SALISBURY, Md. - The Wicomico County Council has voted unanimously to override County Executive Julie Giordano’s veto of emergency legislation establishing a commission to oversee the county-owned Wicomico Nursing Home.
The 6–0 vote on Tuesday makes Legislative Bill 2026-11 law and moves the county toward putting the new oversight commission in place following months of concerns about management and working conditions at the facility.
Council members Joe Holloway, Josh Hastings, Shanie Shields, David Ennis, Jeff Merritt, and Council President John Cannon voted for the override on Oct. 13. The county charter requires at least five affirmative votes to override an executive veto. Councilman James Winn was not in attendance.
The Council re-approved the legislation in the same form adopted Sept. 15, without further amendments Tuesday.
Legislative Bill 2026-11 establishes a nursing home commission and regulations addressing the facility’s operation and appointment of its director. During Tuesday’s meeting, Council’s legal adviser said the commission would review operations and make recommendations to Council, the county executive, and the nursing home administrator. It would not run the facility’s daily operations.
Giordano returned the bill with her veto Oct. 6. As WBOC previously reported, she argued the legislation blurred the distinction between legislative oversight and executive administration, potentially creating competing chains of command, legal uncertainty, and additional costs for taxpayers.
Giordano also told WBOC she supported accountability and the creation of a board, but objected particularly to giving Council authority to remove the nursing home administrator. She also questioned whether the legislation adequately addressed employment, benefits, contracts, and other financial obligations.
Council members have argued the commission would improve communication and provide additional oversight after current and former employees raised concerns about terminations, management decisions, and the work environment.
Following Tuesday’s override, Cannon said the focus should turn to recruiting and appointing commission members.
“We have to make sure that we get a commission in place,” Cannon said, calling on the executive branch to move quickly to receive applications and advertise the openings. Council members also discussed formally making the facility a county department, but took no separate vote on that proposal.
Neighbors and Delegate Sheree Sample-Hughes thanked the Council during public comments for moving the legislation forward.
“Last night while I was at the nursing home, I was just looking around, sitting at the walls and saying, ‘You know, this is worth fighting for all the way till the end,’” Sample-Hughes said. “For the people who are there, the employees that are there, and those who are yet to come.”
Cannon said the work now needs to shift toward getting the commission operating so it can begin addressing the concerns raised during the debate.
