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The title to all lands in Garrett County heretofore sold by the Supervisor of Tax Collections to the County Commissioners under the provisions of this subchapter shall become absolute in the County Commissioners as against the taxpayer in whose name the land was assessed and sold in May, provided that the County Commissioners shall give 3 weeks notice by publication in some newspaper published in Garrett County, 3 weeks prior to the date of sale, warning the delinquent taxpayers that unless the taxes, interest and costs accrued against the lands are paid and discharged before the first day of March, title to the lands shall become absolute in the County Commissioners as against the person or persons in whose name or names the lands were assessed and sold, which notice shall contain a brief description of the lands, the name of the persons in whose name the same was assessed and sold and the amount of taxes, interest and costs due thereon. All of the lands not redeemed by payment as aforesaid on the day of the annual sale shall be held as the property of Garrett County, and the County Commissioners are authorized at any time thereafter to sell the lands or any of them, either at public or private sale, and, after reporting the sale or sales to the Circuit Court for Garrett County and after the ratification thereof by the court, to convey the same to the purchaser or purchasers thereof, and a good title shall be vested in the purchaser or purchasers of the land as against the delinquent taxpayer or taxpayers.
(1986 Code, § 20-11) (P.L.L., 1930, Art. 12, § 92; 1957 Code, § 73: 1912, Ch. 479, § 41A)
(A) Procedure.
(1) Except for transactions under division (D) of this section, professional services required to be licensed by the State of Maryland, or as otherwise authorized by law, the County Commissioners, or any employee of Garrett County, may not enter into any contract of sale or purchase to which the county is a party where the amount involved under the contract exceeds $50,000 without advertising for bids in one or more newspapers circulated in the county. Professional services required to be licensed by the State of Maryland may be solicited by written bids.
(2) The advertisement for bids shall appear at least a week prior to the date on which bids are to be filed.
(3) Any contract of sale shall be awarded to the highest responsible bidder, and any contract of purchase shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder, but the County Commissioners shall have the right to reject any and all bids.
(4) Any contract entered into in violation of the provisions of this section shall be null and void. The provisions of this section shall not apply to necessary repairs made in case of emergency.
(5) If any County Commissioner shall violate any provisions of this division, the Commissioner shall be liable to indictment, and, upon conviction, shall forfeit the office.
(B) Multi-year contracts.
(1) The County Commissioners may purchase or lease personal property for any public purpose in the county pursuant to a multi-year contract in accordance with Md. Code, Art. 25, § 9D.
(2) Prior to entering a contract under Md. Code, Art. 25, § 9D, the County Commissioners shall advertise for bids in accordance with division (A) of this section.
(C) Lease purchase agreements.
(1) Subject to divisions (2) and (3) below, the County Commissioners may enter into lease purchase agreements and related financing agreements to obtain personal or real property for any public purpose in the county.
(2) Prior to entering a lease purchase agreement under this division, the County Commissioners shall advertise for bids in accordance with division (A) of this section.
(3) A multi-year lease purchase agreement or related financing agreement shall be subject to cancellation by the County Commissioners at the end of a fiscal year if sufficient money is not appropriated to fund the agreement in the subsequent year.
(D) Used personal property.
(1) Subject to division (D)(2) of this division, whenever the County Commissioners consider it in the best interest of the county, the County Commissioners may:
(a) Acquire used personal property at an auction or at a public or private sale;
(b) Lease used personal property; and
(c) Enter into any financing or lease agreement for used personal property that the County Commissioners could enter had the personal property been acquired or leased new.
(2) Unless acquired at public auction, the County Commissioners may not acquire used personal property if the price exceeds $5,000 unless the County Commissioners first obtain 2 independent appraisals of the property. However, if by resolution the County Commissioners declare that 2 independent appraisals are not reasonably available, the County Commissioners may acquire the used personal property at a price not exceeding a documented published book value that generally would be accepted within the appropriate industry. The resolution shall be adopted at a regular public session of the County Commissioners and shall indicate what efforts the county made to obtain independent appraisals and the source of the book value relied on in lieu of the independent appraisals.
(1986 Code, § 20-14) (1957 Code, § 77; 1935, Ch. 35; 1945, Ch. 370; 1977, Ch. 861; 1984, Ch. 52; 1995, Ch. 35; Am. by Md. H.B. 465, passed - -; Am. by Md. H.B. 571, passed 2-24-1998; Am. by Md. S.B. 540, passed 2-27-2018; Am. Res. 2024-12, passed 10-7-2024)
(A) (1) For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
LOCAL FIRM. A business entity that has its principal office in Garrett County or maintains an active business in Garrett County as defined and evidenced by criteria set by the County Commissioners by ordinance or resolution.
NONRESIDENT FIRM. A business entity that is not a local firm.
(B) The County Commissioners may establish by ordinance or resolution a local preference program applicable to contracts awarded by the county by competitive bids in accordance with this section.
(C) (1) Under a local preference program established under this section, if the state or the political subdivision in which a nonresident firm is located gives an advantage to its resident businesses, the County Commissioners may give an identical advantage to the lowest responsive and responsible bid from a local firm over that of the nonresident firm.
(2) An advantage may include:
(a) A percentage preference;
(b) An employee residency requirement; or
(c) Any other provision that favors a local firm over a nonresident firm.
(D) An ordinance or resolution adopted under this section may reserve to the County Commissioners the right to provide in a solicitation for competitive bids that a local preference is not available under the contract.
(E) A local preference is not available under any contract if the County Commissioners determine that the preference would be inconsistent with the provisions of any applicable federal or state grant or program.
(1986 Code, § 20-14.1) (1997, Ch. 589)
The Board of County Commissioners may carry out, maintain and operate the following works of improvement:
(A) Soil conservation;
(B) Water conservation;
(C) Flood prevention, including structural and land treatment measures;
(D) Conservation, development, utilization and disposal of water, including development for recreation and protection of wildlife.
(1986 Code, § 20-16) (1963, Ch. 262)
(A) The County Commissioners may establish by ordinance or resolution a Garrett County Women’s Commission.
(B) The County Commissioners may take any additional action concerning the administration and operation of the Women’s Commission that the County Commissioners consider appropriate.
(C) The County Commissioners may provide county funding to the Women’s Commission, subject to any terms or restrictions that the County Commissioners consider appropriate.
(1986 Code, § 20-16.1) (1994, Ch. 100; 1996, Ch. 57)
(A) Subject to divisions (B) through (E) of this section, the County Commissioners by resolution may:
(1) Enter into an agreement to finance the purchase of real property purchased by the county for any public purpose through a financial institution or with a person selling the property at an interest rate and under terms and conditions that the County Commissioners deem in the best interest of the county; and
(2) Enter into an agreement to finance the planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, or capital equipping of any building for any public purpose through a financial institutional at an interest rate and under the terms and conditions that the County Commissioners deem in the best interest of the county; and
(3) Secure the financing under divisions (1) or (2) above through a mortgage or other instrument under terms that the County Commissioners deem appropriate.
(B) (1) The total amount of county debt entered under this section may not exceed $1,500,000 at any point in time.
(2) A financing agreement entered under this section may not extend beyond a 20-year period and shall reserve to the county the right to prepay the debt at any time at the option of the County Commissioners without any penalty.
(C) In any fiscal year in which debt under this section is outstanding, the County Commissioners shall levy ad valorem taxes on the assessable property in the county at a rate and amount sufficient to provide for the payment of the principal and interest under any financing agreement entered under this section as it becomes due.
(D) Before the County Commissioners adopt a resolution under this section:
(1) The County Commissioners shall compare the cost of the financing based on documented proposals from at least 2 financial institutions; and
(2) The proposed financing agreement and any related documents shall be reviewed by the attorney for the County Commissioners for legal sufficiency.
(E) The County Commissioners may adopt a resolution under this section only at a regular session of the County Commissioners held no sooner than 10 days after notice of the proposed financing and the time at which the County Commissioners are to consider the financing is published in at least one newspaper regularly available in the county.
(1986 Code, § 20-16.2) (1997, Ch. 24; Am. by Md. S.B. 702, passed 3-17-1998)
The County Commissioners may sell property located in any industrial park owned by the County Commissioners to any buyer, for the appraised or negotiated price, and in any manner. The County Commissioners may use proceeds from these sales in accordance with the county budget.
(1986 Code, § 20-20) (1985, Ch. 333)
(A) House Bill 219. Be in enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, that the laws of Maryland read as follows:
Article 25 - County Commissioners
11A.
(H) Notwithstanding subsection (A) of this section, in Garrett County, the Board of County Commissioners may dispose of surplus supplies, equipment, or other personal property belonging to the county by the following means:
(1) Public action;
(2) Public sale;
(3) Trade-in for new or used equipment;
(4) Recycling; or
(5) Disposal in the Garrett County Landfill.
(Md. H.B. 219, passed 2-25-2003; Md. H.B. 146, passed 2-13-2007)
(B) House Bill 277. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, that the laws of Maryland read as follows:
Article 25 - County Commissioners
11A.
(H) (1) Notwithstanding subsection (A) of this section, in Garrett County, if at a public sale of any surplus real property the public sale fails to yield any bids for that property, the County Commissioners:
(I) Shall record in their minutes that no bids were made; and
(II) May privately negotiate and sell the surplus property for a reasonable price if the Commissioners announce the making of the privately negotiated agreement at the first meeting following the agreement.
(2) The Commissioners shall adopt regulations to implement this section.
(Md. H.B. 277, passed 2-25-2003)
(C) House Bill 324. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, that the laws of Maryland read as follows:
Article 25 - County Commissioners
3.
(RR) (1) In this subsection, “government organization” includes:
(I) A county;
(II) A Board of Education;
(III) A municipal corporation;
(IV) A government cooperative purchasing organization.
(2)
The County Commissioners of Garrett County may purchase goods and services through a contract that has been entered into by a vendor and a government organization that does not participate in a cooperative purchasing agreement in which Garrett County is a member.
(Md. H.B. 324, passed 2-25-2003)
(D) House Bill 201. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, that the laws of Maryland read as follows:
Article 25 - County Commissioners
16.
(a) This section applies only to commission counties and, unless otherwise provided by a local law enacted by a code county, code counties.
(b) (1) In case any office of county commissioner shall become vacant in any county by death, resignation or otherwise, the Governor, if such vacancy shall occur during the session of the Senate, shall, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint, and if such vacancy shall occur during the recess of the Senate, the Governor shall appoint a proper person or proper persons to fill such vacancy or vacancies; and the nomination of the person or persons thus appointed during such recess, or of some other person in his or their place, shall be made to the Senate within thirty days after the next meeting of the legislature.
(2) (i) Subject to subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph the Governor shall nominate or appoint the person to fill such vacancy whose name shall be submitted to the Governor in writing by the central committee of the political party with which the county commissioner, so vacating, has been affiliated in the particular county, provided that the nominee or appointee shall be of the same political party as the person whose office is to be filled; and it shall be the duty of the Governor to make the nomination or appointment within fifteen days after the submission of the name of the nominee or appointee to the Governor.
(ii) In Garrett County, the nominee or appointee shall be a resident of the same commissioner district in which the former county commissioner resided.
(3) In the event there is no central committee in the county in which the vacancy occurs, the Governor shall appoint to fill the vacancy a person who has all the qualifications required for the office of county commissioner in the particular county.
(Md. H.B. 201, passed 3-22-2011)
ROAD BOARD
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