SALISBURY, Md. - The Wicomico County Council is moving forward with emergency legislation that could create a new commission to oversee the county-owned Wicomico Nursing Home, despite concerns from County Executive Julie Giordano and the county's legal counsel about the proposal in its current form.
Council unanimously approved the emergency introduction of the legislation Tuesday. A public hearing is scheduled for Sept. 15 at 10 a.m.
The proposal follows weeks of concerns raised by current and former nursing home employees about management, terminations, new policies and the work environment at the facility.
Councilman Josh Hastings said those concerns helped drive the push for additional oversight.
"We've had a flood of folks reaching out that are clearly concerned about, you know, what's happening at the nursing home," Hastings said.
Hastings said the proposed commission could improve communication between the nursing home, the county executive's office and County Council while giving council additional information when making budget and long-term planning decisions.
"We really want this commission to have much better oversight as to what's happening in our daily interactions and then to be able to provide that back and forth with the executive branch and the legislative branch," Hastings said.
Giordano appeared before council Tuesday and asked members to table the legislation. She said county officials had seen about seven versions of the proposal, with changes continuing into Monday afternoon.
Giordano argued the legislation could blur the separation between the executive and legislative branches, particularly when it comes to personnel matters.
"The way our charter reads is that the personnel piece is handled in the executive office through the executive branch, and that the legislators are the legislators," Giordano said.
County legal counsel also told council it supports the concept of a nursing home commission but has concerns with how the legislation is currently written. Attorneys raised issues involving the county personnel system and warned the language could potentially expose the county or commission to future litigation.
A motion by Councilman James Winn to table the discussion for a future work session failed. Council later voted unanimously to introduce the emergency legislation.
Giordano stressed that Tuesday's vote does not put the new oversight structure into effect. She said the measure still has to go through another reading and that she retains the ability to veto it if it reaches her desk.
"I will not support it," Giordano said, citing the concerns raised by the county attorney and questioning whether the proposal meets the definition of emergency legislation.
Giordano has defended the nursing home's new administration and said council members should visit the facility, meet with its new director and speak with staff before moving forward. She also said recent employee terminations were justified.
The debate is expected to continue ahead of the Sept. 15 public hearing.
