HAGERSTOWN – The Washington County Board of County Commissioners will gather for the last regular session of 2025 on Dec. 16. The final agenda of the year returns to the board’s bread-and-butter: insurance renewals, EMS staffing transitions and multi-million-dollar infrastructure spending. That includes a new $1 million ADA playground replacement.
The morning’s marquee item will be Risk Management Coordinator Tracy McCammon’s presentation of the 2026 insurance renewal package for the Washington County Volunteer Fire & Rescue Association.
The proposed premiums total $1.13 million, a sharp 23 percent increase over 2025, driven primarily by a 26 percent jump in automobile coverage and a 31 percent rise in workers’ compensation rates tied to recent loss history. Staff opted not to re-bid the market this cycle after carriers declined quotes last year.
Emergency Services Director R. David Hays, joined by Clear Spring Ambulance Club leadership, will seek approval of a new Memorandum of Understanding that transitions Clear Spring’s four full-time and three part-time EMS employees into county employment and authorizes hiring four additional full-time positions. The move, budgeted at roughly $1.05 million in 2026, follows the same model already implemented in Halfway, Hancock, Smithsburg, Williamsport, and other stations and is expected to pass without opposition.
Other notable items on the agenda:
- A $435,400 change order (No. 19) extending construction-management services for the delayed “enhanced nutrient removal” upgrade at the Smithsburg Wastewater Treatment Plant
- Authorization of a $1.08 million cooperative purchase through OMNIA Partners for a fully inclusive, ADA-accessible playground replacement at Marty Snook Park, including shade structures and poured-in-place surfacing
- Acceptance of a $91,000 Maryland 9-1-1 Board grant for design services at the future Emergency Communications Center
- Cooperative purchase of a 2026 Ford Explorer ($41,600) for the Transit Department
- Extension of an employment offer to Jessica Kehler as Commercial Building Plans Examiner (Grade 13, Step 1)
- Extension and increase of the county’s Agricultural Innovation & Equipment Grant program
The board will enter closed session twice: early in the meeting for legal advice on a county-involved litigation matter, and again near the end for personnel actions (hiring, compensation, and volunteer-board assignments), real-property acquisition strategy, bylaw revisions, and discussion of potential fire/EMS-related litigation.
The open portion of the meeting is expected to conclude with routine staff comments and adjournment before noon.
The meeting is open to the public and will be livestreamed on the county’s YouTube channel and local cable access. Written public comment may be submitted in advance to [email protected]. Readers may see the full agenda here.
