2024 Budget in Ocean City Focuses on Year Round Staffing

OCEAN CITY, Md. - The fiscal year budget for 2024 has come out in Ocean City and their funding priority is staffing. 

As Ocean City is becoming more of a year round destination, the need for more staff has risen. 

In the new budget, the town gave the Ocean City Fire Department funding for 12 new full time positions, that includes paramedics. The Ocean City Police Department also was awarded funding for staffing.

City Manager, Terry McGean says the need for added full time roles across the board in town is apparent, "It's gotten worse over the years as our more year round activities and year round populations increase" McGean said.

We're finding in the offseason, where we will be either down to one ambulance or in some cases no ambulances available to respond to calls," he said. 

But one local Dorothy DeShields thinks the town could use the budget money toward other causes, "There's only so much the people in Ocean City can do to help this problem, there is just too many homeless people," DeShields said.

"They need to put up shelters to rehabilitate them, to help them," she said.

While some like Demond Henry said the budget money was put to good use for the betterment of the town, "You have more responders that means less of them are working longer hours," Henry said.

"You have more people on when a situation does arise, the fire department can spread staff out a little bit more," he said.

The town said this new funding won't cause the tax rates to increase, they will use the room tax toward the budget and not property taxes. The Ocean City Fire Department are starting to hire to fill the 12 positions as of now.