Miller named council president, Streight introduces new administrators, plans economic development study

CECIL COUNTY — Community members filled the County Administration Building’s Elk Room on Tuesday evening when the new Cecil County Council had their first legislative session and voted on new members of administration.

Earlier that day in the council work session, Al Miller was voted president with Robert Meffley as vice president.

“I’ve been president twice and everybody needs a shot,” Meffley said after recommending Miller for the position.

Miller facilitated a public hearing regarding zoning, and discussed several resolutions in his first session as president. Some resolutions included conducting an economic development study, which hasn’t been done in eleven years, and upgrading the county website to make it more user friendly. The resolutions will be voted on in the next legislative session on December 17.

“I’m just looking forward to the future. I think we’re off to the right start and we have a lot of great things going on in Cecil County. We’re going to update the website, work on economic development, public safety, and public education. These are big, important things we need to continue to work on,” Miller said.

Five new members were also welcomed to various administrative positions after the council voted on County Executive Adam Streight’s appointments on Tuesday evening.

Former Councilman Daniel Schneckenburger is the new County Administrator thanks to a 4 to 1 vote from the county council. Streight appreciated Schneckenburger’s support of public safety and said their priorities align, some of many factors that secured him this position.

“Dan, to my knowledge, is the only elected official to do ride-alongs with the Sheriff’s Office…If you don’t actually see a crime scene up close, it’s kind of abstracted,” Streight said before pointing out that these ride-alongs gave Schneckenburger a firsthand look at how police deal with mental health issues.

In addition to his respect for public safety, Schneckenburger has spent a lot of time in county government with his previous involvement in the County Council, Chamber of Commerce, Cecil County Firemen’s Association; Maryland Association of Counties; and Maryland Rural Counties Coalition.

“Very few people who understand the inner workings of county government and how that reflects the state and how that reflects economically than Dan Schneckenburger,” Streight said.

Former Cecil County judge Keith Baynes is the new County Attorney after the council voted 3 to 1 with one member abstaining. Streight got to know him as a prosecutor during his 25 years in law enforcement.

“He has experience, pretty intimate experience with every aspect that local and county governments are going to face. So I knew coming into this there wasn’t going to be a learning curve,” Streight said about Baynes.

Baynes was a judge for 14 years, where he dealt with a variety of issues that afford him a unique perspective and a plethora of legal advice to offer county government.

In Maryland, judges must retire once they turn 70 years-old, but can revert to senior judge status meaning that they can be a visiting judge and still get paid a pretty penny to sit in courtrooms. Once a judge gives up this status, they can never go back to being a judge.

“Him coming to the county government is a selfless act of service,” Streight said.

Sally Kilby was unanimously voted in to be the new Director of Human Resources. Streight got to know Kilby when working security in the county government building when she was also working there internally. During this time, working together they resolved some issues and built a friendship.

“We kept in touch, and when I decided I was going to run for County Executive, I called her and she was the only person I offered her job to…there was nobody else that I was even going to consider,” Streight said.

“She is able to balance the needs of the employee with the needs of the county. She is a professional in every sense,” Streight said.

The council voted unanimously on Sandra Edwards as the new Director of Economic development.

Streight is confident that Edwards can help strengthen the local economy and bring good business here. He mentioned an interest in bringing the film industry to the county to showcase the area’s history, restaurants, landscape, and more.

“It’s not only about promoting Cecil County, but it’s about promoting and helping our small businesses,” Streight said, pointing out that this will boost tourism and the production company, cast, and crew will all utilize local businesses while filming.

Patrick Campbell was also unanimously chosen to be the Director of Emergency Services due to his dedication to leadership.

While still in law enforcement, Streight graduated from a master’s level course at the New Jersey Chief of Police Community Leadership Academy. He gained so much from this experience, that he was shocked other departments don’t encourage this course.

“One of my priorities when I took office was to extend that leadership training for all areas of the county,” Streight said.

When Streight interviewed Campbell, he mentioned the lack of leadership in the Department of Emergency Services and pointed out solutions including this course, which excited Campbell. Campbell is committed to bringing strong leadership to the county and is even starting next month at the same leadership academy that Streight graduated from.

“His priorities when it comes to running that department align with mine,” Streight said.

Campbell also has good relationships with the local fire companies and is a volunteer himself at the Rising Sun Fire Company.

“You need somebody that cannot only effectively manage the EMS, but get along with our volunteers,” Streight said.

In Streight’s first few days in office, he said that he has been sure to introduce himself to everyone in the building and is working on getting to know his coworkers by eating lunch in the cafeteria alongside them. He is looking forward to working together with the strong team he’s created to ensure success in Cecil County.