TANEYTOWN - When they head to Annapolis next month, Carroll's legislative delegation will confront a ballooning Maryland budget deficit, a possible round of state layoffs and the more-than-likely resurrection of last year's abortion battle.
But while they and the rest of the General Assembly get set to begin the 1991 session, leaders of the county's cities and towns want to make sure their needs aren't lost in the flurry of legislation.
To do that, the Carroll chapter of the Maryland Municipal League last week brought the six-member delegation -- as well as the County Commissioners and nearly every local official in Carroll -- to the American Legion Hall here and served up turkey, fried oysters and top legislative priorities.
The MML wants the General Assembly to make finding, charging and fining people who break municipal laws easier and more effective. It also is calling for a technical revision to the state's zoning code that would give towns and cities more flexibility in determining zoning variances.
"These issues may not be the most important issues to everyone, but we think they are important to the municipalities," said Lloyd R. Helt Jr., mayor of Sykesville and a member of the league's legislative committee.
In addition to the two bills it wants passed, the league plans to seek more financial and educational assistance toward mandatory recycling programs. Those state-mandated programs -- which all Maryland municipalities must have in place by 1994 -- so far have received little state money or technical support.
"These issues are important to all of us," said James L. McCarron, Carroll chapter president and a Taneytown councilman.
For the MML, the annual haranguing, cajoling and convincing of state legislators often results in making the lives of elected local municipal officials a little easier. And often it can lead to bringing a little more power -- and money -- to the municipalities.
"As it always happens, the issues we discuss involve either money or power," Helt said. "This year, because of the fiscal integrity of the state being in question, we are going for power."
Municipal infractions and zoning regulations don't have the urgency of state budget cuts or worker layoffs. And they don't evoke visceral responses as do the issues of abortion or taxation. But they are issues, insist some members of Carroll's delegation, that should be discussed.
