Association Of Counties

Howard County government has been recognized with a national award for its support of local arts and cultural organizations. The national, nonprofit Americans for the Arts, with the National Association of Counties, chose Howard County to receive its Award for County Arts Leadership. The award was established to recognize the role county government leaders play in funding, improving and ensuring the accessibility of arts programs. Howard County has consistently ranked as one of the top three in Maryland for per capita spending on operating funds for the arts and for providing a stable source of funding and significant in-kind services for local arts groups, according to the award announcement.

Carroll County's three commissioners will fly to St. Louis today to attend a National Association of Counties conference, where they hope to learn about growth-control measures and agricultural preservation efforts in other areas.Commissioner Donald I. Dell, who has attended several NACo conferences, said he was looking forward to the trip. This year, he will serve on the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee."I'm going out there with the idea that I'm going to learn something," said Dell.

IN C. VERNON GRAY'S Howard County, officials are wrestling with Smart Growth, economic development, the Y2K bug, farm preservation, improving education and fighting crime.As they are in Lake County, Ill.And Johnson County, Kan.And Leon County, Fla., too.Mr. Gray's elevation last week to the presidency of the National Association of Counties is valuable because the problems that counfront Howard County, where he's in his fifth term on the council, aren't unique.Mr. Gray's part-time appointment may presage a trade-group trifecta in Maryland government.

Two top Maryland legislators are proposing a $44 million annual tax break for the state's power companies that would be linked to deregulation of utilities. The state government, counties and rate-payers would share the burden of the tax cut.The legislation, which is expected to be introduced in the General Assembly today, would cost Baltimore City and the nine counties with power plants nearly $15 million a year, according to an analysis prepared by legislative staff members. Anne Arundel and Calvert counties would be hit the hardest.

Howard County's two top elected officials plan to visit several provinces in China near the capital Beijing on their two-week trip to the Far East, sponsored by the National Association of Counties (NACo).C. Vernon Gray, an east Columbia Democrat, County Council chairman and NACo president, invited County Executive James N. Robey, also a Democrat, to accompany other local government officials from across the country on the trip, which is intended to explore business, educational and cultural opportunities.

Carroll County Commissioner Julia Walsh Gouge now holds a national office.She was appointed to the board of directors for the National Association of Counties last Tuesday, at the lobbying group's annual conference in St. Louis. Commissioners Robin Bartlett Frazier and Donald I. Dell also attended the five-day event. They returned to Carroll County Wednesday."It was a surprise and an honor," said Gouge, who was the only elected official from Maryland to be appointed to the board by NACo president C. Vernon Gray.

State Sen. Larry E. Haines, leader of the Carroll delegation, and Baltimore County Executive C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger are expected to meet tomorrow to try to negotiate a truce between the two counties.The latest battle between the neighbors began when Carroll's volunteer fire companies began billing out-of-county patients for emergency medical services Jan. 1. Other jurisdictions, including Frederick County and York County, Pa., have not raised objections.The Baltimore County executive has vowed to push for legislation blocking Carroll from charging Baltimore County residents, calling the fee for services a violation of a 1989 Mutual Aid Agreement.

State support for circuit courts still neededThe Sun's support for a greater state role in the funding and management of Maryland's Circuit Courts reflects an appreciation for the inequities that permeate the present system. These inequalities arise out of the differences in wealth and commitment to the courts among the counties and Baltimore City.Since poorer jurisdictions have been unable to fund the Circuit Courts as fully as the wealthier ones have, the caliber of justice Marylanders receive can depend on where their case was filed.

Western Maryland officials, many of whom believe that Smart Growth has hurt rural counties by directing growth to developed areas, are saying that Smart Growth II legislation being drafted looks even worse to them.David Bliden, executive director of the Maryland Association of Counties, briefed Western Maryland county officials on the proposed legislation, which he said the General Assembly will tackle in 2000."If you don't like Smart Growth, wait until you see Smart Growth II," Bliden told the Western Maryland Commission during its quarterly meeting in Westminster on Friday.

WESTVIEW -- Lawyers for the campaign of Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Eileen M. Rehrmann filed suit yesterday in federal court, after the county declared that a campaign sign at U.S. 40 West and Lincoln Avenue, near the Beltway is illegal.Attorneys Paul Mark Sandler and Raymond Daniel Burke asked for an immediate injunction from the U.S. District Court in Baltimore against enforcement of the county law prohibiting political signs on private property until 30 days before an election.The lawsuit also asks that the county law be declared unconstitutional, acting on behalf of Warren Taylor Jr. of Lochearn, who wants to place a Rehrmann sign in his front yard.

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.

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.

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

Slots debate heats up The O'Malley administration released a report concluding that slot machines are necessary to protect Maryland's racing industry. But officials attending the Maryland Association of Counties meeting last week found an Ocean City business community urging the state not to expand legalized gambling. Home sales drop Homeowners in Maryland sold 21.1 percent fewer homes during the second quarter than they did a year earlier, one of the biggest drops in sales in the nation.

Howard County government has been recognized with a national award for its support of local arts and cultural organizations. The national, nonprofit Americans for the Arts, with the National Association of Counties, chose Howard County to receive its Award for County Arts Leadership. The award was established to recognize the role county government leaders play in funding, improving and ensuring the accessibility of arts programs. Howard County has consistently ranked as one of the top three in Maryland for per capita spending on operating funds for the arts and for providing a stable source of funding and significant in-kind services for local arts groups, according to the award announcement.

County ranks third in IT services County Executive Ken Ulman has announced that Howard County has been ranked third in the nation among counties using information technology creatively to improve service to residents. The ranking is based on the 2007 Digital Counties survey, conducted by the Center for Digital Government, a division of e.Republic Inc., and the National Association of Counties. Counties of similar size, with populations between 250,000 and 499,999, were rated for online service delivery, infrastructure, architecture and governance models.