Ridgely Government

John Hurley – Commissioner
Email: jhurley@ridgelymd.org
John Hurley has been a Ridgely Commissioner since 2012. His term expires in April 2018. Commissioner Hurley has lived on the Eastern Shore all his life and in Ridgely since 1987. His favorite thing about the town is its small-town charm. Commissioner Hurley has worked for the BWI Airport Fire Department for 30 years. He’s also a member of the Ridgely Volunteer Fire Department.

Anthony Casey – Commissioner
Email: acasey@ridgelymd.org
Anthony Casey has been a Ridgely Commissioner since 2010. Commissioner Casey is a Ridgely native and has lived in the town his whole life. His favorite thing about the Ridgely is how engaged its residents are with the local community. Commissioner Casey is a member of the Ridgely Volunteer Fire Department and serves on the Caroline County Tourism Board and the Caroline County Economic Development Advisory Group. He works in sales for Shoreline Vinyl Systems in Denton.

Leonard John Buckle – Commissioner
Email: jbuckle@ridgelymd.orgJohn Buckle has been a Ridgely Commissioner since 2013. Commissioner Buckle has lived in Ridgely all his life. His favorite thing about Ridgely is that it’s a small, quiet town where almost everyone gets along with one another. Commissioner Buckle owns a school bus and drives for the Caroline County Board of Education. He also works as a new bus driver trainer.

Stephanie Berkey – Clerk-Treasurer
Email: sberkey@ridgelymd.org
Phone: 410.634.2177

Stephanie Berkey, CMC is the Clerk-Treasurer for the Town of Ridgely. She earned her Certified Municipal Clerk’s designation from the International Institute for Municipal Clerks in 2016, is a graduate from the University of Maryland School of Public Policy Academy for Excellence in Local Governance, and was the 2013 Maryland Rural Water Association Clerk of the Year. Stephanie is in charge of all the accounting and financial processes of the town, personal property tax billing, recording the minutes of all of the Town Meetings, keeping the records of town ordinances and resolutions, preparing the annual town budget, grant writing and administration, and processing accounts payable and the general ledger.

Melissa Leonard – Assistant Clerk-Treasurer/Zoning Administrator
Email: mleonard@ridgelymd.org
Phone: 410.634.2177

Melissa Leonard, CMC is the Assistant Clerk-Treasurer for the Town of Ridgely. She earned her Certified Municipal Clerk’s designation from the International Institute for Municipal Clerks and is a graduate from the University of Maryland School of Public Policy Academy for Excellence in Local Governance. Melissa is in charge of all the processing of receivables for the town, human resources and payroll, and recording the minutes of all of the Planning & Zoning Meetings. If you have questions about building permits and Zoning, she is your go-to liaison. She keeps track of the Rental Properties in town and schedules them for their tri-annual inspections. In addition, she handles all of the Commercial & Residential water billing accounts. Generally, if you have a question – she can get you an answer!

Gerald Sutton – Financial Assistant
Email:
Phone: 410.634.2177

Gerald Sutton, CPA is the Financial Assistant for the town. Jerry handles all bank reconciliations and acts as an advisor to the Commissioners on all financial matters. He also serves on the Parks & Recreation Board, is a member of the Ridgely Lions club, and is a life-long Ridgely resident.

The Ridgely Department of Public Works maintains Martin Sutton Park, Railroad Park, town streets & sidewalks, alleyways, signage, and equipment. The department also maintains the town’s flower beds and trees. The department is responsible for snow removal and public trash removal (through a contactor), and responding to citizens’ concerns regarding town infrastructure.

Regular Trash Pick-Up

Standard trash pick-up takes place every Monday.

David Crist – Director of Public Works, Water & Waste Water Superintendent
Email: dcrist@ridgelymd.org
Phone: 410.634.2177

James Moore – Maintenance Worker II

Brandon Samuel – Maintenance Worker II

The Water & Sewer Department is responsible for all distribution and collection of water and wastewater. This includes checking three wells daily and performing tests on the drinking water to ensure it is safe to drink. On the wastewater side, four pump stations are checked daily to ensure proper operation.

The Water & Sewer Department also operates and maintains miles of underground piping. At the Waste Water Treatment Plant, we maintain nineteen acres of storage lagoons and dispose of effluent, either by spray irrigation (April- December) or by stream discharge (January – March). Many tests are done on the effluent to ensure there is no negative impact on the environment.

Water meters are read according to the following schedule:

Third week of March
Third week of June
Third week of September
Third week of December

Rate Information

Water, sewer, and garbage fees are billed quarterly on the first day of the quarter. Payment is due within 30 days of the date billed. Unpaid accounts will be assessed a late fee of 10% of the balance on the 31st day.

Any accounts remaining unpaid by the 42nd day will be disconnected without notice and will be charged a $50 disconnect fee. DISCONNECTED PROPERTIES WILL BE RECONNECTED THE SAME DAY IF PAYMENT IS RECEIVED PRIOR TO 4:00 PM; PAYMENTS RECEIVED AFTER 4:00 PM WILL BE RECONNECTED THE NEXT BUSINESS DAY

MDE Water Programs

If you have an emergency, please call 911
Office Number: 410-634-2151  |  Dispatch: 410-479-2515

Our Mission

The fundamental mission of the Ridgely Police Department is to protect life and property, enforce the law in a fair and impartial manner, preserve the peace, order, and safety of the community we serve, safeguard the constitutional guarantees, and provide other police-related services as required by the community in a manner consistent with the values of a free society.

To fulfill our mission, the Ridgely Police Department strives to:

• Identify, pursue, and apprehend offenders
• Ensure the safe and expeditious movement of vehicular traffic on our public roadways
• Interact with our citizens to resolve problems and improve the quality of community life
• Maintain a proactive patrol attitude to reduce the opportunity to commit crime
• Maintain order and regulate non-criminal conduct

Although a society free from crime and disorder remains an unachievable task, it is the responsibility of the Ridgely Police Department to approach that vision by having its members develop a reputation for fairness and integrity that earns the respect of all citizens.

In order to respond in a professional manner to the challenges set forth in our mission, the Ridgely Police Department maintains high expectations for its leadership and officers. We emphasize career development for our personnel through ongoing training. Exemplary performance is rewarded.

Jeff Eckrich – Chief of Police

Chief Jeff Eckrich started his career as a Cadet in 1989 with the Greenbelt City Police. He spent five years with Greenbelt as a Cadet and Officer before joining the Prince George’s County Police Department in 1994. During his time here, he was as patrol in the Seat Pleasant and Hyattsville Districts before becoming a Detective in 1999. He spent 21 years as a Detective, with the last 12 in the Homicide Unit. He trained as a Field Training Officer and Communications Specialist.

Chief Eckrich has received numerous awards throughout his career including Investigator of the year in 2003 as well as various ones for Homicide and Robbery investigations. He was on the FBI Cold Case Homicide Task Force before retiring from PG in 2019 and is a Firefighter/Engineer with the Ridgely Volunteer Fire Department.

Officer Lone – Police Officer

Biography coming soon!

Officer Jones – Police Officer

Biography coming soon!

Officer Paskey – Police Officer

Biography coming soon!

Public Safety Resources

Sign Up for Text Alerts
Police House Watch Form
Complaint Against Personnel – Form 42
Caroline County Sheriff’s Office
Caroline County Dept. of Emergency Services
County Drug Task Force

The Ridgely Volunteer Fire Department has served the greater Ridgely community since 1905. The volunteers who generously give their time to the Department provide both fire and emergency services. Their coverage area expands well beyond the town limits of Ridgely to the surrounding unincorporated areas of Caroline County. To learn more about the Ridgely Volunteer Fire Department, please visit their website.