Vienna in late May offered two very different — but equally revealing — pictures of small-town life.
One was the kind of evening that reminds people why they choose to live here: live music drifting across the Nanticoke River, children playing near the gazebo, neighbors gathered in lawn chairs as the sun dropped behind the trees.
The other took place inside Town Hall a week later, where a handful of residents and elected officials sat around a table trying to piece together the town’s financial picture from a three-page budget worksheet that raised as many questions as it answered.
Both scenes matter. One reflects the spirit of the town. The other reflects the ongoing work required to sustain it.
Vienna’s season opened beautifully on May 16 with the first Music on the Nanticoke concert featuring Jenz Frenz. Nearly 100 people gathered at the Nanticoke River gazebo, including visitors from across Delmarva. Commissioner Frank Fluharty made several announcements during intermission, with reminders about the May 21 election, upcoming Vienna Heritage Society and Handsell events scheduled for August 29, and fundraising efforts for startup equipment for the Vienna community radio station at ViennaRadio.com.
Millie’s Roadhouse and Glacier Snowballs provided food and refreshments. Commissioner Greg Cusick — who owns Millie’s Roadhouse with his wife — could be found serving food as well, one more example of how, in a town this size, civic life and community life overlap almost completely. The same people serving in government often serve in many other capacities too.
The Election: Residents Choose Their Commissioners
Following notices posted at Town Hall, the post office, the town website, and the Mayor’s and Town’s Facebook pages, Vienna held its commissioner election on May 21.
Incumbent Frank Fluharty received 60 votes. Newcomer Sam Abey received 49. Incumbent Greg Cusick received 39. Fluharty and Abey will serve as commissioners alongside Mayor Pam Travers for the next two years.
The election itself represented a meaningful moment for the town. Just weeks earlier, Vienna faced questions surrounding its charter, election procedures, and proposed changes that would have limited mayoral selection to the three sitting commissioners rather than allowing broader participation. Public attention and community discussion helped bring those issues into the open, and ultimately the election moved forward as scheduled.
That process deserves acknowledgment, as do the election judges and volunteers who helped carry it out.
The Fire Company Raffle and the Nature of Small-Town Service
On May 26, the Vienna Volunteer Fire Company posted a video previewing the many prizes for its upcoming raffle fundraiser scheduled for June 6. Mayor Travers — herself one of the company’s volunteers — hosted the presentation.
In larger governments, roles are often compartmentalized. In Vienna, they overlap. The people helping govern the town are often the same people organizing events, volunteering with the fire company, staffing fundraisers, maintaining local institutions, and stepping forward wherever help is needed.
That spirit of service is real. It also helps explain why governance in very small towns can become so dependent on trust, habit, and institutional memory.
The Budget Workshop: Questions Larger Than a Spreadsheet
The town’s budget workshop was held May 27 after several scheduling adjustments. Present were Mayor Travers, Commissioner Fluharty, incoming Commissioner Sam Abey, Planning and Zoning Commission member Dr. Patricia Johnson, and myself as the only other resident in attendance.
Each participant received a three-page document labeled “VIENNA BUDGET FY 2025/2026.”
There were two immediate problems: the document contained only expenditures — no revenues — and the figures themselves reflected the town’s 2024/25 budget numbers, apparently the latest available data on hand.
One might ask: “How do you plan for the future if you’re not entirely sure what you’ve spent in the present?”
That question lingered throughout much of the workshop.
Without revenues, grants, or updated year-to-date figures included alongside expenditures, residents and officials alike acknowledged long-term planning was being discussed with only part of the financial picture visible. Members of the public raised a straightforward concern: elected bodies are not authorized to spend beyond approved budgets, so if costs are rising or categories are changing, those realities need to be reflected clearly before the spending occurs — not reconstructed afterward.
To their credit, Mayor Travers and Commissioner Fluharty worked through the document carefully and openly discussed discrepancies and unanswered questions as they emerged. Insurance costs appeared split across categories. Certain community-event expenses seemed to exceed the miscellaneous allocation. Grant-funded law-enforcement expenses were not clearly reflected in the worksheet. The town clerk is in the process of transitioning records into QuickBooks, which should improve organization and reporting moving forward.
Commissioners also pulled out the town’s most recent audit — currently the clearest available snapshot of Vienna’s finances — and agreed that future budget documents should better incorporate grants and revenues.
But what became increasingly clear is that the town’s budgeting challenges are not simply about one workshop or one incomplete document. They reflect the effects of a period of time in which financial systems, documentation practices, and long-range planning processes did not fully keep pace with the town’s operational responsibilities and public expectations for transparency.
That does not mean anyone acted dishonestly. In fact, the opposite seemed true. The officials present appeared willing to engage difficult questions directly and in good faith. Of course, goodwill alone cannot substitute for clear systems. Small governments require the same fundamentals as large ones: accurate records, transparent budgeting, documented revenues and expenditures, and sustained public oversight.
Civic Attention Is Part of the Job Too
Vienna’s elected officials receive very modest compensation — $150 monthly for commissioners and $200 for the mayor — while assuming substantial responsibility on behalf of the town. The regular reading of bills during meetings and the inclusion of expenditures in meeting minutes reflect an ongoing effort toward openness.
Still, transparency only matters if residents are paying attention.
Budgeting is the most fundamental responsibility of any governing body. It is where priorities become concrete. It is where infrastructure plans, staffing decisions, grants, maintenance obligations, and community events all meet financial reality.
This dynamic is not unique to Vienna. Across towns and counties everywhere, governance problems tend to emerge gradually when systems age, institutional knowledge narrows, and public engagement declines. The remedy is rarely outrage. More often, it is sustained civic participation.
Residents who attend meetings, review documents, ask questions, and remain engaged provide the strongest support and accountability any local government can have.
I include myself in that observation. For too long, I attended few meetings and largely assumed things were running smoothly. That is not a criticism of the people serving now. It is an acknowledgment that civic responsibility belongs to residents too.
Dr. Johnson, speaking from her experience on the Planning Commission, raised the need for an updated Comprehensive Plan. But planning documents and infrastructure ambitions ultimately depend on budgets capable of supporting them.
Vision without financial clarity eventually becomes wishful thinking.
A Note of Optimism
Despite the concerns raised during the workshop, I left encouraged.
The conversation was substantive. The atmosphere remained constructive. Incoming Commissioner Abey appeared engaged and thoughtful. Most importantly, there seemed to be a growing recognition — both among officials and among the small number of residents paying attention — that Vienna is entering a period where stronger systems, clearer documentation, and more active public participation will be necessary.
Small towns possess one advantage larger governments often lose entirely: ordinary citizens can still meaningfully participate. You can sit in the room. You can read the documents yourself. You can ask questions directly to the people making decisions.
In Vienna, those officials are not distant figures. They are our neighbors.
That accessibility is worth preserving — and worth strengthening.
Vienna’s Commissioners meet at 7 p.m. on the second and fourth Mondays of each month at Town Hall, 214 Market Street. Residents can visit ViennaMD.org or ViennaRadio.com for updates, including announcements regarding future budget workshops and community events.