Wash. Co. Republican Central Committee Rallies Against Hagerstown City Council Incumbents, Makes Questionable Claims

HAGERSTOWN, MD News (10/23/2024) – Recently the Washington County Republican Central Committee (WCRCC) has made posts on their social media regarding the non-partisan Hagerstown City Council race. These posts encourage voters to vote against all incumbent city council members, but some of the claims against the incumbent council members are questionable and need further analysis.

EDITOR’s NOTE: Just as we called out the Maryland Democrats for their negative and questionable claims against Board of Education candidates across the state, we will absolutely call out Republicans for similar campaign approaches. Maryland voters are tired of negative campaign mud slinging, and would rather learn what candidates are truly about. I’d like to invite both parties to end this unproductive nonsense. -Ken

The accuracy of some of these claims have come into question, so we have taken a look at the claims (based mostly upon the provided source) and analyzed them. Overall, many of the claims are mixed in their accuracy, with some claims too vague to verify. Some claims could not be fully examined because they reference articles locked behind paywalls, city utility bills which were not publicly posted, or statistics which were not properly referenced.

Claim	Source (per WCRCC)	Analysis
The Hagerstown City Council raised your trash service by over 30%	6/3/2024 & 9/3/2024 Water & Wastewater Bill	MIXED/NEEDS CONTEXT – RFHC does not use City utilities so it cannot verify the rate changes based on these bills. Copies of the bills were not included in the claim. However, it is important to note that the city contracts trash service and rates are likely dependent upon market rates, which have likely increased due to increasing costs such as fuel as well as Maryland’s 2024 increase in minimum wage to $15, up from the previous year’s rate of $13.25.
The Hagerstown City Council raised your Water Usage Rate by a combined 27%	6/3/2024 & 9/3/2024 Water & Wastewater Bill	LIKELY TRUE/NEEDS CONTEXT – RFHC does not use City utilities so it cannot verify the rate changes based on these bills. Copies of the bills were not included in the claim. An article from Tristate Alert does indicate a proposed rate increase of this amount, in order to pay for capital improvement projects related to water and wastewater.
The Hagerstown City Council raised your Wastewater / Sewage rate by 13%	6/3/2024 & 9/3/2024 Water & Wastewater Bill	LIKELY TRUE/NEEDS CONTEXT – RFHC does not use City utilities so it cannot verify the rate changes based on these bills. Copies of the bills were not included in the claim. An article from Tristate Alert does indicate a proposed rate increase of this amount, in order to pay for capital improvement projects related to water and wastewater.
The Hagerstown City Council spent over $52,000 of your money for a Paper Plate Logo	1/11/2022 Hagerstown Contract Approval	MIXED – While we certainly love to poke fun at the logo (and even made our own parody version), the $52,000 was for an entire branding campaign and not just the logo. Also, contrary to popular belief the logo is not one of the designs used by paper plate manufacturers, and this may be an example of the Mandella Effect.
The Hagerstown City Council raised Parking rates by over 100%	5/28/2024 City of Hagerstown Resolution	TRUE/NEEDS CONTEXT – Radio Free Hub City covered the increased rates, and also highlighted that in some cases it may be cheaper to pay a parking fine than paying the new parking fees, due to the increase. Part of the reason behind the increase is to help pay for the new parking deck (a capital improvement project) near the stadium. Additionally, it’s important to point out that Washington County recently approved eliminating free parking at the airport, and will soon charge $5/day to fund improvement projects at the airport.
The Hagerstown City Council borrowed over $15 MILLION for their field house while neglecting your priorities	5/28/2024 City of Hagerstown Ordinance	MIXED/SPECULATIVE – We were unable to locate the exact amount borrowed, but this is likely a reasonable estimate based upon the 2024 Bond Initiative Fact Sheet. However, it’s important to note that this would be through capital improvement bonds, which are required to have a specific capital improvement project, and cannot be used for budget items such as employee salaries. Additionally, “neglecting your priorities” is a vague statement which can’t be validated, as it does not make any specific claims.
The Hagerstown City Council wasted over $155,000 of your money by hiring a lobbyist for their pet projects	3/01/2022, 9/27/2022, 7/25/2023, 7/23/2024 City of Hagerstown Contract Approval	MIXED/SPECULATIVE – We were unable to verify the exact amount spent, but did verify the City of Hagerstown currently has three lobbyists through Compass Government Relations Partners, LLC. Also of important note, the Washington County Commissioners have retained their own lobbyist through the Office of Bruce C. Bereano. The Washington County Community Coalition also has retained Manis Canning & Associates. Because the claim does not specify what lobbying activities or initiatives were a waste, it cannot be verified. At face value, if hiring lobbyists is a “waste”, then Washington County Commissioners are also wasting money through similar activities.
Hagerstown City Council Member Matthew Schindler supported an insane proposal for a City-sponsored Tiny Village to allow open-air, lawless drug use	3/19/2024 Hagerstown City Council Work Session	MIXED/PARTLY TRUE – While City Council did introduce the proposal, it was not proposed to be “lawless”. The proposal was voted down on 4/2/2024. Schindler did vote in favor of the proposal.
Hagerstown City Council Member Tiara Burnett supported an insane proposal for a City-sponsored Tiny Village to allow open-air, lawless drug use	3/19/2024 Hagerstown City Council Work Session	MIXED/PARTLY TRUE – While City Council did introduce the proposal, it was not proposed to be “lawless”. The proposal was voted down on 4/2/2024. Burnett did vote in favor of the proposal.
Hagerstown City Council Member Peter Perini supported an insane proposal for a City-sponsored Tiny Village to allow open-air, lawless drug use	3/19/2024 Hagerstown City Council Work Session	FALSE – While City Council did introduce the proposal, it was not proposed to be “lawless”. Perini did express interest in the proposal during the work session, but Perini voted against the proposal on 4/2/2024.
Hagerstown City Council introduced an insane proposal for a City-sponsored Tiny Village to allow open-air, lawless drug use	3/19/2024 Hagerstown City Council Work Session	MIXED – While City Council did introduce the proposal, it was not proposed to be “lawless”. The proposal was voted down on 4/2/2024 with Aleshire, Perini, and McIntire voting against continuing exploring the concept.
(Appointed) Hagerstown City Council Member Matthew Schindler was soundly REJECTED by you, the voter, in the 2020 Primary	Official 2020 Primary Election Results	MIXED/SPECULATIVE – There were 13 candidates on the 2020 City Council primary ballot, with 10 advancing to the general election. Schindler placed 12th, and did not advance to the general election. While Schindler did not advance, with 1,586 (5.5%) votes it’s difficult to say Schindler was “rejected” as that would imply overwhelming votes against. For comparison, the highest vote-getter for the primary was Kristin Aleshire with 3,762 (13.2%) votes, and the lowest vote candidate advancing to the general election was Brooke Grossman with 1,907 (6.7%) votes. The lowest vote-getter was Travis Sites, with 585 (2.0%) votes. With these numbers, it’s hard to justify saying Schindler was “rejected”, and that’s a very speculative statement.
(Appointed) Hagerstown City Council Member Peter Perini was REJECTED by you, the voter, in the 2020 Election	Official 2020 Primary Election Results	FALSE – There were 13 candidates on the 2020 City Council primary ballot, with 10 advancing to the general election. Perini placed in the top 10, and advanced to the general election. As the WCRCC cites the 2020 Primary Election as the source for this claim, this claim is absolutely false since Perini did advance to the general election, and was not “rejected” during the primary. Additionally, during the general election, Perini placed 6th, with only 5 candidates being elected, making him a logical choice when a council vacancy occurred.
The Hagerstown City Council spent nearly $1 MILLION on Trash Cans	Herald Mail	UNKNOWN/NEEDS CONTEXT – Article is locked behind a paywall. However it is important to note that the claim states ARPA funds were used, which are Federal grant dollars which can only be used for designated purposes. ARPA funds must be obligated by Dec. 31, 2024, and spent by Dec. 31, 2026. New trash cans were required as part of the city’s newest trash service contract, to ensure compatibility with the new trucks. If you’re tired of news hidden behind a paywall, please come support us and help us increase our content offerings!
Hagerstown City Council DEFUNDED the authorized number of Police Officers in the Hagerstown Police Dept. by nearly 20%	Herald Mail	UNKNOWN – Article is locked behind a paywall, therefore cannot verify. If you’re tired of news hidden behind a paywall, please come support us and help us increase our content offerings!
Nearly 65% of the Hagerstown Police Dept. LEFT under the Failed Leadership of the Current Hagerstown City Council	Hagerstown Police Dept. Statistics	UNKNOWN – No specific published statistics or meetings are referenced, therefore cannot verify
The Agenda of the Hagerstown City Council is to Give THEMSELVES a Pay Raise	Hagerstown City Council Agenda 7/16/2024	FALSE/SPECULATIVE – Per City Administrator Scott Nicewarner from the 7/16/2024 meeting minutes which were provided to RFHC via email, “compensation for Mayor and City Council members has not been changed in at least 20 years”. Councilmember Perini stated during the same meeting that “compensation should be reviewed by a commission 2 years after each election. There should be a base amount established,” and that he is willing to discuss this between now and the end of this term. “Nothing can be changed tomorrow or this year. Any change would be for next year.” Based upon these statements, the City Council does not appear to be focused on giving themselves a pay raise, but exploring increasing the pay rate for future councils, and the only way the current council would benefit from any pay increase is if they are re-elected.

If you have any feedback on these claims, please feel free to comment below!

Story by Ken Buckler, President of Radio Free Hub City.

At the time of this article publishing, Ken Buckler is a registered Republican but has no ties to the Republican Central Committee. The central committee, as well as the Hagerstown City Council had no input whatsoever on the content of this article.

At the time of this article publishing, RFHC does have an active sponsorship agreement with Flaherty for Council, a candidate committee for Hagerstown City Council. Flaherty and his campaign had no input whatsoever on the content of this article.