OCEAN CITY, Md. -- The state of Maryland has designated Ocean City a Just Community, which gives the resort town top priority for certain state grants. But town officials say the designation is likely a mistake caused by a misinterpretation of Ocean City's seasonal housing dynamics.
The state's new Just Communities initiative, announced by Governor Wes Moore on Juneteenth, aims to address systemic inequalities and historical injustices. In total, 419 census tracts across Maryland received the designation.
"This is going to be one of the most aggressive ways in state history that we are addressing the issue of the racial wealth gap," Governor Moore said during the announcement on June 19th.
To qualify, a community must meet one or more of the following criteria: racial segregation, high incarceration rates, past or current harm from urban renewal or highway projects, or disproportionate exposure to environmental and health hazards.
Ocean City's City Manager Terry McGean said the resort town doesn't fit the bill.
"It's a little bit of an anomaly and not really the intent of the legislation," said McGean.
He believes Ocean City's inclusion stems from the state's population and vacancy data use.
"When we dug into the data and looked to see how they were scoring, we realized what had occurred," said McGean. "It's really because we have a lot of vacation properties that are showing up as not currently habited."
For that reason, McGean said town officials don't plan on taking advantage of their newfound status.
"We'll certainly defer applying for a lot of these funds and look to the communities that I think the General Assembly and the governor intended to receive the funds, such as our partners down in Pocomoke," said McGean.
Despite town leaders' disagreement with the designation, McGean said there is currently no formal process to appeal or remove it. For now, Ocean City plans to opt out of seeking priority funding it believes is better suited for other communities.
"I think the big takeaway is, we respect the intent of the legislation and we intend to abide by that," said McGean.