State legislators offer preview of 2016 General Assembly session

(Originally published in the East County Times, Vol. 21 No. 12 [Dec. 31, 2015] pages 2 + 8) - by Emily Blackner -

With the 2016 General Assembly session approaching, the East County Times reached out to members of the Baltimore County state delegation to discuss their plans and priorities.

For Delegate Bob Long, a Republican returning to Annapolis for his second year, the main priority is home ownership.

“We are going to work in the Baltimore County delegation to help promote homeownership with tax incentives to help homeowners revitalize their homes,” he said. Long said he plans to introduce a bill about the homeowners’ tax credit and create a program to provide tax breaks for homeowners who are fixing up or improving their houses and property.

He said the overall state of the economy is an important factor in people’s decision to buy a home, so he will focus on lowering taxes and attracting good-paying jobs to the area.

“I know that sounds like a campaign stump speech, but it’s important. If people have good jobs they can afford to buy a home,” he explained.

Long also noted that his job is not just about proposing his own legislation, but also about voting on bills proposed by others.

“I’m down there to fight bad bills and ensure they don’t get passed, or do what I can to make a bad bill better,” he said.

Long also said he wants to work to address the issue of abandoned boats, as well as re-introduce legislation from last session to create a tax-free shopping week for college students and their families to purchase textbooks.

Now a returning delegate, Long says that the relationships he built last session will help him to be more effective this time around.

“We’ve built a mutual respect,” he said. “Your word means everything in Annapolis and people know my character now. They know they can county on me and trust me.”

Long, along with his fellow District 6 representatives, plans to hold a town hall meeting to discuss more of their plans and goals for the upcoming session. It is scheduled to take place on Monday, Jan. 4, from 6 - 8:30 p.m. at the North Point Library.

In District 7, the full slate of veteran lawmakers will return in January, among them Senator J. B. Jennings, (R), who also serves as the Minority Leader for the legislature’s upper chamber.

“As Minority Leader a lot of my concern is going to be working with Governor Hogan to get his agenda passed, to promote and protect his office and his agenda,” Jennings said.

He predicts that the governor’s proposals will include more tax reductions and reviews of state agencies, which fall under the General Assembly’s purview.

“We’re going to try to clean up different state agencies and be a little more efficient on the state level,” he said.

Jennings also said he will be working to prevent the legislature and its Democratic leaders from overreaching its powers in its effort to fight the governor.

Jennings’s individual priorities outside of his role as leader will deal mainly with 2nd Amendment rights and other gun issues, he revealed.

He plans to push for the passage of his bill allowing National Guard soldiers to carry their guns on base. As reported in the East County Times in August, the bill was pre-filed in response to the Chattanooga, Tenn., attack on armed forces recruiting centers on July 16.

“We want our men and women in uniform to be safe,” Jennings said.

Another bill would make the purchase of gun safety equipment like gun locks and gun safes tax-exempt as an incentive for gun owners to use those items and increase safety.

Overall, Jennings said he is confident in the governor’s agenda and looking forward to the session.

“It’s gonna be fun, like every other session,” he declared.

Another longtime Republican legislator, Del. John Cluster from District 8, disagreed with that assessement.

“I believe it’s gonna be ugly,” he said. “I was there during the Ehrlich days, it seems like it’s gonna be like that again. [The Democrats] are going to go after the governor any way they can.”

Cluster feels that the biggest point of contention will be the projected budget surplus. “The first thing Democrats want to do is spend it. But the governor wants to put that money away to deal with the structural deficit in years to come.”

In addition to gearing up to support Governor Hogan in that fight, Cluster has drafted several bills he plans to introduce during the session. He is working with Long and the rest of the county delegation on the issue of foreclosures, specifically the fact that many foreclosed houses fall into disrepair and negatively impact the neighborhoods they are in.

“We’ve got to figure out a way to at least make them presentable,” he said. The delegation is looking to other states to see what legislative solutions have worked, whether that it by going after the banks or the prior homeowners.

His other major priority is safety and the security of law enforcement officers state-wide, Cluster said.

“We need to protect out law enforcement officers,” he asserted. “Everyone seems to be coming down on them, and we need to help protect our Law Enforcement Officer’s Bill of Rights.”

Cluster wants to add several additional protections, including a stipulation that all internal investigations be completed within 90 days and a provision called Final Order, which states that a chief or commissioner cannot override the decision of the Trial Board.

“Why even have a trial board is the chief can go and change its decision?” he opined.

Cluster also plans to continue his push to put school resource officers, who are trained police officers with full powers, in every school in the state.

“With all the gun violence perpetrated in schools, it’s important to have a police officer there,” he said.

And a fifth provision that Cluster will propose is an animal rights bill that would allow a citizen who sees an animal locked in a car, in visible distress, to do whatever they need to to free that animal without fear of any civil or criminal charges.

The General Assembly session officially convenes at noon on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2016.

Miele heading Rubio’s presidential campaign in Maryland

(Originally published in the East County Times, Vol. 21 No. 9 [Dec. 10, 2015]).
- By Emily Blackner -

First-term District 8 Delegate Christian Miele (R) has been named one of two state co-chairs of presidential candidate Marco Rubio’s Maryland campaign. Rubio is the first GOP candidate to select staff for heavily-Democratic Maryland.

Miele, of Perry Hall, will work with former Anne Arundel County Executive Laura Neuman to build up support for Rubio, a Florida Senator. Miele said right now the campaign is focusing on lining up endorsements from General Assembly members with high profiles in the state, as well as across various counties.

Miele said that a main reason for naming two co-chairs was so that he could remain focused on his duties in the House of Delegates once the legislative sessions starts again in January.

“When I’m in session, she’s going to be the one spearheading things,” he asserted.

“I also have been thinking of this as something I’m doing not as Christian the Delegate but me as just a citizen,” Miele said of his work with the campaign. However, he did acknowledge that he benefits politically from the opportunity to make connections outside of his district.

It was that desire that got him connected with the campaign in the first place, he revealed. Kentucky Senator Rand Paul had been a guest speaker at a Baltimore County Republican event in the spring, and Miele noted, “I thought it would make sense to get a different perspective and different voices.”

So he reached out to Rubio through his Chief of Staff, a Florida native, and began to make contact with the campaign. “One thing led to another and I just kept meeting people,” he said. “So it kinda happened very organically.”

Miele said he has been impressed with Rubio’s performances at the Republican debates, his foreign policy experience and ideas and his “pro-family tax reform plan.”

While many candidates are talking about simplifying the tax code and getting read of loopholes, Miele said, “Marco knows that tax credits for working families are still important. I think that’s one thing that sets him apart.”

“He brings a lot of things to the table that a lot of candidates don’t,” he continued. “Youth is an asset. He’s a very charismatic figure. And he has an optimistic message where a lot of the candidates are more doom and gloom.”

“He sorta reminds me of JFK in his youth and vibrancy,” Miele added, high praise from a delegate with a picture of that president in his office.

With the Iowa caucuses and other early primaries fast approaching, Miele said that Rubio is spending most of his time in those states, but that he is trying to get the candidate to make a stop in Maryland in the spring.

County Council’s rain tax repeal inspires supporters, opponents to rally

(Originally published in the East County Times, Vol. 21 No. 6 [Nov. 19, 2015], p. 2 and 6)
-By Emily Blackner-

At its Monday, Nov. 16 meeting, the Baltimore County Council voted unanimously in favor of a measure that will phase out the stormwater remediation fees, commonly referred to as the “rain tax,” over the next two years.

The move was preceded by rallies from organizers on both sides of the issue. On Saturday, Nov. 14, state Delegate Pat McDonough (R-7), a longtime rain tax opponent, held a victory party at Carson’s Creekside restaurant in Middle River to celebrate the pending repeal. Because the measure was co-sponsored by all seven Council members- a veto-proof majority- its passage was all but assured from the beginning.

“Both Democrats and Republicans on the County Council came together and as a result we have all seven of the council members voting against the rain tax,” McDonough announced.

Councilman David Marks (R-5) also stressed the bipartisan nature of the repeal effort.

“I want to recognize that this was a bipartisan effort and that my fellow east side councilmembers, Cathy Bevins and Todd Crandell, worked hard and took the lead on this issue.”

McDonough led the repeal campaign at the state level, speaking about the issue on his radio show- where he coined the term “rain tax” as a way to get people more inspired to join the fight- and speaking to local businesses to get grassroots support for the repeal effort. In fact, this “Stop the Rain Tax” campaign was kicked off in Carson’s three years ago, he recalled.

“Last year, I cosponsored a bill with the governor, and that bill at least changed the law,” he explained.

The state mandate for a dedicated fee was lifted, giving the counties flexibility in funding the required stormwater remediation projects.

“We still need to comply with all the environmental rules,” McDonough asserted. “It doesn’t change that, it just gets rid of the tax.”

He also criticized the fact that the most visible use of rain tax funds was the purchase of new street sweepers.

McDonough said he was proud of the success of the campaign.

“I felt the tax was unnecessary and very harmful to job creation and economic growth,” he explained.

Proponents of the fee cited environmental benefits and the need to clean and protect the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries as they rallied in Patriot Plaza in front of the Council chambers on Monday before the vote.

Elaine Lutz of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation explained that the CBF was not supporting the measure to repeal the fee because no alternative funding sources have yet been identified to pay for the stormwater remediation projects currently funded by the fee.

“We would like the Council to reconsider this legislation until there’s something the Council, County Executive and the public can agree on,” she said. “Why rush through this process with no transparent, public plan for funding? There will be no relief for businesses for seven to eight months anyway.”

The Council, in submitting the bill, expressed its faith that the projects could be funded through other funding sources as they had been prior to the fee’s imposition in 2013.

“There’s a misconception that with this repeal, these projects won’t take place. They will; it’s just the funding source will be different,” Council Chair Cathy Bevins (D-6) said.

Marks told the crowd at McDonough’s rally, “These projects had been funded for years before the rain tax through the general fund.”

Lutz contends that the money in the general fund is not legally required to go towards remediation projects, as the “rain tax” funds were, so they could be diverted to other purposes.

She also pointed out that although the county has a significant budget surplus this year, that could change quickly.

“The general fund surplus is not reliable or consistent, so there’s no guarantee the money will be there,” she asserted. “Frankly, in many years past, any excess money has not gone to stormwater projects.”

Lutz and the other people at the rally, who included representatives from Blue Water Baltimore, the Green Towson Alliance, Interfaith Partners of the Chesapeake and more, led a chant of “Show me the money!” before filing into the Council chambers with their signs.

But the Council was not swayed by their presence.

“It feels good to get this done,” Bevins said after the meeting. “And it feels good to be a united Council and an independent Council.”

Councilman Todd Crandell (R-7), who was elected last year partly because of his pledge to repeal the fee, was the one to actually make the motion to move the bill to vote.

“I tried to zero out the rain tax when we voted on it in February and just couldn’t get it done, so I really wanted to be the member to move it forward and get it passed,” he said.

“I’m very pleased,” he continued. “It’s good to be on a Council that can discuss things and reach a compromise to produce results.”

The stormwater remediation fees, already reduced by a third by a bill passed with the County Executive’s support in February of this year, will be further reduced in two stages. For Fiscal Year 2017, the rates will be lowered to $17 per single family home and $31 per 1,000 square feet of impervious surface for non-residential properties. Then, the fee will be fully repealed effective July 1, 2017 (for Fiscal Year 2018).

Phasing out the fee will allow the county to adjust to the loss of revenue and find new funding sources for the projects required to meet the total maximum daily load (TMDLs) reductions for runoff pollutants mandated by the EPA and federal court order.

Bevins said that the county executive has until July 2016 to present his plan for funding the stormwater remediation projects. He has not discussed with the Council what those plans might be, she revealed.

County Executive Kamenetz declined to comment for this story.

Lutz, in her public comment to the Council following the vote, also turned her attention to Kamenetz, asking the Council, “I hope you’ll join me in convincing the county executive that this is money well spent.”

Szeliga officially launches US Senate campaign

(Originally published in the East County Times, Vol. 21 No. 5 [Nov. 12, 2015], page 8) - By Emily Blackner -

After months of buildup, on Tuesday, Nov. 10, state Delegate Kathy Szeliga (R-7) officially announced her candidacy for United States Senate in 2016.

“Isn’t it time for new voices in Washington, D.C.?” she asked the crowd of supporters, to enthusiastic agreement.

The 54-year-old Minority Whip is hoping to build on the statewide success of Larry Hogan in 2014’s gubernatorial race and win the seat currently occupied by the retiring Barbara Mikulski, a Democrat.

Tuesday's announcement puts Szeliga into a field that already includes two other Republicans and two Democrats.

“I want to serve the US Senate to champion those forgotten Americans who get up and work hard, pay the bills and raise their family,” she declared.

In her kick-off speech, Szeliga detailed her background as a working mom starting from the bottom with her husband, hitchhiking to work as a laborer and maid before becoming a housekeeping manager at a resort. She attended night school while her children were young to earn a degree in early childhood education from Towson University, and eventually used those skills to help in the family’s construction business.

“I wanted to take those life skills and put them to work fixing some problems that I saw,” she said, winning a seat in the House of Delegates in 2010.

With Hogan’s election and the new crop of state-level Republicans in Annapolis, “Things in Maryland seem to be getting better. Now my focus shifts to Washington,” she concluded.

As senator, Szeliga said she would focus on improving quality of life- for example, by updating roads, upgrading airplane technology and making healthcare more affordable- improving national security through making the US more of a global leader on that front, and improving the nation’s schools.

“I have a little different angle on that,” she said of education reform. “I believe our schools have become factories that turn out kids who think their only future is a four-year college.”

Szeliga would work to expand vocational education through trade schools and degree programs, taking the example of eastside schools like Eastern Tech. However, she opposes the Common Core and would instead incentivize high schools to begin vocational training programs.

This would also help keep urban male youth in school and off the street, she said.

“I’m not naive. I don’t think I’m going to ride in on a white horse and fix everything by myself,” she said, but she believes her experience working across the aisle in Annapolis gives her an edge in accomplishing those goals.

“There used to be a time when we could agree to disagree, and do it agreeably. We didn’t have to call each other names and denigrate others because of their ideas,” she said. “That’s the kind of atmosphere we have in Annapolis. I might disagree with you, but we can still have a drink together.”

Szeliga says that as a working mom, she became very good at multitasking, which will allow her to pursue this Senate seat without shirking her duties as House Minority Whip. Her experience in Annapolis has also given her qualifications beyond those of the other Republicans in the field, attorney Chrys Kefalas and Navy veteran teacher Anthony Seda, she said.

“I’ve been elected to office; I’m the highest-ranking Republican woman in Maryland,” she asserted. “I have a built-in campaign structure with the 50 house members and 15 senate members, most of whom are supporting me.”

Several of those caucus members were on hand to support her at the kick-off, including House Minority Leader Nich Kipke, District 6 Delegate bob Long and District 8 Delegate John Cluster.

“I think she’s the right person for this job at this time. She’s the kind of person we need in D.C.,” Cluster told the East County Times.

Other supporters included Szeliga’s mentor and “fairy godmother” Ellen Sauerbrey and Anne Arundel County Executive Steve Shuh.

“She is a Republican. She is a mainstream conservative who believes the rightful role of government is a limited government,” Shuh declared. “Government has gotten too big, too distant and too gridlocked,” Szeliga declared. “Yet DC still finds the time to chip away at our liberties, spending more of our dollars while driving up the debt. But I think I’m a commonsense citizen legislator.”

Former Delegate Minnick remembered by colleagues

Originally published in the East County Times, Vol. 21 No. 2 (Oct. 22, 2015), page 28.

- by Emily Blackner -

Dundalk native and veteran legislator Joseph J. “Sonny” Minnick passed away last Monday, Oct. 12, at the age of 82. Minnick was in hospice care at Stella Maris in Timonium for a blood disease.

He was born on March 16, 1933, and resided in Dundalk for his entire life. After graduating from Dundalk High School in the Class of 1952, Minnick enlisted in the US Navy, where he served from 1952 - 1956 and earned a Good Conduct Medal. After that, he went to Dundalk and then to Essex Community College, in 1972 - 1973 and 1974, respectively. His career in politics began in 1988, when he was appointed to the House of Delegates to fill a suddenly vacant seat.

In numerous statements and online comments, his colleagues and constituents remembered him fondly.

“Delegate Sonny Minnick was a kind-hearted individual, a caring, constituent-oriented legislator and a patient mentor,” said Jake Mohorovic, a former District 6 delegate who served with Minnick.

Minnick, a conservative Democrat, was first elected a member of the House of Delegates in November 1994 and served from January 11, 1995, until January 14, 2015. He chose not to seek re-election in the November 2014 race.

His seat was taken by Republican Ric Metzgar, who called Minnick “a gentleman statesman.”

“Sonny was a tremendous man, a mentor and friend,” he continued. “The shoes are definitely harder to fill now, and I am truly honored to be seated at his seat in the General Assembly. I even have the same office phone number. He will be sorely missed.”

“He was always strong-willed and opinionated and tenacious in the way he went about his work, but he was always respectful of other people,” recalled John Olszewski, Jr., who served with Minnick from 2006 - 2015. The two were members of the Economic Matters Committee.

“His advice was always very helpful and insightful for me, and I’m grateful for that. I’m lucky to have had the opportunity to know him as well as I have,” Olszewski added.

Minnick was on the alcoholic beverages, business regulation, and unemployment insurance sub-committees. Prior appointments include the Commerce and Government Matters Committee and the Judiciary Committee. He also held several leadership roles, being elected the chair of the Baltimore County delegation from 1995 - 2006, and serving as the Deputy Majority Whip from 1995 - 1998 and the House Co-Chair of the Maryland Veterans Caucus from 1997 - 2015.

“Sonny was the unofficial chair of the ‘previous question caucus.’ He was the one to move the previous question to vote,” Olszewski revealed. “When debate would languish on, the speaker would look down from the rostrum and nod, and we’d know Sonny was about to make a motion.”

East County Times readers may remember Minnick from his “Sonny Sez” columns, where he would communicate with his constituents about issues and votes before the General Assembly.

Constituents leaving online tributes to Minnick noted that he always respected them and their opinions, even when they disagreed.

Outside of his life as a delegate, Minnick was the owner of a popular restaurant on Sollers Point Road that bears his family name until he sold the establishment a few years ago. Locals remember Minnick’s as a great place to watch the Baltimore Colts games, with Minnick leading the crowd in a team cheer.

He was also a member of VFW Post 6694, American Legion Post 38, and the Knights of Columbus. Minnick attended Our Lady of Hope Catholic Church in Dundalk, where a funeral mass was held on Friday, Oct. 16. He was also remembered at visitations held at the Connelly Funeral Home of Dundalk on Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 14 and 15.

And, Del. Metzgar revealed that he hopes to have the General Assembly observed a moment of silence in Minnick’s honor during the next session.

Minnick is survived by his wife, Barbara (nee Nastalski), children Christopher J. Minnick, Danielle Cogar and Barbara Morse, six grandchildren and a brother, Daniel Minnick.

Szeliga fundraiser draws big crowd amid US Senate exploration

Originally published in the East County Times, Vol. 20 No. 52 (Oct. 8, 2015), front page, continued on page 4.

- By Emily Blackner -

On Monday night, Oct. 5, hundreds of citizens, legislators and other political figures gathered at Boordy Vineyard in Hydes for the annual “birthday bash” fundraiser for Seventh District Delegate Kathy Szeliga. While the event’s attendance has been growing steadily for all seven years, undoubtedly some of the popularity this year was due to rumors of Del. Szeliga considering a bid for the U.S. Senate seat held by the retiring Barbara Mikulski.

“I am seriously considering a US Senate run,” she announced to enthusiastic applause. “Things are looking good.”

However, she stated that her final decision has not been made, but will be forthcoming sometime this fall. Speaking with the East County Times prior to the event, she elaborated on her motivations for seeking higher office.

“I’m looking at this race seriously because I look at my kids and my new baby granddaughter and I’m very troubled with the direction the world is headed in. I feel it is my duty and responsibility to do whatever I can to leave the state and the country in better shape for them,” she opined.

Specifically, she thinks a change of course is needed on the economy and national security. Szeliga, who just turned 54, has been in the Maryland General Assembly since 2010 and was selected by her fellow Republicans as Minority Whip, the second-most-powerful leadership position, in 2013. She serves on the Appropriations Committee, the Health and Human Resources Subcommittee, the Oversight Committee on Pensions, Maryland Veterans Caucus and the House Emergency Medical Services Workgroup. She is also a business owner heavily involved in her family’s construction business.

“Annapolis is a part-time legislature, so the wonderful thing about working as a delegate is that we have outside employment as well, so I bring an unique set of experience with both business and legislature,” she said.

This would contrast her with the Washington insiders currently in power in the nation’s capital, Szeliga believes.

“Washington is dysfunctional. We need new ideas, and as a working mom, I will bring new and fresh perspective to Washington,” she declared.

She also noted similarities between her background and Mikulski’s: “a tough, working-class Polish woman from the Baltimore region.”

As she evaluates her options in a potential Senate bid, Szeliga will look at a variety of factors, including the amount of support she is able to garner from both voters and party leaders.

“The support I’ve getting from leaders has been amazing,” she revealed. “In both the [state] House and Senate leaders are not only supporting me but strongly encouraging me to get in the race.”

Guests to the Boordy fundraiser included Senate Minority Leader J.B. Jennings (7) and House Minority Leader Nicholaus Kipke (31B), as well as fellow Delegates Ric Metzgar, Robin Grammer, and Bob Long (all R-6)- who she strongly supported in their 2014 campaign for the office- John Cluster (R-8), and others, as well as Anne Arundel County Executive Shuh, former Ambassador Ellen Sauerbrey and U.S. Congressman Andy Harris.

“We have a lot of people who do hard work putting forth their ideas,” Minority Leader Kipke told the crowd. “But every day over countless examples I’ve seen Kathy Szeliga do the harder job of helping other people succeed.”

He praised her for her efforts growing the party and ushering new Republicans to victory in November, calling her “authentic, real and conservative.”

Congressman Harris also threw his support behind Szeliga, noting that he believes the Republicans need a candidate who is from the Baltimore area and not the Washington suburbs, who has actually “signed the front of a paycheck and not the back” and who has political experience. Additionally, “The Republican party needs more women to run for office. Now, who do we know who fits that description?” he said. He added, “This Senate race is winnable,” but that it would take “the Hogan campaign on steroids” to achieve that victory.

Szeliga hopes to draw on supporters like the approximately 275 who were in attendance that night, she said.

She revealed to the East County Times that she has had conversations with prominent state Republicans like Michael Steele and Kendall Ehrlich, wife of former Gov. Robert Ehrlich, where they expressed strong support.

“We have a great turnout at this event; every year my support grows,” she said.

Other attendees commented that the crowd was three times bigger than they had seen before.

Amidst the accolades, one concern raised was the affect of a Senate campaign, which takes place statewide and would draw Szeliga out of her district, on her current duties as a delegate and as Minority Whip.

“We run on the off years, so my run for US Senate will not affect my job in Annapolis,” she assured supporters. “My commitment is to the caucus.”

When asked how she plans to strike that balance, she told the East County Times, “We well get that all figured out as we make a final decision.”

O’Malley launches presidential bid amid protesters

(Originally published the East County Times, Vol. 20, No. 35 [June 4, 2015], pp. 5 and 6)

- By Emily Blackner -Former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley officially launched his campaign for U.S. president with a rally at Federal Hill Park in Baltimore City on Saturday, May 30.

The rally drew a modest crowd of supporters- including many families with young children- as well as protesters, who objected to O’Malley’s policies as mayor and governor.

“I believe O’Malley is not concerned about what is good for the people and is only concerned with furthering his own career,” said Andrew Fair, who was at the rally with a large sign that read “NO’Malley.” “As a Maryland native, I’ve experienced him in many offices in the state, and I think he left the city, as mayor, in bad shape and left the state in bad shape as governor.”

Another organized protest involved a group of African-American residents of the city who were objecting to the zero-tolerance policing policies O’Malley instituted as mayor that they claim led to the current tensions in the city. “What about police brutality? What about Freddie Gray?” protesters shouted over O’Malley’s prepared remarks.

Robert Fain, a Washington, D.C., resident who came up to the Baltimore event with a friend, was more positive. “It’s good to see other Democrats putting their hat in the ring,” he said. “I liked what I heard but I would like to see more, especially about the issue of race relations.”

The candidate did touch on the recent unrest in Baltimore City, attempting to tie the events into his larger campaign theme of rebuilding the American dream.

“It was a heartbreaking night in the life of our city. But there is something to be learned from that night, and there is something to be offered to our country out of those flames,” he said. “For what took place here was not only about race, not only about policing in America, it was about everything it is supposed to mean to be an American. The scourge of hopelessness that happened to ignite here that evening transcends race or geography.” He said that a lack of economic opportunity was at the root of much of the city’s- and country’s- troubles.

The supporters who introduced O’Malley onstage, including Yvette Lewis, who was Maryland Democratic Party chair until March 2015, praised the former governor for championing marriage equality in the state, getting the DREAM Act passed and keeping state college tuition from rising.

O’Malley himself took an urgent tone, lamenting the state of the economy, the political and economic inequality between elites and everyday citizens, and more. “There is a growing injustice in our country today. It is the gap between the strong and just country our children need for us to be and the country we are in danger of becoming,” he opined.

“This is the urgent work calling us forward today: to rebuild the truth of the American dream for all Americans. And to begin right now.”

He announced that his agenda would include strengthening the middle class through a higher minimum wage, more overtime pay and stronger unions; a jobs agenda focused on renewable energy; comprehensive immigration reform; new national security strategies that include stronger alliances with other nations in our hemisphere and a more engaged, collaborative foreign policy globally; reinstating Glass-Steagall (legislation from 1932 repealed in 1999 that separated the activities of commercial and investment banks), breaking up “too big to fail” banks and prosecuting those on Wall Street who are engaged in illegal activities; and rebuilding American cities.

“Whether the American dream becomes a lie, or becomes an ongoing truth that our children can enjoy, can build upon, can live, is really up to you and me,” O’Malley declared.

After the Baltimore rally, O’Malley traveled to an event in the early primary state of Iowa, where polling shows him trailing Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton by 55 points and Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont by 14.

County budget debate reveals school enrollment projection discrepancy

(Originally published in the East County Times,Vol. 20 No. 34 [May 28, 2015], page 5.)
- by Emily Blackner -

The Baltimore County Council approved the operating and capital budgets on May 21, leaving both largely unchanged from the proposal made by the county executive. However, in the course of the Council’s work on the budget, it discovered that Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) had changed the way it determines projected enrollment at its facilities, creating a discrepancy between the numbers the county was using to allocate funding and the ones the school system had generated.

With nearly half - $824 million - of the operating budget and 41.4 percent of the $375 million capital budget going towards schools, Council Chair Cathy Bevins (D-6) expressed concerns about this change in the methodology.

“Recently, BCPS changed the methodology for its 10-year enrollment projections, without consulting or communicating this change to the executive or the County Council,” she said in her Budget Message. “This new methodology changes enrollment projections at many of the county’s schools, which could have ripple effects across the system.”

The county is in the midst of a $1.3-billion, 10-year Schools for Our Future plan aiming to improve existing schools’ facilities and technology and add new seats county-wide to eliminate current and projected overcrowding. Funding for the various programs associated with this plan is allocated based on enrollment projections and other measures, and so “the Administration will need to re-evaulate its previous plans regarding future school construction and additions” based on these new figures, Bevins said in the speech.

BCPS spokesman Mychael Dickerson said that these changes were put into place just this school year. “We implemented this change to be even more accurate and to align with what the state is doing with their projections,” he explained.

County Executive Kevin Kamenetz (D) will ask the Council to approve an additional $50,000 to hire an outside consultant to review the competing methodologies to determine which one is more accurate. It was this expense that most bothered Bevins.

“This is both time and money that could be better spent elsewhere if there had been a more timely flow of information from BCPS,” she said in her speech. “We remind the public school system that it must communicate and cooperate with both branches of county government if the Schools for Our Future program is to be successful.”

Speaking with The East County Times, Bevins admitted, “I guess I didn’t mean to sound quite so accusatory. But 52 cents of every taxpayer dollar goes to the school system, and we don’t really tell them how to spend it. The conversation [about this methodology change] should have happened sooner.”

“We think that this methodology is better, but if they want to take an outside look at it, that’s fine,” Dickerson said.

When asked, neither Bevins nor Dickerson knew whether the BCPS projections were higher or lower than those the county had. The “Recommendations” section of the Council’s Budget Message notes, “Council members have specific concerns about projections for the out-years in particular districts, including in a number of districts that previously showed no official signs of being threatened by overcrowding.”

Bevins also stressed that “we on the Council have a wonderful relationship with the [BCPS] superintendent overall.

“Fifty thousand dollars is not all that much considering the total budget,” she continued, “but it’s something we only have to spend because the administration had one sense of direction where we were going and the schools had another. The changed methodology affects our projections, affects development and where seats will be added. We have a right to know if their projections are different from the county’s.”

County Executive proposes $1.9 billion operating budget for 2016

(Originally published in the East County Times, Vol. 20 No. 29 [April 23, 2015], page 5.)
- by Emily Blackner -

Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz unveiled his proposed Fiscal Year 2016 budget as part of the annual State of the County address delivered on Tuesday, April 14, in the County Council chambers.

The general fund operating budget proposed is just over $1.9 billion dollars, which represents a 4.7 percent increase over the 2015 budget. Kamenetz said that this figure is within the County Council’s spending affordability guidelines and is accomplished without raising property or income taxes. The capital budget is $375 million.

Specific spending areas seeing an increase include PAYGO contributions, up $32 million; education, with a $46.8 million increase and public safety, with nearly $3.8 million more. An additional $10.8 million in expenses is associated with Kamenetz’s proposal to give all county employees a cost-of-living allowance (COLA) raise of three percent. Certificated Board of Education employees would receive an additional two percent raise.

Within the public safety umbrella, the county will devote $800,000 to add four new medic units to the fire department and $300,000 for two new division chiefs. Subsidies for volunteer EMS providers are increased by $250,000 to almost $2 million to encourage companies to fully staff their medic units.

Sixty percent of the county’s operating budget is devoted to funding schools, colleges and libraries. Although the Division of Library Services is slated to receive a cut of $315,470, education funding would increase by 5.66 percent. Part of that is the $155,334,000 devoted to capital improvement projects in the school system. $16.33 million of that is for roof repair and replacement in county schools, including Middlesex Elementary, Chesapeake High School and Essex Elementary in District 7 and Parkville High School in District 6. Patapsco High School will also receive funding for air conditioning. BCPS’s ongoing digital conversion initiative would receive $5.6 million.

“Once again, County Executive Kamenetz has shown his commitment to Baltimore County Public Schools,” said BCPS Superintendent S. Dallas Dance. “Our partnership has never been stronger.”

And, $2.8 million has been pledged towards building a new elementary school in the northeast area of the county. The initial sum covers design and engineering, and an additional $45.6 million would be spent in fiscal year 2017 to actually construct the school.

“I am very pleased that the county executive listened to the concerns of parents in northeastern Baltimore County and has included money for this desperately-needed new school,” stated Councilman David Marks (R-5), who has championed this project for years in the face of overcrowding in current facilities. “As we have seen recently, there is near-universal support for new schools in the Perry Hall area. Construction of an elementary school is an important step forward.”

PAYGO, or the pay-as-you-go funding system that allows the county to pay cash up-front for projects rather than take out loans, received a lot of attention in Kamenetz’s speech. The budget includes increased PAYGO contributions in anticipation of projects slated for future fiscal years, bringing the funds up to $123.3 million. Another name for PAYGO funds is a fund balance or even a surplus. Kamenetz said that the credit rating agencies look at the fund balance as one of the criteria when assigning credit ratings to the nation’s counties. Baltimore County is one of only 38 counties to receive a triple-A rating from all three rating agencies, and Kamenetz said it is due to our PAYGO practices.

“Some people misunderstand why we keep a fund balance. They would like to use these funds to pay for programs, projects and even pay raises that involve ongoing, recurring costs; but we can’t guarantee surplus funds will be available the next year,” Kamenetz explained. “That is why Baltimore County has always used its fund balance to pay for one-time projects, not ongoing expenses.”

Environmental initiatives across the county continue to receive strong support, even as the Department of Environmental Protection and Sustainability sees its funding decrease by just over $230,000. A total of $10.9 million has been allocated for the waterway improvement fund, including money for watershed improvement projects on the east side ($100,000 for the Gunpowder watershed, $250,000 for the Patapsco watershed and $200,000 for the Back River watershed).

Other budget points of interest include an increase in funding of $2.8 million for the Community College of Baltimore County system “to prevent tuition increases,” according to Kamenetz; nearly $25 million towards road resurfacing, with more money allotted in 2017; $330,000 for background checks for recreation council volunteers; $100,000 more for the Department of Social Services for cold weather emergency programs including warming centers, shelters and utility assistance; and money to provide turf fields for Merritt Point Park. The Dundalk Heritage Trail will not receive money in Fiscal Years 2016 or 2017 but is slated to get $1 million in 2018.

The County Council has to approve the budget, and can make changes or cuts to this proposal. It will begin its formal deliberations at a hearing on April 28 at 6 p.m.

General Assembly approves $200,000 in grants for Angel Park

(Originally published in The East County Times, Vol. 20, No. 28 [April 16, 2015], pages 2 + 6)
- by Emily Blackner -

Both the Maryland House and Senate voted to approve bond bills in the amount of $100,000 to help finance the construction of Angel Park, an all-access playground planned for Perry Hall. Legislators from the 7th and 8th districts collaborated to get the measures approved, netting $200,000 toward the $1.5-million project.

Delegate Kathy Szeliga (R-7) noted that this was a bipartisan effort, with herself and fellow Republicans Rick Impallaria, John Cluster and Christian Miele working with Democrat Eric Bromwell to sponsor the measure. Across the state house in the Senate, Democrat Kathy Klausmeier and Republican J.B. Jennings pushed for their bill.

“I’m thrilled. I really can’t be more proud of the community and all the groups that have come together,” Del. Szeliga said. “I believe this park will be something Perry Hall is proud to have.

“Passing legislation is never easy, but there was a lot of support behind this,” she continued. “The Assembly felt that, number one, the project was funded to such a tremendous level by the community, when a lot of times you get people who say ‘well, give us this money and then we’ll do fundraisers.’ And number two, it was shovel ready.”

According to Angel Park Planning Co-Chair Kelli Szyczbor, the campaign has $823,000 in the bank, with another $120,000 pledged. This leaves $400,000 to go to reach their fundraising total.

Szyczbor and three other committee members travelled to Annapolis on Saturday, March 14, to testify in both the House and the Senate about their project and why it should receive funds.

“It was a neat experience testifying in Annapolis. You only get a few minutes to sum up this awesome project that you’ve spent so much time on,” she commented. She also noted that Szeliga and Jennings, who introduced them, as well as Bromwell and Klausmeier were very supportive throughout the process.

“[The legislators] said they could see our passion for it, and that it is going to be a unique playground,” Szyczbor recalled.

As previously reported in the East County Times, Angel Park will be an all-access playground, meaning that children of all abilities, including those with special needs, can play together. The equipment and layout will be designed to accommodate everyone’s needs under the guidance of New York-based Leathers & Associates. The staff at Leathers & Associates, along with Angel Park committee volunteers, solicited suggestions from over 4,000 area schoolchildren to find out what elements they would like to see in a playground, and many of these ideas were included in the final design.

The park will be located on 2.5 acres of land acquired by the county through a land swap agreement in 2012. Also on the property will be a 200-seat amphitheater that will allow community groups to present outdoor concerts, plays and other shows. The amphitheater is financed by a gift from the Cole Foundation.

The 2012 land transfer was approved by County Councilman David Marks (R-5), who Szczybor says has been a big supporter of the project from the beginning, offering advice and guidance to the committee.

“We’ve worked with our state legislators to obtain funding for worthwhile projects in the past, and I applaud my colleagues for supporting Angel Park,” he stated. “The community has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to build Angel Park, and I believe government should support that type of private sector support.”

The website, www.Angel-Park.org, allows for community members to donate money or pay for individual pieces of equipment in honor of their loved ones, the angels we all have in our lives for whom the park is named, said Szczybor.

For her, that angel is her son Ryan, who she lost to leukemia at the age of 15 months.

“This whole project is all about the community. My son’s memory is what’s pushing me and inspiring me, but in the end it’s about the whole community and coming together,” she declared.

Szczybor said that they hope to begin construction on Angel Park the first week of September. Hundreds of community volunteers will be needed to build the park, she said. Those interested in helping can visit the Angel Park website or contact Michelle Streckfus at shellestreck@gmail.com.

District 6 delegation sees success with Night in Annapolis, bill passage

(Originally published in The East County Times, Vol. 20, No. 25 [March 26, 2015], pages 5 + 7)
- By Emily Blackner -

The General Assembly delegation from District 6 and 7 welcomed constituents to Annapolis on Monday night, March 23, for the District Night in Annapolis.

This free event was designed to give residents of the district the opportunity to meet their elected officials where they do their work and to observe a General Assembly session. From 6 - 8 p.m., a reception was set up in the Thomas V. Mike Miller Senate Office Building’s President’s Conference Center for visitors to eat food and meet fellow District residents. The elected officials milled about the room speaking to the voters, who came out in large numbers; the room was standing-room only for portions of the night with over 175 constituents in attendance. There were also slideshows featuring facts about the delegates and senators, the General Assembly in general and the legislation introduced this session.

The evening was hosted by the entire District 6 and 7 Delegation, but Sen. Johnny Ray Salling (R-6) spearheaded the effort. “On behalf of myself and Delegates Metzgar, Long and Grammer, we want to thank each and every one of our constituents who joined us for District 6 Night in Annapolis,” Salling stated. “It was a great success and we hope to continue hosting events like this for the hard-working residents of the sixth district for years to come.”

The delegation also welcomed Lieutenant Governor Boyd Rutherford as its special guest for the evening.

“It’s good to be here- well, it’s good to be anywhere, but I was pleased to accept this invitation from these fine representatives,” Rutherford said.

Other notable attendees were 7th District County Councilman Todd Crandell and Al Mendelsohn, chair of the Baltimore County Republican Central Committee.

Senators Salling and J.B. Jennings (R-7) attended for most of the night; however, the House of Delegates was called into session earlier than originally planned, so Dels. Ric Metzgar (R-6), Bob Long (R-6), Robin Grammer (R-6), Kathy Szeliga (R-7), Pat McDonough (R-7) and Rick Impallaria (R-7) had to leave early to attend.

“The House is going in a little early, and that always makes me a little nervous thinking of what they will get up to,” joked Rutherford.

That evening’s session addressed several topics, including a discussion of fracking in Maryland as well as a second reading vote on HB 644, the Welcome Home, Stay Home Act, which was introduced by Del. Metzgar. The bill authorizes county, municipal and city governments to grant a tax credit for senior citizens age 65 years and older who have lived in their homes for 40 years and for all retired members of the armed forces aged 65 or older. The credit would last for up to five years and equal as much as 20 percent of the total property tax assessed. Monday’s vote cleared the way for a third and final reading, which took place on Tuesday morning and resulted in the measure’s passage by a vote of 138 - 0.

“It passed unanimously; not a single red dot was on that board,” Metzgar said. “The word that comes to mind is ‘awesome.’ It was something that I ran on; I’m a strong advocate for veterans and an even stronger advocate for seniors.”

The bill’s initial title is the Welcome Home, Stay Home Act because when first introduced in February, it also included people who had previously resided in Maryland, left the state and then returned in its list of individuals who would be eligible for the tax credit. That version made it out of the Ways and Means Committee with only three “nay” votes, but the general House membership expressed concerns and the language about returning residents was removed from the bill after its first reading.

“They struck a couple of things, but it’s still a workable bill. The important thing to know is you got a bill through by a freshman delegate,” Metzgar said. He also noted that the individual counties and municipalities can decide how - or perhaps whether- to grant the credit.

The bill will now be introduced in the Senate and follow the same process.

“They seem to be moving pretty fast,” Metzgar said of his colleagues in the other chamber. “Now I’d want to urge people to call their senators and ask them to support House Bill 644.”

County Council votes to reduce “rain tax;” amendment for repeal fails

(Originally published in the East County Times, Vol. 20, No. 22 [March 5, 2015], page 1 + 6)
- Article & photo by Emily Blackner -

At its March 2 meeting in Towson, the Baltimore County Council voted to reduce the amount charged for the stormwater remediation fee, commonly referred to as the “rain tax.”

The Council unanimously passed bill 9-15, which will lower the fee collected in each category by about a third, from $39 to $26 for single-family homes and mobile homes, from $21 to $14 for attached homes and from $32 to $22 for condominiums. For businesses and nonprofits, the rates will fall from $69 to $46 and $20 to $14, respectively, for each 2,000 square feet of impervious surface on the property.

Although the Council’s vote was unanimous, the meeting was not without discord. Councilman Todd Crandell (R-7) introduced two amendments to the bill, one of which would have reduced the fee down to one cent

“This amendment effectively zeroes out the stormwater remediation fee,” Crandell described. “This fee, in my opinion, unfairly targets Baltimore County employers. We pay a lot of lip service to business-friendliness, and this is an opportunity to put our votes where our mouths are.”

Speaking in support of the measure, Councilman Wade Kach noted that the county is running a surplus in its rainy day and emergency funds which could be used to pay for the stormwater remediation projects currently funded by this fee.

Councilman Tom Quirk argued that these funds are already earmarked to fund school construction and upgrades in future fiscal years, and that those projects are at risk if the fee is lowered any more than the one-third proposed.

Councilman David Marks (R-5) acknowledged that he voted against the initial bill imposing a fee, but said he had concerns about the amendment. “One of them has to do with the mechanics of lawmaking,” he explained. “If we pass this and the County Executive vetoes it, and there aren’t the five votes to override, we’re stuck with the current rates.”

Council Chair Cathy Bevins (D-6) agreed, stating that she had confirmed with the administration that the amended bill would be vetoed. “I am not going to risk the reduction,” she declared. “I think the constituents want real relief. All or nothing is not good governing and real relief is better than a failed repeal.”

Crandell responded, “I disagree with the contention that we will somehow miss out on the one-third reduction, because there is still time to introduce a new bill. We could put in another bill on our own.” 9-15 was submitted by Bevins at the request of County Executive Kevin Kamenetz.

In the end, the Council agreed with Bevins’s view and the amendment failed 2 - 5. Crandell and Kach were the two “aye” votes.

A second amendment introduced by Crandell stated that should the General Assembly change the state law mandating that the county initiate a fee, the County Council would review this issue again. That amendment passed unanimously.

Before voting to approve the reduction, the Council heard from Vince Gardina, director of the Department of Environmental Protection and Sustainability, who testified before the Council that the one-third reduction would still provide enough money to fund the county’s stormwater remediation projects. Gardina had previously spoken with the Council during the Feb. 24 work session when Bill 9-15 was first discussed. There, he explained that, as the stormwater remediation program underwent a review, the expert panel was able to pinpoint approximately $8 million in savings from the initial $34.4 million cost estimate. This gave the county the opportunity to propose the reductions.

“We absolutely can meet TMDL goals [even with these reductions],” Gardina assured. “This would not mean cuts in implementation of the projects to reduce the pollutant load.”

However, he did note that under the new rate, the projected revenue would be $16.4 million, which is close to the $16.3 million projected cost of the projects the county will undertake. “So any lower and we have to take from the general fund or somewhere else,” Gardina asserted.

“This is not a political issue,” Gardina declared at Monday’s meeting. “You have to realize that no matter who’s in charge at the state level or who’s in charge at the federal level, this is an order by the federal courts on a law that’s been on the books since the 1970s. We don’t have an option.”

The stormwater remediation fee was imposed after a federal court case brought against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation over its lack of enforcement of the Clean Water Ac of 1972. The case was settled when the EPA agreed to enforce the total maximum daily load (TMDL) restrictions on pollutants heading into the Bay. The projects funded by the fee are designed to reduce the amount of the pollutants nitrogren, phosphorous and suspended sediment through restricting the runoff of polluted water.

Gardina had told the Council that the other counties that do not have a fee or who have a very minimal one are out of compliance with the EPA regulations and could face fines of up to $10,000 a day and a denial of the MS4 permits used for new construction.

“I spoke with the EPA director for Region 3, and he said that they are giving some flexibility up front to allow the programs to get ramped up, but I think they are limited in that flexibility,” Gardina said. The county attorney confirmed on Monday that defiance could lead to litigation.

In the end, it was this view, as well as the unanimous desire of the Council to maintain a healthy Chesapeake Bay, that won the day and led to the defeat of Crandell’s repeal amendment.

“The other counties seem to be thumbing thier noses at the state,” Councilman Quirk said. “But I think Baltimore County should be commended for following the rules. And I am willing to pay my fair share for a clean Chesapeake Bay.”

House of Delegates members offer legislative update

(Originally published in the East County Times, Vol. 20, No. 22 [March 5, 2015], pages 2 + 5)
- by Emily Blackner -

With the 2015 legislative session just over a third completed, the East County Times reached out to several local Delegates to find out what they have been able to achieve so far.

District 6

With all three of its delegates freshman, and all three Republicans for the first time in memory, the District 6 contingent had to “hit the ground running,” according to Del. Ric Metzgar.

He is the primary sponsor of three bills and co-sponsor of dozens of others. Among them is a proposal for a toll plan for the Francis Scott Key Bridge, calling for commuters to be able to pay a flat $20 for a two-axle vehicle to make unlimited trips over the bridge.

“It’s exactly the same toll plan as they have at the Hatem Bridge in Harford and Cecil counties,” he explained. “I feel our residents deserve the same benefits. We want to save them money however we can.”

Metzgar is also the driving force behind the Welcome Home, Stay at Home Act, HB0644. The bill calls for a property tax credit of 20 percent to be granted by counties, cities and other municipalities to seniors over 65 who have lived in their home for 40 years, retired military personnel and people who lived in Maryland within the last ten years, then left the state and have now returned.

“We want to bring people back home where they belong and have them spend their money here,” Metzgar declared.

The credit would be granted for five years as the legislation is currently written, but Metzgar hopes that the committee will amend the proposal to extend that time frame. The process began on Feb. 25 when the bill had its first reading.

Metzgar noted that he had bipartisan support for all of the bills he submitted. He also said he feels there is bipartisan support and momentum for a repeal of the stormwater management fee, known as the “rain tax,” which was a campaign promise for many of the Republicans elected last November.

Robin Grammer, Metzgar’s colleague, is also advocating for a “rain tax” repeal. His other main focus this session is on gun rights; specifically, he has a bill in that would repeal parts of SB231 of 2013, Gov. O’Malley’s gun control bill.

“That bill basically criminalized the ownership and sale of certain firearms in this state,” Grammer explained. “It’s a big issue we ran on; I am very much in favor of gun rights and a lot of people here are, too.”

The bill has been titled the Firearm Decriminalization Act of 2015.

Grammer is also the primary sponsor of the Junior Advancement via Association Act, which is a complicated name for a relatively simple problem: the closure of the student-run coffee shop at Patapsco High School last year. Grammer explained that federal laws prohibited the sale of caffeinated beverages but that the coffee house was a valuable way for the students, many of them with special needs, to gain work and social skills. The bill would apply to any similar program at any Maryland school, not just Patapsco.

“It’s like a one sentence bill, but just that required about 10 to 15 manhours,” he revealed. “We had to consult with the Attorney General’s office and just do a lot of legwork. There’s a lot of work that goes on in the background that people don’t see.”

In spite of the demanding nature of the job, Grammer is enjoying it and looking forward to casting votes as that process ramps up.

“This year will be primarily consumed by budget, taxes and jobs,” he explained. “We’ve gotta be realistic about what we’re gonna be able to do down here, so we wanted to keep it relatively simple for the first year.”

District 8

As one of only a few veteran legislators to make it through the election, and the only remaining Democrat from eastern Baltimore County on the House side, Eric Bromwell is finding the biggest adjustments to be working with other members of his own party.

“It hasn’t really changed anything about the way I work,” he explained. “District 8 has always been a split district. But the biggest challenge, unfortunately, is that a lot of the Democrats who lost are from moderate areas, like me. So I went from having a group of people to count on to stick up for a more moderate approach to taxes and fees to losing some of that with the more tax-and-spend people here.”

He is instead working to build coalitions with Republicans in the chamber, mindful of some of the Republicans who served as mentors to him when he was just starting out in Annapolis. “I am very supportive of all my colleagues and try to be helpful to them. It helps get work done, but I also think it’s important that people have someone to go to to help slow it down a bit when things get hectic.”

On the policy side, Bromwell has sponsored 12 bills and co-sponsored many others. A few of these bills attempt to address the growing heroin epidemic in the state, calling for a Opioid Use Disorder Consortium and an overdose response program.

There is also HB0898, which is a follow-up to legislation passed last year to allow first responders to carry naloxene, a medication that can reverse a heroin or other opioid overdose.

“That bill, which I put in with the help of the state police, would give [additional] legal protection to police officers carrying the naloxene. The police didn’t feel the protection was enough,” he said.

Bromwell is also the primary sponsor on a measure to allow slots at BWI airport. He has introduced this measure before, he said, but it fell short of passage.

“I don’t know if the new administration will be opposed,” Bromwell said. “The new governor might recognize that he has a new form of revenue in front of him.”

The slots would be located inside the terminal itself, “so you couldn’t drive to the airport just to play them,” Bromwell noted. “It’s designed to capture money from people flying into and out of Baltimore.” The funds would be used to replenish the Transportation Trust Fund.

Maryland law means that even if the bill passes both chambers, it would still go before the voters as a referendum. Bromwell said he has this session and the next to get it passed in time for the 2016 ballot. “I’m very, very confident that the voters would uphold this,” he declared.

While Bromwell has focused on heroin crisis, fellow District 8 delegate Christian Miele has been studying another issue in the news: redistricting reform. He has submitted a bill to address the flaws in Maryland’s current system, which results in highly gerrymandered districts.

“I call it a good government plan because I don’t think there should be partisanship or gamesmanship involved in popular representation,” he asserted.

Miele’s plan would call for districts to be drawn starting from the lower eastern shore and to be as compact and concise as possible, using natural boundaries like major roads, rivers and municipal lines to help form the district boundaries. It would also call for only two-member districts, because the current system means that citizens in three-member districts are, on paper at least, receiving closer representation because each member represents fewer citizens. The districts would be drawn by a committee featuring Democrats and Republicans from the House and Senate as well as registered voters affiliated with each party and those unaffiliated.

“We have a great opportunity in Maryland to be the national leader in showing that any partisan drawing of district lines is antithetical to democracy,” Miele declared.

However, he does not believe that his bill will advance, he admitted. “I think the governor is positioned to issue an executive order to create a commission to study this issue, and I think the legislature will give him the leeway to do that.

“I am hopeful to be appointed to that commission,” he added. “I’ve made it known around here that I would love to serve to at least bring all of my research to the table.”

Miele is also the primary sponsor of the Animal Shelter Standards Act of 2015, which is adapted from the CAPA ( Companion Animal Protection Act) model legislation specifically to meet Maryland’s needs.

“This is probably one I’m most proud of,” he admitted. “A lot of taxpayers assume that county shelters are more rescue-oriented, but that’s not the case.” Instead, county shelters, including Baltimore County’s, have very high euthanasia rates.

“This was an issue I began hearing about on the campaign trail when I was door-knocking,” he explained. “And then I found out it’s not just a Baltimore County issue, that concerns were raised in other jurisdictions as well. People want the shelters to do more to avoid euthanizing.”

The Animal Shelter Standards Act will receive its first hearing on March 4.

Crandell, Bevins prepare for council work session on ‘rain tax’ reduction proposal

(Originally published in the East County Times, Vol. 20, No. 21 [Feb. 26, 2015], pages 2 + 5)
- by Emily Blackner -

The Baltimore County Council devoted part of its Feb. 24 work session to a proposal, submitted by Council Chair Cathy Bevins (D-6) at the recommendation of County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, to amend the 2013 stormwater remediation fee schedule. The proposal calls for a reduction of about one-third in all fees imposed, but Councilman Todd Crandell (R-7) does not think this goes far enough.

“The one-third cut proposed is two-thirds short,” he declared.

His push for a full repeal of the fee, commonly referred to as the “rain tax,” included a statement and an amendment proposed at the work session. (Because the work session took place after this issue went to press, the East County Times’s complete coverage will appear in next week’s paper.)

“The fee as it is currently constructed unfairly targets employers in our district,” Crandell told the East County Times on Monday. “It reduces their ability to hire more people and to grow. We have the largest industrial redevelopment project in the nation going on in our district, and we don’t need anything to hinder that.”

The County Council passed the “rain tax” in 2013 after the Maryland General Assembly directed the ten largest jurisdictions in the state to impose a fee to pay for stormwater remediation projects designed to reduce pollution entering area waterways; specifically, the goal is to meet total maximum daily load (TMDLs) caps for designated pollutants.

As reported in the East County Times on Jan. 22, the proposal before the Council would reduce all of the “rain tax” fees by approximately a third, from $39 to $26 for single-family homes and for businesses, from $69 to $46 per 2,000 square feet of impervious surface. The adjustments came after a review of the stormwater projects the county needs to complete showed that a monetary savings of about $8 million dollars could be achieved by using various measures such as spreading out expensive projects and buying more durable equipment. The administration said it would pass the savings onto the taxpayers through reducing the amount each property owner paid. There is also a provision to assess mobile homes at the same rate as single-family homes, a measure Bevins strongly supports after concerns were raised among her constituents.

“Some of them were paying three times what a single family home[owner] would pay,” she said. Bevins also views the proposal as a way to make sure the county’s citizens save money even if Gov. Larry Hogan’s efforts to repeal the statewide law does not succeed.

“One-third doesn’t make everybody happy, but it is something,” she said. “Little by little we keep making these amendments.”

However, she questioned the feasibility of eliminating the fee entirely, given that the counties are required by federal law to fund these remediation projects.

“What people need to be reminded of is that as unpopular as the fee is with some people, it is a federal mandate,” she stated.

She did point out that counties on the lower Eastern Shore directly touch the Bay and contribute to its pollution load, but were not among the ten jurisdictions affected by the General Assembly law.

“I do wish there would’ve been more direction from the state as to how the counties do it,” she admitted. Crandell argues that the county has a budgetary surplus from its general fund, and that that money could be used to pay for the projects the fee is currently funding.

“The administration has been very fiscally responsible and should be commended for that,” he said. “So now we do have the ability to fund stormwater remediation projects through the general fund instead of as an additional fee.”

Crandell hopes to get some support from other Council members as the amendment process moves forward. Although he preferred to let other Council members speak for themselves, he did note that some of them had previously voted against the fee either in the Council or the General Assembly.

The Council will vote on the proposal and any amendments at its March 2 meeting.

Bevins, Kamenetz announce proposal for ‘rain tax’ reduction

(Originally published in the East County Times, Vol. 20, No.16 [Jan. 22, 2015], pages 2 + 7)
- by Emily Blackner -

On Jan. 16, County Executive Kevin Kamenetz and members of the County Council announced the development of a proposal to lower state-mandated stormwater remediation fees, commonly referred to as the “Rain Tax.”

“I’m just glad it’s finally happening,” said Council Chair Cathy Bevins (D-6). “We’ve been working hard to get some sort of reduction.”

She will introduce this legislation at the County Council’s Legislative Session on Feb. 2. After that, it will be debated at a work session on Feb. 24 and voted on at the March 2 legislative session.

The proposal reduces fees across the board by about a third. The fee for single-family homeowners would be $26 annually, down from $39 dollars, while those living in attached homes will see a drop from $21 to $14. Likewise, condominium fees would be lowered to $22 from the current $32. For businesses, the new rate would be $46 per 2,000 square feet of impervious surface as opposed to the current $69. For non-profits, the fee would be dropped from $20 to $14 per 2,000 square feet.

Another significant change is in the way the fee treats mobile home residents. Under the new proposal, they would be taxed at the same flat rate of $26 as residents of individual homes. Bevins said that this change was of particular importance to her.

“When we looked at different rates [initially], mobile home parks just weren’t thought of. The owners were taxed at the commercial rate and passed those costs onto residents, “ she explained. Residents of communities like Biscayne Bay were paying as much as $89 each, she revealed. “It’s so unfair because the land they sit on, they have no control over that.”

The proposal also calls for the elimination of fees pertaining to commercial swimming pools, which was something Councilman David Marks (R-5) spearheaded as a response to constituent complaints from the owners of local pools. Since the water from pools drains into a treated system, Marks said it seemed “strange” to tax pools.

“I voted against the 2013 stormwater fee legislation because I thought the county could absorb the cost without passing another tax,” he added. “I would prefer for there to be no tax at all, but I welcome any opportunity to provide cuts that provide relief for homeowners and businesses.”

The fee reduction proposal is the result of months of analysis by the County and the implementation of several cost-saving measures. The initial fee rate was set in order to bring in $34.4 million - the County-identified price tag for the various projects it needed to implement during Fiscal Year 2014 to comply with pollution reduction mandates. The fee has generated $24.4 million, which was supplemented with $10 million from the Metropolitan District fund to meet the goal.

However, based on this first year of implementation, the County was able to identify $8.1 million in savings through measures such as purchasing more durable, productive equipment; trying smaller fixes before more expensive ones and deferring big-budget projects for later years; and updating standards. These savings reduced the projected price tag and, therefore, the amount of money needed for Fiscal Year 2015, which begins July 1, and the savings are being passed onto the taxpayers.

Still, Kamenetz acknowledged that this proposal is not a perfect solution. In particular, he pointed to a 2025 compliance date as a major obstacle to further cost reductions. As a result of a mandate from the federal Environmental Protection Agency for Maryland to fully enforce the 1972 Clean Water Act, the state government agreed to comply with specific pollution reduction goals by 2025. It then passed the responsibility for funding the projects needed to meet that goal onto the ten largest jurisdictions in the state, of which Baltimore County is one. Kamenetz has spoken with incoming Governor Larry Hogan about this deadline and the way it forces the local jurisdictions to cram many, often expensive projects into a short time frame.

“I urge the incoming governor to negotiate an extension of the 2025 compliance date with the federal government in order to give local government some breathing room to achieve the required reduction in pollution levels. That would be an important step forward,” Kamenetz said in a statement. “Simply eliminating the mandate that we impose a fee does not solve the problem of the local counties who have been saddled with the clean-up responsibility as a result of the state’s entry of the federal consent decree.”

Kamenetz was alluding to the efforts of many in the state to repeal the “rain tax” bill altogether, arguing that a repeal of the state’s mandate does nothing about the federal one.

Del. Pat McDonough (R-7) has been spearheading a “Stop the Rain Tax” campaign from the beginning, and he believes his efforts have contributed to this reduction proposal. But he wants to see even more done.

“We eliminated the fee entirely in Harford County, which I also represent,” he noted. “So we are still going to work this summer to reduce the entire amount and have the [county] executive roll it into the budget. He’s already demonstrated with this latest reduction that we have the legal right to do that.”

McDonough also said that he introduced repeal bills at the state level last session, which did not pass, and will do so again this session. He also pointed out that Gov. Hogan plans to repeal the law.

Councilman Todd Crandell (R-7) also believes the proposal does not go far enough, claiming that the proposed reduction is too small to significantly benefit the families and businesses in his district. He also noted that the across-the-board reduction means that businesses are still burdened more heavily as the overall economy makes operations difficult enough.

“At a time when the largest industrial economic recovery and redevelopment project in the nation is taking place in our district [at the Sparrow’s Point property], we should ensure that it remains unhindered by onerous taxes,” he said in a statement. It also said that he, like McDonough, is exploring other, “more aggressive” ways to approach the fee.

Still, Bevins and Kamenetz are optimistic that the bill will receive much support and co-sponsorship when it is formally introduced next month.

“I’m really happy about it and I think the residents of Baltimore County are going to be thrilled,” Bevins declared.