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SEPTEMBER 16, 2022
SERVING NORTHERN WORCESTER COUNTY
OC BIKEFEST
BIG TICKET CONCERTS
Zac Brown, Godsmack, and Disturbed headline motorcycle rally in resort area – Page 26
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Planning key for succesful concert City officials poring over transportation, parking details for Oceans Calling
GREG WEHNER/OCEAN CITY TODAY
GOOD POUR
Red wine flows into a glass during the annual Winefest on the Beach at the inlet lot last Saturday, where hundreds of wine lovers and the merely interested flock to sample some of the region’s best offerings.
Raises for mayor and council? Pay hasn’t changed since 1989, now elected officials will ask voters to decide By Mallory Panuska Staff Writer (Sept. 16, 2022) When Ocean City voters go to the polls this November, they will not only elect three council members and the mayor, but they will also vote on whether to give the elected officials raises for the first time in 34 years.
City Council members currently make $10,000 a year, the council president makes $11,000, and the mayor earns $30,000. After researching the salaries of similar municipal officials, city staff proposed raising the salaries to $20,000 for council members, $23,000 for the council president, and $50,000 for the mayor. The rates have not been altered since 1989, and at a work session Tuesday, council members voted to put the raises on the Nov. 8 election
ballot. The move puts the final decision in the hands of the voters, which council members have consistently agreed should be the process. “In discussing this I just think there are a few things that I think are important. We definitely should not vote on this ourselves,” Councilman John Gehrig said Tuesday. He added that he knows he and his colleagues do not serve for the money and said that former council memSee VOTERS Page 4
By Mallory Panuska Staff Writer (Sept. 16, 2022) Resort officials hope the tens of thousands of people who attend the Oceans Calling Festival at the inlet in two weeks are familiar with the challenges that come with large, crowded events. But if not, information will be shared to ensure concert ‘The biggest goers know thing is going everything they to be, honestly, need to when it encouraging comes to entering, maneuver- people to walk ing, and leaving and ride their the oceanside bikes.’ venue. — City Manager Terry McGean “The biggest thing is going to be, honestly, encouraging people to walk and ride their bikes,” City Manager Terry McGean said during a Transportation Commission meeting this week while sharing details of a working transportation plan for the concert. Officials compared the post-concert exit situation to what one might experience while leaving a Baltimore Ravens game at M&T Bank Stadium, and are urging people to avoid driving their own vehicles. Tom Perlozzo, the city’s director of tourism and business development, said everything from transportation to police, fire and emergency services See CONCERT Page 3