the budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1. The commissioners had voted 3-0 that night to approve the $1.1 million budget.

While a reporter was discussing the budget with Barnes, Rice took the document back, saying she does not want the salaries of town employees to be reported. She asked the reporter how she would feel if her salary were posted to be seen by all of her family and friends.

In an email the next morning, Rice shared with the reporter the town's tax rate and water and sewer rates. She did not reply to an email requesting a copy of the budget.

During Tuesday's meeting, the town made available an agenda that outlined the town's expenses for the previous month. This included a list of budget lines such as current salaries.

The town has four elected commissioners and an elected burgess. It also has a town clerk and two maintenance workers. Barnes said last week that the town is about to hire a part-time code enforcement officer.

The outline available at Tuesday's meeting shows that the four elected commissioners are budgeted to receive a total of $12,000 (or $3,000 apiece) this fiscal year and the burgess will get $5,000.

The budget does not specifically mention "town clerk," but it has a salary budget line for "clerical" of $42,913.

Other salary lines in the current budget are:

—General: $7,750

—Maintenance in the "Street" category: $7,600

—Maintenance in the "Park" category: $61,800

—Clerical in the "Park" category: $1,300

—Clerical in the "Sewer" category: $10,300

—Clerical in the "Water" category: $10,300

—Maintenance in the "Sewer" category: $1,624

—Maintenance in the "Water" category: $1,624

The News-Post requested a copy of the town's draft budget on Monday. Rice said it had not been approved and declined to provide the draft.

After Tuesday's meeting, the News-Post asked for the approved budget. That's when Barnes provided it, but Rice took it back.

On Wednesday, Rice did not provide the budget, but instead shared the tax rate and water and sewer rates for the coming fiscal year.

The News-Post then asked Rice and Barnes again for the approved budget on Wednesday. Rice did not respond. Barnes did not provide the budget.

The budget that Barnes provided late Thursday night shows salaries at similar levels, except for "clerical," which has dropped to $32,977 for fiscal year 2023.

—The commissioners line remained at $12,000 and the burgess line at $5,000.

—The "General — Maintenance" line, which was $31,165 in fiscal year 2021 and $7,750 in fiscal year 2022, stood at $30,000 for fiscal year 2023.

—The "Street- Maintenance" line, which was $10,845 in fiscal year 2021 and $7,600 in fiscal year 2022, stood at $10,000 for fiscal year 2023.

—"Parks — Clerical" is $1,700 for the coming year. "Maintenance — Sewer" and "Maintenance — Water" are each at $1,100.

—"Clerical Sewer" and "Clerical Water" each rose from $10,300 in fiscal year 2022 to $17,335 in fiscal year 2023.

Two experts in government and public records said a town must provide information about the salaries of public employees.

Section Four of the Maryland Public Information Act says "the salary of an employee of a unit or an instrumentality of the State or of a political subdivision" are included in the definition of records that are public.

Lucy Dalglish, dean of the University of Maryland's Philip Merrill College of Journalism, confirmed in an interview that the salaries of municipal employees are public information in Maryland.

"The reason I know this deep to my core is because every nickel I make is publicly available," Dalglish said.

Indeed, her salary can be found in a database of UMD employee salaries compiled by the school's independent student newspaper, The Diamondback. As of 2022, Dalglish was paid $340,334.40 annually.

Anyone who works for Woodsboro, she said, is a public employee; wanting to keep salary information private is not a good enough excuse for withholding the budget.

Jim Peck, who has worked with the Maryland Municipal League — which represents municipalities across the state — for more than three decades, concurred that Woodsboro is required by the Maryland Public Information Act to disclose the salaries of its employees.

"I personally support full compliance with the Maryland Public Information Act and the Open Meetings Act," said Peck, a research specialist.

Follow Angela Roberts on Twitter: @24_angier