Upper Maralboro, MD

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information contact:
Ray Feldmann
ray@fcstrategies.com
410-507-7714 (mobile)

UPPER MARLBORO, MD (Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021) – The Town of Upper Marlboro has been awarded a joint Town Manager Circuit Rider Program grant in conjunction with the Town of Morningside, Upper Marlboro Mayor Linda Pennoyer and Morningside Mayor Bennard J. Cann jointly announced today.

The innovative program, which is administered by the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), has awarded a total of $500,000 in grants to towns statewide. Upper Marlboro and the Town of Morningside received a combined $50,000.

“We are extremely pleased to receive this award together with Mayor Benn Cann from the Town of Morningside,” Mayor Pennoyer said. “These funds will enable us to strengthen our management and oversight of the grants we have already received and to be even more proactive in seeking and securing additional grants for the Town.”

The circuit manager will be split evenly for 20 hours per week between the towns of Upper Marlboro and Morningside, Pennoyer said. As the lead grant sponsor, Upper Marlboro will have the manager under its payroll and healthcare plan.

Upper Marlboro Town Administrator Kyle Snyder said the circuit manager will support the Town’s grant projects and initiatives by managing existing grants and working with town department heads to apply for new grants and handle other special projects as needed. The circuit manager operations will be evaluated by the number of successfully managed grants, as well as the amount of grant funding applied for and awarded to the Town.

With Upper Marlboro as the sponsor, the circuit rider will fall under the Town's payroll and healthcare plan, the cost of which is offset by the DHCD grant.

The Town of Morningside will utilize its share of the $50,000 grant to fund an executive level position to serve as Chief Administrative Officer.

“This grant is a great opportunity for municipalities to gain the insight of an experienced employee at a shared cost,” said Mayor Cann.  “The Town of Morningside is excited to work alongside Mayor Pennoyer and the Town of Upper Marlboro on this venture."

DHCD’s Maryland Town Manager Circuit Rider Program assists small town and city governments with building their administrative capacity. The funding of this program is extremely competitive and to be eligible towns must be a small municipality with a population of 5,000 or less. 

Under this program, municipalities, counties, and regional governmental organizations can join together to sponsor a circuit and hire professional staff who serve two or more towns. Once it is in full effect, the Circuit Rider professionals help small towns in administrative services, like assisting with construction, responding to public inquiries, water maintenance, etc.

“This program is a huge help to smaller towns who want to improve their local communities but who may lack the necessary resources and funding to enable them to reach their goals,” according to DHCD.

Maryland’s DHCD is charged with implementing housing policy that promotes and preserves homeownership, as well as “creating innovative community development initiatives to meet the challenges of a growing Maryland.”

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