I know a good idea when I see one (even if it comes from the other side of the aisle)

Good policy should not have a party label. When something works, brings common sense to government, and makes life easier for taxpayers, it does not matter who thought of it first.

That is why I am paying attention to what is happening across the state line in Pennsylvania. In November 2023, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, launched a program called PAyback. It was described as a first-in-the-nation money-back guarantee for state permits, licenses, and certifications.

Under the program, state agencies cataloged every approval they issue and set clear, standard processing times for each application type. The Department of Environmental Protection alone identified 784 distinct permits or licenses, while statewide the total reached 2,482 separate government approvals. At launch, about 70 percent of Pennsylvania-issued permits, licenses, and certifications were eligible for refunds. If an agency misses its published deadline, the applicant can claim a full refund of the application fee through https://payback.pa.gov.

The results have been remarkable. Average processing time for business filings dropped from 14 days to one day. Doctors' licenses dropped from 43 days to five. Pharmacist licenses went from 20 days to four, and nursing licenses dropped from 25 days to six. In fall 2025, the Department of Environmental Protection announced it had eliminated its longstanding permit backlog entirely.

What is most telling, however, is that as of early 2026, only five refunds have been issued across the entire state. The point of a guarantee is not to hand out cash. It is to put the incentive in the right place. Pennsylvania paired the guarantee with staffing, technology, funding, and procedural reforms, and public administration scholar Donald Moynihan studied the program and credited its success to public targets that motivated personnel and created accountability. The lesson is simple: when deadlines are public and enforceable, government organizes itself to meet them.

This approach has earned recognition across the political spectrum. The program won a 2024 StateScoop 50 Award for State IT Innovation of the Year. City Journal, published by the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, analyzed the results, concluded that Pennsylvania went from one of the worst permitting environments in the country to one of the best, and recommended that other states study it. Other states are copying it: New Jersey's governor recently launched similar reforms by executive order, and Iowa legislators have proposed similar permit transparency measures.

I want to adapt this same common sense idea for Talbot County permitting.

As the former Easton Town Council President and a candidate for Talbot County Council, I talk to local residents every day about their interactions with county government. On the campaign trail recently, I spoke with a Talbot County resident who owns 20 acres and wanted to give a family member two acres to build a house. When the family inquired with the county, they reported being told it could take roughly 18 months before they could break ground.

A young family with children cannot budget around an 18-month delay. Families and small businesses need a system built on three basic principles: affordability, transparency, and predictability.

Predictability is the signature element here. Predictability allows people to budget and plan. Families and small businesses can plan around a published, reliable review timeline; they cannot plan around a black box. At the county level, we should publish firm, public review timelines for county permits, and if the permitting office misses its own published deadline, refund the applicant's fee.

Let me be clear about what this proposal is, and what it is not. This is not a knock on county staff. The department is full of hard-working individuals who care a lot about this community. The county's newer permitting software has already improved things. The guarantee builds on existing progress; the county is already improving, and this is how to finish the job.

We must also design it the right way: with staff input from the start, using existing records and automation so it does not add workload or paperwork for our employees. That has to be a design requirement, not an afterthought.

If elected, I would propose this initiative and work to build it alongside my council colleagues and county staff. Published timelines paired with a fee refund guarantee will give our residents the predictability they deserve while honoring the dedicated work already underway. When a good idea works, we should not care where it came from. We should just put it to work for Talbot County.

If this is the kind of common sense you want to see on the County Council, I would be honored to have your support. You can sign up to volunteer at https://www.frankgunsallus.com/volunteer/ or chip in at https://www.frankgunsallus.com/donate/.

Frank Gunsallus is the former Town Council President of Easton and a candidate for the Talbot County Council.

Authorized by Friends of Frank Gunsallus, Paul Hagood, Treasurer