A 50% vacancy rate give or take.  Is it pay? Is it pension? Very likely but your recent exchange with Rick Farr suggests that the Board has no interest in asking either Senator Carozza or Delegate Hartman to introduce legislation for an exception to allow the OPA Police Department to participate in Maryland's Law Enforcement Officers' Pension System.

OPA has tens of thousands of dollars tied up in police department assets and we have it staffed at 50%.  What a waste.  If you are going to run a state certified police department then figure out what it takes to fully staff it and do it.  Otherwise, surrender the certification and let the county police cover Ocean Pines and save OP homeowners $2 million a year.  If we are unwilling to pay what it takes to fully staff the department but dismantling it is not feasible then pare it down to a size that can be staffed and sell off or repurpose the commensurate excess assets.

I question our priorities when there is expressed interest in a dedicated Board room at a $500,000 expense and yet we can't recruit and retain police officers.

I figure this post will generate some interesting discussion but hey, that's the purpose of the Forum.  Besides, we need something else to debate besides Orioles baseball and religion.