Circuit Rider Town Managers

MRDC supports 16 Towns with Circuit Rider Town Managers (CRTMs), representing nearly half of all Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Circuit Riders in the State of Maryland. The CRTMs provide administrative and management support to small, rural, incorporated Towns, with populations ranging from less than 100 to 2000 or more. CRTMS are responsible for a variety of roles that depend on the Towns’ needs. In some towns, the CRTM is the only non-elected person serving the Town and in others, the CRTM augments the Town’s staff. CRTMs may prepare reports and correspondence required by the State, such as providing information on the number of building permits issued or funds spent on road improvements. CRTMs are often called upon to draft the Town’s budget. This may require research and analysis to identify and quantify annual revenues and expenses. Ordinances and Resolutions are the laws and policies of every small Town and the Circuit Rider is often a key drafter of many of the Towns adopted legislation. CRTMs may seek out, complete applications, and manage grants to improve the Town’s infrastructure and quality of life for the residents. CRTMs also write newsletters and facilitate meetings. The CRTM job requires a variety of skills—public administration, strategic planning, financial management, communications, grant writing and organizational management, one or more to be called upon to support the goals and objectives of the Towns’ elected officials.

Meet the Circuit Riders

Cynthia Burns

Cindy Burns is the Circuit Rider Town Manager for Templeville and Goldsboro. Templeville is a small town that straddles Queen Anne’s and Caroline Counties on the Eastern Shore. She also supports Goldsboro in Caroline County. In addition to the routine and ad hoc duties, Cindy has focused her efforts on two primary projects. In Templeville, she has been working to restore the Town’s Community Park. The Park was once a favorite gathering spot for Town residents but had become overgrown and its pond had become highly eutrophic (vegetative green growth). It is a team effort with the help of Caroline County’s Leslie Grunden and Sue Simmons, the Choptank Riverkeeper Matt Pluta and Eric Helm-Buehl, the University of Maryland Sea Grant Program Restoration Specialist on the Shore. In Goldsboro, Cindy has adopted the Sustainable Maryland Program as a rallying point for improving various factors of Town Administration such as healthy eating, healthy living, and energy efficiency. The efforts are being steered by a Green Team that includes our own Chris Benzing! Cindy began this second career in 2015 following her retirement from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and earning her Doctoral Degree in Public Administration from the University of Baltimore. She resides in Dorchester County, sits on the Advisory Board of the Robbins YMCA, and volunteers for the Environmental Education Program at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. She, and her husband Dave, have two adult children and a young, energetic Labrador Retriever that keeps them busy.

Jared Schumacher

My name is Jared Schumacher and I am a circuit rider working with the Town of Sykesville in Carroll County. I have been with Sykesville for a year and a half. Typical duties of the Circuit Rider position can include preparing applications for federal and state loan/grant programs, liaison to commissions, project management, and program budgeting. I have been tasked with many current projects in town. Some of these include liaison to the Warfield development project (an envisioned mixed use development) and the Downtown Sykesville Connection, member of the budget review team, overseeing CIP projects, grant writing, and project manager to several grant funded projects. This position requires me to be able to multitask and be adaptable to the many situations that arrive in day-to-day local government work. I enjoy the challenge very much.

Kathryn Gratton

My name is Kathyrn Gratton and I am a Circuit Rider for the Washington County area. Currently I work with the following towns to fulfill their grant writing and management needs: Boonsboro, Smithsburg, and Williamsport. I also serve as the Main Street Manager for the Town of Williamsport. I have worked with my contracted communities to help them achieve state designations such as Sustainable Communities and Main Street. These designations aid the communities in becoming eligible for incentives and grants that are not otherwise available. Examples of these incentives include: Main Street Operating Grants, Facade Improvement programs, and Strategic Demolition grants. Coming from a background of nonprofit management I know of the importance of proper Grant Management and work to guide my towns on strict adherence to their grant award guidelines. While my strengths are in community outreach and enhancement related projects I am also knowledgeable in infrastructure related grants as well. I work with my towns to identify new funding opportunities that may align with projects listed on their Capital Improvements Plans (CIP) and concerns that have been identified by any Preliminary Engineering Reports (PER) they have completed.

Mike Reynolds

My name is Mike Reynolds and I am a Circuit Rider supporting the Towns of New Windsor and Union Bridge located in Carroll County. The term “Circuit Rider” was given to clergy in the early frontier days, who would ride between towns on a geographical circuit to spread the good word to the people in their assigned communities. While I don’t spread the gospel like my early namesakes, I do ride between the two towns that I support to apply for, and administer, grants, manage projects and help the Towns and communities with anything where they may need support. I have administered grants for an inflow & infiltration study, community center upgrade, lead paint abatement, road improvements, refurbished a baseball field, refurbished a tot lot, and purchased a town truck. I have rehabbed a baseball diamond, processed many water/sewer payments, counted coins from parking meters and the list goes on and on. The assistance that we provide is a valuable resource for these small, rural towns and I feel appreciated for what I do, both from the communities that I support and by MRDC. I feel happy and fortunate to be part of the MRDC family. I currently live in Hanover, PA and originally come from White Sulphur Springs, WV. I have two children, Lauren (15) and Jeremy (18). Thanks for reading!