Comptroller

Comptroller William Donald Schaefer announced yesterday that Maryland is participating in a national online database service that offers visitors a free search for unclaimed funds -- such as from a last paycheck, a utility deposit or an old bank account. The Web site, www.missingmoney.com, includes records of 4.5 million accounts of unclaimed funds worth an estimated $14 billion being held in Maryland and 15 other states. The comptroller's office also has a Web site, www.mary- landtaxes.

When Anne Arundel County Sheriff Ron Bateman first suggested withholding state tax refunds from people who have open warrants nearly three years ago, critics said it was a foolish pursuit. "One of the criticisms I got was, 'How many criminals have jobs where they are going to get a tax refund?'" he recalled. He couldn't say. Now he can. "There were 396," he told the County Council during a recent budget hearing. This past tax season — the first with the program fully in effect — that's the number of letters the state comptroller's office sent, telling people if they wanted their money, they'd have to clear their open Anne Arundel County warrants.

She says they go through the bureau of treasury management.  I don't understand why they would bypass the BOE though.    I'm in the comptroller's office.  They're saying they have no records pertaining to Grant Capital Management because those contracts do not go before the Board of Estimates. Ugh.  

Baltimore's spending panel agreed Wednesday to hire a consultant in an attempt to save money on the city's outdated phone system - even as agencies say they've identified nearly 1,200 unused phone lines that cost the city $670,000 annually. Comptroller Joan M. Pratt, whose office has traditionally overseen city phones, asked for the contract. Pratt and Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake have been in a dispute for months over how best to update the phone system. Without discussion, the Board of Estimates unanimously approved the contract with HPA Consulting Group of Rochester, N.Y., which has previously said the city phone system is wasting as much as $1 million annually.

Democrat Louis L. Goldstein, a Maryland institution, has been comptroller since 1958. This longevity gives the revenue office stability and expertise. Mr. Goldstein runs an efficient shop and has kept a close eye on tax receipts, pension-fund investments and Board of Public Works activity. Republican nominee Larry M. Epstein is a spirited challenger but hasn't found any major chinks in Mr. Goldstein's formidable armor. We endorse Comptroller Goldstein's bid for a ninth term.

The last two comptrollers elected by Baltimoreans provided persuasive ammunition for people who argued the city would be better off without the position. But the office was a good idea in 1857 when Mayor Thomas Swann first created the comptroller's post, and it's a good idea now.The comptroller reviews every contract and lease that comes before the Board of Estimates and chairs city pension boards. That person must guard against questionable spending or investments that might otherwise be based on political favoritism.

With the retirement of Hyman Pressman this year, the Democratic primary for comptroller became one of the city's most hotly contested elections. The winner of that race, Jacqueline McLean, is a businesswoman and two-term City Council member from the 2nd District who is well qualified to perform the independent oversight role which the job demands. We do not hesitate to endorse her over her Republican opponent, Marshall W. Jones Jr., a local funeral director.

It's been a long time since someone who deserved the confidence of the people was elected city comptroller. Hyman Pressman was popular. But before the self-proclaimed "watchdog" ended his 28 years in that post, he was sick and not even going through the motions of fulfilling his responsibilities. Even before Mr. Pressman's health failed, serious questions were raised about his performance.During the 1987 election, challenger Thomas J.S. Waxter Jr. chided Mr. Pressman for not being vigilant enough to prevent the embezzlement of $1.1 million in city funds by John D. Callan, deputy director of the Neighborhood Progress Administration.

Rockville lawyer James B. Moorhead kicked off his campaign for Maryland comptroller yesterday with a broadside attack on Louis L. Goldstein, the nine-term incumbent he will face in the September Democratic primary.Resurrecting old news accounts of Mr. Goldstein's lucrative real estate deals, Mr. Moorhead charged that the comptroller has "used his office to enrich himself, making millions of dollars since he was elected in 1958."Mr. Moorhead, 40, a former federal prosecutor and first-time office-seeker, then called on Mr. Goldstein to place his personal financial holdings in a blind trust to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.

After 28 years of electing Hyman Pressman as comptroller, Baltimore city voters now find themselves having to take a fresh look at an office many of them have taken for granted. Until age and declining health slowed him down, Pressman's antics gave the post of comptroller a colorful flavor. His retirement, however, is a good opportunity to re-examine the office and its important role in city government. And in an otherwise rather lackluster election year, the controller's race is one of the few contests that is actually generating some excitement.

By no means do we consider the imbroglio over the decision to cut the baseball and men's soccer teams to be Towson University President Maravene Loeschke's finest moment. The announcement was not handled well, and there are real questions about the basis for the decision to eliminate the teams. But Comptroller Peter Franchot's call for her to resign over the matter is simply absurd. Mr. Franchot raised the issue of the eliminated teams at a Board of Public Works meeting a month ago, and Gov. Martin O'Malley, who hadn't previously been familiar with the matter, joined him in expressing concern.

Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot called on Towson University President Maravene Loeschke to resign, saying her actions in attempting to cut the baseball and men's soccer teams represented "a lack of leadership that has done great damage to the school's reputation. " Franchot, who originally made the statement Wednesday morning at a Board of Public Works meeting in Annapolis, reiterated his feelings in a phone interview with The Baltimore Sun. Loeschke was scheduled to appear at the meeting but did not. Franchot said she had given a "phony excuse" for why she could not make the trip.

Harford County Del. Mary-Dulany James said Tuesday she received a pledge from the state comptroller he will not to penalize businesses who have become victims of alleged financial fraud by a the Bel Air payroll company Accu-Pay. Accu-Pay is being investigated for collecting payroll taxes but allegedly not directing those taxes to the state and federal governments, according to prior news reports by The Aegis and The Baltimore Sun . After hearing from a large number of her constituents concerned that back taxes unpaid by the payroll company would be pursued for collection by the State of Maryland, James said in a news release she has been working with numerous state officials, including Comptroller Peter Franchot, to potential victims are protected from further financial burden.

Lisa Schlossnagle is accustomed to giving her time to Fulton Elementary School. As a parent and volunteer, she spends time aiding teachers in her daughters' classrooms, representing the school as its PTA delegate, and attending countywide meetings report on issues facing the school system. She has taken roles at the classroom level, including as a tutor for the A-OK (Assist Our Kids) program, and at the systemwide level as a representative on the committee that worked on redistricting proposals last year.

The state Board of Public Works publicly scolded the Towson University president Wednesday for her handling of a decision to cut the college's baseball and men's soccer teams and delayed approval of a contract the university requested to build a campus in Harford County. Two members of the board - Gov. Martin O'Malley and Comptroller Peter Franchot - voted to postpone action on a small contract for pre-construction services related to the $25 million satellite campus until Towson's president, Maravene Loeschke, appears at their next meeting in two weeks.

Cory McCray, whose children, ages 3 and 5, are too young to attend middle school, still spends many hours in the halls and classrooms of Northeast Middle School in Baltimore, where he volunteers. Recently, he helped the school start a student government and, before the elections, visited each classroom to give students advice on how to campaign. Among his suggestions to candidates was creating a brand identity by choosing one or two colors to dominate their campaign materials. On Jan. 28, McCray was recognized for his volunteering efforts at the middle school and elsewhere with the Golden Apple Award from Comptroller Peter Franchot.

From time to time, voters decide that the best cure for government's ills is to throw the rascals out. Many politicians have weathered episodes of anti-incumbency, but few have been as successful at rising above it all as Maryland's Comptroller of the Treasury, Louis L. Goldstein. After nine terms -- 36 years -- in the office, Mr. Goldstein is now asking Democratic voters to nominate him for one more term. They should.Mr. Goldstein is 81, and some suggest his legendary energy is lagging a bit. But there is no evidence that he does not remain in firm control of his office, or that his vigilance in his various duties has slipped.

Personal representatives of estates watch out! The Maryland comptroller is warning that a business calling itself IRFS in Annapolis is claiming to be collecting debts on behalf of the state. The business is sending out notices to personal representatives, saying the estate is delinquent on taxes. The comptroller said the business asks for unpaid taxes and interest, plus it sends a payment coupon for the alleged tax liability. Not only that, the notice tells representatives to take out a loan to pay off the debt or otherwise face a lien on the bank account or a garnishment of wages.

Robert Shipley Auerbach, one of the founding members of the Maryland Green Party and the party's three-time nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives, died Dec. 12 from injuries suffered in a hit-and-run accident that evening in Greenbelt. He was 92. Born in New York City in 1919, Mr. Auerbach became involved in politics, particularly election reform, in the 1930s. He was active in such groups as the Congress of Racial Equality and the War Resisters League. Mr. Auerbach moved to Greenbelt, where he ran for City Council, more than 50 years ago. A founder of the Green Party's Maryland affiliate, he was nominated for the state's 5th District seat, for the third time, this year.