La Plata, MD – As the Town of La Plata prepares to enter election season for its town council and new mayor, its biggest challenge may be what it has seemingly always been: to get people out to vote.
“The key for the town is, we have to get people out to vote,” said mayoral candidate Lynn Gilroy. “We have 5,600 registered voters in the town of La Plata. In the last election held in 2013, 346 people voted in the town election. That’s less than 5 percent of the registered voters. That means those 346 people spoke for the other 95 percent of the town.”
Gilroy, a councilmember for the past four years, has been a town resident for 20 years and a member of the La Plata Volunteer Fire Department for 23 years. He said the challenges of maintaining a municipality are the same as a county or state government, just on a smaller scale.
“It’s still pretty challenging to get all done that we do,” he admitted. “Anything any county would have to do.”
The mayor for the town is a little different in that they have a town manager, Daniel Mears, who manages the day-to-day business of the town.
“The main thing is, we’re all a team,” Gilroy noted. “We’re all on the same page, always working together to get things done. The town manager is in charge of the operating budget.”
Gilroy added that the Maryland Municipal League, which represents 157 municipalities throughout the state, conducts work sessions throughout the year on how things work in municipalities. Those workshops have been a boon for the mayor and the town council, he said.
“Government doesn’t make a product,” he stated. “We operate from funds provided by the taxpayers. Sometimes that can be challenging.”
The candidate said he feels qualified to help the town through the next four years, adding that in his years with the La Plata VFD he has served as treasurer.
“We built the new fire station in 2001 and in 2017, it’s almost paid off,” he noted. “All of our apparatus and emergency equipment is paid for. All of this didn’t just happen. You have to have a plan.”
He is most proud that the town has not increased its tax rate in 16 years.
“We’ve had to raise some fees for certain things, but the tax rate has remained the same,” he noted.
Gilroy is challenged by Jeanine James. The town election is May 2.
Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com