CUMBERLAND — They came oh so close.

But the Allegany County commissioners and District 1 legislative delegation members simply couldn’t avoid a direct discussion of the controversy regarding how the commissioners created the Bureau of Police and subsequently took away road patrol duties from Sheriff David Goad.

Most of the 99-minute meeting focused on state budget cuts and the drastic impact of those cuts — particularly the highway user funds — a gloom-and-doom state budget forecast for the near future and slots, among other issues.

Then Sen. George Edwards artfully danced around the subject by noting the commissioners might want to consider studying county residents’ desire to move to a five-commissioner county because of “a lot of things going on in this county.”

“Nothing against the people sitting in the office now,” Edwards told Commissioners Jim Stakem, Bob Hutcheson and Dale Lewis, who unanimously voted to create the new county police agency in June 2007 and, 13 months later, restricted Goad to oversight of the county jail, court security, extraditions and serving papers. “I’m just saying, because of certain things that have occurred ... think about it.”

A committee in 2001 recommended expanding the board of elected commissioners to five from three members. Edwards noted most other counties and municipalities have at least four members with a fifth person serving as tie-breaker. In charter counties with a county council, Edwards said there are often at least five council members.

Lewis said the local League of Women Voters, now disbanded, coordinated the study eight years ago.

“If the commissioners would even consider that, we would have to have another organization somewhere to do a study again,” Lewis said. “Then we’d hold public hearings (and) see what the sentiment is at that time.”

Stakem said county residents felt then, by a 2-1 ratio, that adding two commissioners was not a good idea.

“But that was eight years ago,” said Delegate LeRoy Myers, who then quipped: “I’m not sure if anyone is aware of it, but something’s going on with the sheriff.”

“I think we’ve spent, as a delegation, way too much time” on the issue, Myers said.

The comment was answered with snickers from the roughly two dozen people in the audience, filled largely with county staff, municipal leaders from throughout the county, including a sarcastic, “Whose fault is that?”

Myers said there are more important issues for the four state lawmakers to address, including a rise in employers’ unemployment insurance tax.

He asked, if the commissioners’ constituents don’t like what they do next, will the delegation support introducing legislation to put the issue to referendum, as they have been asked to do on the county police agency issue?

“What’s the next issue?” Myers asked. “What is it tomorrow? Wouldn’t it make more sense to do a study to allow these citizens to maybe take a vote on whether to maintain and continue with Code Home Rule?”

The events leading up to the creation and expansion of the Bureau of Police, Myers said, “would not have happened in Garrett or Washington counties. This would have to go to the General Assembly for what was done here. That would be more of a catch-all for the opportunity for the citizens to go — to go back to a different form of government.”

After the meeting, two senior county staff said expanding to five commissioners didn’t make sense because of a declining population and an associated increase in salaries for which the county would be liable.

Myers said all four members of the delegation have spent a vast amount of time fielding phone calls, e-mails and being engaged in “sidewalk” conversations about the police issue.

“No one understands Code Home Rule,” Myers said of Allegany County’s current form of government. “They think you guys implemented Code Home Rule. I’m making the point that when we talk about the form of government that we have in Allegany County, people just don’t understand it was done in the 1970s and why it was done.”

Delegate Kevin Kelly said he was “very supportive” of Code Home Rule and that the issue is that county residents did not have the chance to petition the creation of the Bureau of Police because the commissioners had promised not to start a countywide police agency.

“The commissioners have a right to change their mind,” Stakem said. “They did have a chance to petition. They did not petition.”

Lewis said it appeared the sheriff’s deputies at the time were satisfied with the county legislation.

“If they were satisfied with it,” he asked Kelly, “why can’t you be?”

“Because, Dale, the citizenry is not satisfied,” Kelly said.

Said Stakem: “I’m not sure about that.”

Edwards said it’s the delegation’s prerogative to approach the commissioners and request them to consider such a study.

“We’re asking you to consider it, look at it,” Edwards said.

Kevin Spradlin can be reached at kspradlin@times-news.com.