LA PLATA — Charles County businesses that hit a milestone anniversary could get a new kind of recognition from county government under a proposal Economic Development Department staff presented to the county commissioners Oct. 27.
Staff proposed allowing businesses celebrating milestone anniversaries to be considered for a department feature, according to a county news release summarizing the meeting. Features would be weighed case by case, would not be guaranteed and would not create added obligations for commissioners, the release said.
The proposal adds to, rather than replaces, current practice. Businesses can still receive county seals and anniversary citations, the release said.
Better tracking
Part of the proposal aims to fix how the county finds out about anniversaries in the first place. Staff recommended routing recognition requests through the Economic Development Department and improving how county offices share that information.
The department plans to use its business database to track business start and incorporation dates and to look for other sources to make those dates more accurate. The goal is to spot upcoming anniversaries ahead of time and coordinate recognition, according to the release.
The release did not say what milestones would qualify, such as 25 or 50 years, what a feature would look like or where it would run. It also did not report a vote, and the item appears to have been presented as a briefing.
A busy meeting
The proposal was one of several items at a busy Oct. 27 meeting. That day, commissioners closed the county’s $93.2 million bond sale and advanced a collective bargaining bill to a Nov. 17 hearing.
Business owners with an upcoming anniversary can contact the Charles County Economic Development Department. A full list of the meeting’s briefings and actions is posted on the commissioners’ meeting archive.
