OC Today WWW.OCEANCITYTODAY.COM
APRIL 21, 2023
SERVING NORTHERN WORCESTER COUNTY
SCULPTING
ART CONTEST
Ward Wildfowl Carving Competition starts today at Ocean City convention center – Page 20
FREE
Resort drops Ticketmaster for concerts Switches to less costly provider for conv. center
HUNTER HINE/OCEAN CITY TODAY
IT’S WHO YOU NOSE
The Worcester County Humane Society hosted its 22nd annual Boardwalkin’ for Pets last Saturday. Pictured are two dogs meeting behind the signup table near the end of the Boardwalk during the fundraiser for the no-kill Berlin shelter.
By Mallory Panuska Staff Writer (April 21,2023) The soaring cost of booking acts at the resort’s performing arts center has prompted officials to drop Ticketmaster and its accompanying expenses in exchange for a new, cheaper online ticket provider. “It’s primarily about the fees being charged to the consumer,” Ocean City Director of Tourism and Business Development Tom Perlozzo told members of the city’s Tourism Commission last week while explaining why staff opted to sign a contract with web-based ticketing service Etix. According to the company’s online summary, Etix processes more than 50 million tickets annually for sports, travel and entertainment events in 40 countries. Perlozzo said staff members vetted numerous options to reduce the cost of tickets and determined Etix was the best deal. The change, coupled with a new PAC membership program that will allow patrons to buy sponsorships for See VENDOR Page 4
Mitrecic tells Bertino: leave school budget alone County usually stays out of bd. of ed business but that could be changing By Jack Chavez Staff Writer (April 21, 2023) With another eight-figure difference between income and spending, the Worcester County Commissioners are scrutinizing next fiscal year’s budget seemingly line by line. Typically, that hasn’t been the case for the Worcester County Public School system and the board of education, which, mostly, are left to their
own devices in determining what they need and how to spend it. But this year, some commissioners say they need more transparency from the schools. School Superintendent Lou Taylor and Chief Financial Officer Vince Tolbert presented the school system budget to the commissioners on Tuesday, asking for an increase of $4.2 million over FY23, or about 4.1 percent more. In a presentation, Tolbert said that the expected revenue for FY24 is around $131 million, an increase of about 4.78 percent.
Aside from a few questions about particulars in the budget, most of the comments from the commissioners zeroed in on the overall transparency of the school system budget — or as some commissioners put it the lack thereof. “This is the budget for all county departments that isn’t the Board of Education, roughly $110 million,” Commissioner President Chip Bertino said as he piled three binders about a foot tall. He then held up and set down a single, thin binder — the education budget request. See COUNTY Page 4