Worcester’s Badger resigns over lack of support

Former Worcester County Economic Development Director Bill Badger resigned earlier this month, and is citing lack of support for the county government.

The County Commissioners were supportive, and Badger said he extends his thanks to the board. He wishes the county well, he added, but said in order to be effective, there needs to be support from all sides.

And he wasn’t getting that.

The work he got to do itself was fantastic, he said, but “you need both parts of the equation to get the job done.” And unfortunately, one of those parts was a little bit “dysfunctional.”

“My advice was just basically being ignored,” Badger said.

Kim Moses, Worcester County public information officer, deferred comment to the press release that was sent out upon Badger’s resignation. The commissioners thanked him for his service and wished him well, according to the release.

Badger said it was his hope to make Worcester County more business-friendly, to create jobs and to take part in investments that resulted in tax revenues.

In recent years, Badger spent time working to create a solar project that would save approximately 2 million dollars over 20 years. He’d worked on a similar project in Pocomoke City, something he said he was proud of because it saved the taxpayers some money. The town is saving four to five thousand dollars a month, he added.

But the county government criticized what Pocomoke City did.

And his work over three years for the county got delayed. It would be even more stalled with the hiring of a consultant instead of going with his plans, something Badger didn’t think was in the best interest of Worcester County.

Badger had an opportunity to make a decision, and he did. It was time for a change.

He says he’s going to stay here in the Eastern Shore. This is his home, and he’s not going anywhere.

And the field of economic development is one he enjoys. Badger at one point in his career had left it to go into the private sector, but realized his first love was economic development, which led him to the Worcester County position.

And “clearly,” there are some big project going on, he said, such as a proposed Worcester County hockey arena.

Badger notes there’s a “really outstanding deputy” at his former office, referring to current Deputy Director of Worcester County Economic Development Meredith Mears.

“She’s a really, really talented individual,” he said, adding he hopes she’ll succeed him at the office.

As for what’s on the horizon, there seem to be several possibilities for Badger. He’s been getting some “interesting” phone calls, he said.

“I have the luxury of kind of determining what I want to do,” he said. “We’ll determine what’s next for Bill.”

EChappell@dmg.gannett.com

302-537-1881 ext. 210

On Twitter @EmilyChappell13