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Garrett County, Maryland Seal
Garrett County Government
301.334.8970 | [email protected]

Board of Commissioners

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Phone 301.334.8970
Fax 301.334.5000
[email protected]
Map Marker
Frederick A. Thayer III Courthouse-Administrative Building
203 South Fourth Street, Room 207
Oakland, MD 21550
Clock
Office Hours 8:30am - 4:30pm
Monday-Friday

Overarching Goals

  • Exercise Sound Fiscal Management
    • Closely monitor and manage County resources,
    • reduce expenses where possible,
    • improve efficiency, make sound capital investments,
    • encourage innovation,
    • reward outstanding performance.
       
  • Population growth - We have not set a specific target, as we have not had the opportunity to meet with the individual towns and with the County Staff to discuss and develop specific goals, but we believe that growing the population is important to helping stabilize schools, attracting businesses, and growing the tax base. This will be a difficult task, and we need a discerning – and realistic – plan.
     
  • Economic Development - During the campaign, many citizens listed economic development as one of the biggest concerns facing our County.  Our goal is to grow the tax base, increase the number of businesses in the county, and increase the number of jobs.
     
  • Relationship building - We will strive to improve internal and external communications and create a more cooperative and collaborative working relationship with local and state governments and boards, including the Board of Education.  We also pledge to respect each others’ opinion and support the Board of Commissioner’s decisions at all times, even when one of us may disagree.
     
  • Become more business friendly - This is not the same as economic development.  We will instruct our staff to always err on the side of business and the citizens, i.e. making it easier to obtain permits for things like home and business additions. Each of us believes that government should be here to help and make things easier, not more difficult.  We will stress customer service to the department heads and employees. We also would like to have a stronger online presence to make it easier to conduct business with the County.
     
  • Assist and become a stronger partner with the municipalities - We believe that the towns provide a great opportunity to help with economic development, especially in retail, tourism, light manufacturing, and professional services. They also offer the best possibility for sustained population growth for full-time residents.  This helps grow the tax base, provides more opportunities for our residents, and assists in stabilizing schools.  The way we assist each town may vary depending on the uniqueness of their respective circumstances and individual goals.  
     
  • Timely decision making - We pledge to work together to be decisive and make timely decisions.  While we recognize and appreciate the importance of having as much information as possible before making a decision, we have a responsibility to act when appropriate and make timely decisions.