The town of Walkersville is revising its laws that govern how its elected officials handle conflicts of interest and financial disclosures.

Mandated by state legislation in 2010, counties, school boards and municipalities had until Oct. 1 to submit a draft of their new regulations to the State Ethics Commission for approval.

The new regulations must match the state ethics laws that senators and delegates who serve in the General Assembly are subject to.

However, several towns in Frederick County, including Walkersville, did not meet the deadline.

“It’s time-consuming,” Walkersville Burgess Ralph Whitmore said. “We knew it was coming last year. But we got to have our i’s dotted and our t’s crossed. We’re trying to get the wording right.”

Whitmore said he has asked Town Commissioner Chad Weddle, an attorney, to take the state law and make it applicable to the town’s ordinance. Whitmore said he hopes to hold a public hearing on the revised law next month.

Michael Lord, executive director with the State Ethics Commission, said they understand the delay in meeting the deadline.

“Given the volume of work we realized the Oct. 1 deadline would be a little aggressive,” Lord said. “As long as they are working with us and we have given them guidance and had some communication with them, it’s not a violation of the law. With 177 municipalities and 24 (jurisdictions) in the state, we knew they all couldn’t be done by then [Oct. 1].”

There are no specific penalties in place for those municipalities and jurisdictions that missed the deadline, and no new deadlines has been set.

Brunswick, Emmitsburg, Mount Airy and Thurmont in Frederick County also are in the process of revising their laws, Lord said.

Lord did not know how many of Maryland’s 24 jurisdictions — 23 counties and Baltimore city — are still working on their revisions.

Some municipalities are exempt from revising ethics laws, Lord said. The commission looks at the size of the town, population, number of municipal employees, what services the government provides, and the budget. Lord said there are no specific numbers used in making the determination, but generally smaller municipalities are excluded.

In Frederick County, the towns of Burkittsville, Middletown, Myersville, New Market, Rosemont and Woodsboro are exempt.

The city of Frederick and Frederick County have completed their revisions, and received approval from the state, Lord said.

Lord said state officials have spoken with representatives in Walkersville, and he is pleased they are working on the changes.

“I’d like to see it sooner rather than later,”he said.

Weddle said he is modeling Walkersville’s current ethics ordinance after the state law.

Currently, a town commissioner cannot accept a gift greater than $25 from any person who has or is negotiating a contract with the town. To comply with state law, the $25 cap would drop to $20.

Currently, people must register as a lobbyist with the town if they intend to spend more than $100 in food, gifts and entertainment to influence the commissioners or town employees over a one-year period. To comply with state law, the amount would be raised to $500.

The changes mandated by the state were signed into law by Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) in May 2010.

State Sen. Jamie B. Raskin (D-Dist. 20) of Takoma Park sponsored the bill — in part because of a series of scandals involving elected officials in the state, most notably in Prince George’s County.

The county’s former county executive, Jack Johnson, and his wife, former County Councilwoman Leslie Johnson, both admitted their involvement in a pay-to-play scheme with developers.

sgreenfield@gazette.net