OCPD seasonal officer staff down as they enter academy

By Hunter Hine Staff Writer

OCD-5/11/1t

Mayor & City Council Ocean City, Maryland

Proposal Solicitation

Eagle’s Landing Golf Cart Lease

Mayor & City Council Ocean City is seeking Proposals from qualified and experienced vendors to provide Golf Cart Lease options for the Eagle’s Landing Golf Cart Lease and for said work to be in conformity with the Proposal Documents.

Bid Documents for the E Eagle’s Landing Golf Cart Lease may be obtained from the Town’s Procurement Department by either e-mailing the Procurement Manager, Scott Wagner, at swagner@oceancitymd.gov or Gary Neal at gneal@oceancitymd.gov by calling 410-723-6643 during normal business hours, or via the Solicitations tab on the Town’s (https://oceancitymd.gov/oc/procurement-bids/ ) website. Vendors are responsible for checking this website for addenda prior to submitting their bids. The Town is not responsible for the content of any Proposal Document received through any third-party service. It is the sole responsibility of the vendor to ensure the completeness and accuracy of their Completed Proposal Documents.

A Pre-Proposal meeting will be held on T Thursday, June 08, 2023 at 9 am, located at 12367 Eagles Nest Road, Berlin, MD, 21811– E Eagle’s Landing Golf Course for any questions concerning the Proposals Documents. The last day for questions will be on T Thursday, June 15, 2023 at 3pm. The Addendum will be posted by close of business on M Monday, June 19, 2023

Sealed Proposal Documents are due no later than T Thursday, July 6, 2023 by 3:00 p m and will be opened and read aloud at the Mayor and City Council Session held on T Tuesday, July 11, 2023 at 1:00 p m Bids are to be submitted to the Mayor & City Council Ocean City, Attn: City Manager; Room 230, 301 N. Baltimore Avenue, Ocean City, MD 21842 and must note the name of the solicitation (EEagle’s Landing Golf Course) on the outside of the package.

Late Bid Document will not be accepted. Minority vendors are encouraged to compete for award of the solicitation.

(May 12, 2023) Ocean City Police Chief Ross Buzzuro reported Monday that the department has 81 seasonal officers and public safety aides so far this year, as compared to the 90-person roster the department had this time last year.

In his recruiting update to the police commission, Buzzuro said seasonal officers are entering the police academy. No prospects are left in the hiring process.

The department ended up with 23 new seasonal police officers, plus six returning officers this year as compared to 37 new officers and five returning last year.

The department came out with more public safety aides than last year, hiring 52 compared to 2022’s 48. There were 40 new seasonal aides with 12 returning. One of the new aides was a seasonal officer in training who changed hiring tracks.

“We generally will lose one to two the first weekend then it stabilizes from there,” Buzzuro said after Mayor Rick Meehan asked if they could expect to lose more while officers were in academy. “We may lose another, just maybe a couple within their academy experience, but not many once they get through that first couple days or that first week.”

Meehan asked if one of the reasons some prospects don’t make it through the hiring process is because they have smoked marijuana within a certain period before applying, which would disqualify them from being hired.

Joinocpd.com states that if someone has smoked marijuana within a year of applying to the OCPD they are automatically disqualified.

Buzzuro told the commission it is still longer than one-year for now, but that the change is coming.

Buzzuro said that the psychiatric test and polygraph test often bring up integrity issues that disqualifies applicants.

“There is a difference in the caliber of applicants that we saw in years past, and I think that some of that has to do with where we are in current times,” Buzzuro said.

Meehan wondered if the laws that dictate how long it has to be since someone smoked marijuana to get hired as a police officer are staying consistent with the changing laws in the state.

Buzzuro told the Meehan and present city council members that he would be briefing them the next day about marijuana legislation.

City Manager Terry McGean said Tuesday after a council work session that the subject will not be brought up at the city level for discussion. He said any changes to the policy would need to be made at the state level.

Buzzuro also presented the Chief’s Update to the commission, which compares monthly crime statistics to the last three years.

Resort police conducted 188 more traffic stops this past April compared to April of last year, according to the data.

Statistics in OCPD’s top 25 calls to service showed that traffic stops have been on the rise in April for the last three years, with 420 conducted in 2021, 550 in April 2022 and 738 this past April.

Suspicious person or activity reports went slightly down this year, moving from 81 reports in April of

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