Association Of Counties

SLOT SUPPORT The Maryland Association of Counties offered qualified backing for legalization of slot machine gambling so long as such a program is responsibly crafted. pg 5b

Harford County recently announced it received two Achievement Awards from the National Association of Counties for initiatives undertaken in the past year. One program honored was the "Innovation in Harford County" online idea forum, which was fully launched in July 2010. The first of its kind in Maryland, the innovation site allows users to self-register and submit ideas to the community for review, comment and voting. The project was initiated at the request of Harford County Executive David Craig in keeping with his commitment to transparency and efficiency in government.

Anne Arundel County government won 17 achievement awards from the National Association of Counties' 1990 competition.The awards, which recognize progress, innovation and effectiveness in the delivery of county services to citizens, were given to all 17 entries made by the county. The winning programs range from internal, administrative improvements to very visible community projects, such as the county's new consolidated Permit Application Center on Riva Road.Governments are permitted to enter only one project per department or agency, and winning programs are exhibited as national models by the National Association of Counties, for use by other counties as resources.

Mayors and county executives gave Gov. Martin O'Malley a standing ovation this week when he told them he did not plan to shore up state finances by passing millions of dollars in teacher retirement expenses on to local governments. But on Friday, the local leaders got a reality check: There's still plenty of pain headed their way. As state lawmakers prepare for the 2011 legislative session, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller and House Speaker Michael E. Busch are warning that it will likely be impossible to balance the state's $13 billion operating budget without squeezing local aid. "Let's all work together to solve the problem," Busch told local leaders Friday at the winter conference of the Maryland Association of Counties.

Howard County Councilman C. Vernon Gray, a Democrat from East Columbia, has received one of seven Distinguished Black Marylanders awards given this year by Towson State University.Mr. Gray has served on the council since 1982, when he became the first African-American council member elected in the county. He has served as president of the Maryland Association of Counties and is on the board of the National Association of Counties.A political science professor at Morgan State University, he is a past president of the National Conference of Black Political Scientists.

County Councilman C. Vernon Gray has been named chairman of the National Association of Counties Taxation and Finance Steering Committee.NACo represents county governments, making recommendations on county policy and presenting local governments on national issues.Mr. Gray said his new post will require him to give testimony before Congress on positions taken by the association.

An article and caption in the Howard County edition of The Sun yesterday improperly characterized Howard County Councilman C. Vernon Gray's view of his effort to raise money to pay for his recent unsuccessful bid for a leading office in the National Association of Counties. Gray has said the funds he sought were contributions to a campaign for a nonpublic office and thus were not regulated by state campaign-finance laws.Pub Date: 8/23/96

Commissioner named to national farm committeeCounty Commissioner Donald I. Dell, a retired farmer, has been named to the agriculture and rural affairs steering committee of the National Association of Counties (NACo).The committee focuses on matters pertaining to farm legislation affecting the economy of agricultural counties; trade legislation as it affects agriculture; rural development programs and agricultural land preservation.NACo is the only national organization representing county governments in the United States.

More than 5,000 county officials from around the country are convening in Baltimore today to begin five days of meetings, parties and politics as the local governments wrestle with new duties left behind by a retreating federal bureaucracy.The National Association of Counties (NACo), representing nearly 2,000 of the nation's more than 3,000 counties, is primarily a lobbying group, taking positions on everything from land-use to utility deregulation to crime control.But a top issue at this year's annual conference -- running today through Tuesday at the newly expanded Baltimore Convention Center -- will be welfare reform.

County Executive Charles I. Ecker has appointed Raquel Sanudo as thecounty's chief administrative officer and Joanne T. Nelson as personnel administrator.Sanudo, the current executive director of the Maryland Association of Counties, will manage internal operations of county government beginning July 1.She will serve as a key adviser in policy and budgetary matters, and have direct oversight over information services, central services, purchasing, personnel, budget and management services.

An apologetic Jon S. Cardin insisted on Thursday that his political career would not be hampered by the uproar over his engagement stunt, but political observers said the state lawmaker's nascent bid for the more prominent position of Baltimore County executive has likely been derailed. Veteran watchers of county affairs said it is unrealistic for Cardin to pursue the executive's office because the Aug. 7 proposal, involving on-duty Baltimore police marine and helicopter units, casts doubt on his judgment.

You know the state's fiscal situation is serious when officials start talking about cutting back on MACO. The Maryland Association of Counties summer conference in Ocean City, known by its acronym, looms large in the state's political calendar. Every year, thousands of bureaucrats and elected officials from state and local governments converge on Maryland's beachside resort for three days of panel discussions, speeches and seminars - not to mention a golf tournament, crab feast, political fundraisers, swanky and not-so-swanky receptions, and the occasional bit of beach time.

Leave land choices to local officials The editorial "The case against sprawl" (Sept. 30) alludes to a need for increased state involvement in local land-use decision-making and suggests that counties will object to the loss of power that this change implies. But the issue here is not about a loss of power but about sensible policy. It is county elected officials who are most accessible to citizens and most knowledgeable about land conditions in their communities. Vesting increased land-use authority in unelected state officials in distant offices denies citizens the accountability they deserve and demand.

On a recent summer afternoon, a camera crew slowly trekked up Westminster's Main Street. The team stopped near the old post office, slipped down to the city's gray-stone-front Armory and stood on the sidewalk, capturing footage of local establishments, before ending at McDaniel College. "I didn't do my makeup," one van passenger shouted to cameraman Kevin Carmack as he filmed street traffic. "That's OK," he said, smiling. "We're not filming you." Instead, it was the city's landmarks that consumed the crew's attention, sights to be featured in a YouTube video aimed at teaching about Carroll County, maybe drawing some visitors.

Pia Jordan wore a red suit and a pleasant smile as she directed a small crew from Howard County's in-house cable TV studio. But Jordan, an 18-year studio veteran, is suddenly looking for a new job. She and five other full-time staffers learned last week that they will be laid off by July. "I don't think it has hit me yet," said Jordan, who was on assignment yesterday at county election headquarters. She described herself as being "in mourning." Jordan is among the recent casualties of local governments, which have been bracing against the slumping real-estate market, wilting state aid and shrinking revenue from income taxes by imposing hiring freezes and other personnel cuts.

CAMBRIDGE -- Gov. Martin O'Malley played down the prospect of more major slashes in "big-ticket" public programs, saying last night that the next round of spending cuts required to balance the state budget will probably come from finding "efficiencies" in an array of government operations. "I think we're going to be sore-pressed to find one or two cuts that add up to $200 million," said O'Malley, a Democrat, after speaking to local elected officials and government workers at the Maryland Association of Counties winter conference.

After misfiring on his first candidate for county administrator, Howard County Executive Charles I. Ecker plans to name Raquel Sanudo, executive director of the Maryland Association of Counties, to the $75,000-a-year post.Mr. Ecker generated considerable controversy with his first choice, homebuilder John Mardall. Community leaders questioned the wisdom of hiring a developer with no experience in government.Mr. Mardall quickly withdrew from consideration, saying that his homebuilding firm had two pending agreements with the county that could be regarded as a conflict of interest.

County Executive James M. Harkins was named president of the Maryland Association of Counties at its winter conference last week. Harkins, in his second term as Harford executive, was sworn in Thursday evening and will serve a one-year term as head of the organization. He was first vice president this past year. "It's certainly a challenging time to be president," Harkins said, noting that with the state's continued financial woes, counties have been told to expect more cuts in funding in the next fiscal year.

Hoping to dodge major revenue losses, local government officials across Maryland struggled this week to keep track of the fast-changing General Assembly special session called to address the state's budget deficit. Although the full impact might not be clear until the regular, 90-day session votes next year on Gov. Martin O'Malley's budget for the 2009 fiscal year, some local officials are worried about potentially significant reductions in school funding, local income-tax revenues and money for road repairs.

SLOT SUPPORT The Maryland Association of Counties offered qualified backing for legalization of slot machine gambling so long as such a program is responsibly crafted. pg 5b