Council Bill

Howard County's older homeowners will learn tonight how much of a property tax break they will get come July. The County Council is scheduled to vote on a bill to change the tax cut approved by the previous council just days before the November election. A series of amendments that appeared to move opposing views closer together were submitted Monday by council Chairman Calvin Ball, an east Columbia Democrat, and Greg Fox, a western county Republican. The law, approved Oct. 31, calls for a 25 percent property tax cut on July's bills for homeowners 70 and older with annual incomes less than $75,000.

In another step toward the buyout of 94 properties in the Wagner's Point section of Baltimore, the city's Planning Commission has endorsed a City Council bill that would allow the purchase as part of an effort to expand a sewage plant.The commission's endorsement Thursday night was one of several hurdles the measure must clear. The City Council bill must be reviewed and approved by the council and Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke, who introduced the bill two weeks ago.Schmoke wants the city to buy the properties in Wagner's Point by negotiated settlement or by eminent domain, in which the city would take the properties after compensating the owners.

Time right to discuss slimmer City Council for smaller 0) BaltimoreI wholeheartedly support your editorial "Needed: a smaller City Council" (Oct. 11) calling for a serious look into whether the Baltimore City Council should be smaller in size.I co-sponsored City Council Bill No. 171, which would reduce the council to seven members -- one from each district and thepresident.At a time when the population of Baltimore is shrinking, and forecasters see no sign of a major turnaround, the City Council attempted to cut the administrative budgets of several city departments.

Dozens of residents and elected officials bitterly criticized the operators of Baltimore's Hawkins Point medical waste incinerator last night for their plans to receive waste from anywhere in the country and, in the process, nearly double the amount of refuse they burn.A City Council bill introduced last month would allow the incinerator, for the first time, to receive medical waste from outside Maryland.The bill is sponsored by all three council members from the 6th District -- Melvin Stukes, Dr. Norman A. Handy Sr. and Edward L. Reisinger -- where the incinerator is situated.

The protesters wore suits and ties.Yes, they were Republicans, largely unaccustomed to such outdoor displays of political dissent. But they rallied outside City Hall yesterday afternoon to demonstrate against Council Bill 1306, which would raise the salaries of the all-Democratic City Council and Democratic mayor.Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke's salary would increase from from $60,000 a year to $95,000 under the legislation. However, the small group of protesters, armed with props, was more concerned with the 28 percent raise for the council members, to $37,000 a year from $29,000.

Pawnshops may have a tougher time opening shop in Baltimore neighborhoods because of a proposed City Council bill that aims to restrict their growth and also please some communities that view the shops as a nuisance and crime magnet.Second District Councilman Anthony J. Ambridge and 3rd District Councilman Martin O'Malley introduced in last evening's City Council meeting a bill that would require the council to approve the placement of pawnshops first. Pawnshops can pop up in any area that is zoned for business use."

The mayor and the 19-member Baltimore City Council could be in line for a hefty pay raise, the first since 1987 and one aimed at keeping city elected officials on a pace with surrounding counties.A bill was introduced last night in the City Council, detailing pay increases for all elected officials, including the comptroller. Salaries would jump by 33 percent for the mayor and by 29 percent for the council members and comptroller, beginning in December.The bill asks that the mayor's salary be raised by $20,000, giving him $80,000.

The authors of Question B -- the sweeping zoning procedure changes approved by Howard County voters last fall -- intend to sue the county if the council goes forward tonight with its interpretation of the new charter amendment.Accusing the council of "illegally subverting the voters' decision," Question B supporters charge that tonight's council bill violates both the wording and the spirit of the newly passed amendment in how broadly it can be applied.But county attorneys and council members say the text of the charter amendment is ambiguous, and they fear that carrying it out exactly as its authors want would violate the rights of individual property owners to due process.

Though Councilwoman Theresa M. Pierno's proposal to open up the development approval process to more citizen input failed to pass the County Council last month, its supporters haven't given up.Two more bills designed to publicize zoning information and involve citizens in reviewing development plans are before the council and will be discussed in public hearings Tuesday night."

Harford's economic development director didn't violate financial disclosure laws last summer by failing to list $207,000 in lien judgments against him on a financial statement.But such disclosures wouldbe required in the future, if a new ethics law proposed by the County Council president, Jeffrey D. Wilson, is adopted.Wilson circulated a draft bill among county officials for their comment last week, but has not formally introduced the legislation to the council for consideration.Wilson's proposal also would changethe definition of family listed in the ethics law, said James Vannoy, legislative aide to the council.

A City Council bill that seeks to slow foreclosures in Baltimore violates the state and federal constitutions, according to an opinion issued yesterday by the city's law department. The legislation, introduced by Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke and Councilman Bill Henry, would extend the time between foreclosure and eviction from 14 days to 365 days. The lawmakers believe that the bill would provide a strong incentive for lenders to negotiate with owners rather than foreclose. But the unfavorable legal opinion could halt momentum on the bill because, Mayor Sheila Dixon's spokesman said, it would prevent her from signing it. "Our legal department has found that this legislation is not in accordance with state and federal law," said Scott Peterson, Dixon's spokesman.

Few issues in Howard County are as complicated and contentious as affordable-housing policy and growth-management controls. A new County Council bill appears to renew a clash between the two. The tussle erupted at a council public hearing Monday night, but in some ways it echoed past debates. Until now, local lawmakers have been reluctant to relax growth-management laws to allow county-required affordable housing to be built faster. In July, the council sharply restricted an Ulman administration bill that also sought to bend growth controls to speed redevelopment along U.S. 1 - another county priority that includes developments that incorporate lower-priced housing.

The city's two fire unions plan to oppose a City Council bill filed this week to name a fire station after former department Chief William J. Goodwin Jr. The legislation would rename Engine Company 41 on South Conkling Street after the former chief because he "served the city of Baltimore with distinction and honor for over 30 years," according to the bill sponsored by Councilman Nicholas C. D'Adamo Jr. The station is where Goodwin started his career,...

Howard County's older homeowners will learn tonight how much of a property tax break they will get come July. The County Council is scheduled to vote on a bill to change the tax cut approved by the previous council just days before the November election. A series of amendments that appeared to move opposing views closer together were submitted Monday by council Chairman Calvin Ball, an east Columbia Democrat, and Greg Fox, a western county Republican. The law, approved Oct. 31, calls for a 25 percent property tax cut on July's bills for homeowners 70 and older with annual incomes less than $75,000.

A bill designed to limit property tax cuts granted older Howard County homeowners appears to have majority support on the County Council after a vigorous debate of the issue. Although amendments are likely before the April 4 vote, the idea of aiming the tax cut at seniors with lower incomes and fewer assets, while limiting the county's revenue loss, seems to have backing from at least three of the five council members. The law they want to change gives seniors 70 and older with annual incomes less than $75,000 a 25 percent county property tax cut and freezes their annual bill.

ISSUE: Harford County is in the early stages of its first comprehensive rezoning since 1997. Critics of the previous rezoning say the County Council's deliberation of the issue was disorganized. Developers bombarded the council with last-minute amendments that sometimes pushed the council's discussion past midnight, and critics say it was hard for citizens to keep track of the process. What steps can the council take to ensure that the rezoning process is organized and open to the public?

A group of 15 Howard County landowners and developers whose County Council-approved rezoning is being delayed by a referendum campaign have filed a lawsuit claiming the petitions are illegal. If successful, the suit would nullify the grass-roots campaign that submitted more than 6,000 signatures certified by the county elections board that would put the issue on the November 2006 ballot. The suit was filed this week against the county and state elections boards. Guy Harriman, chairman of Howard's election board, was in New England this week and said yesterday that he had not heard about the suit.

Last week's question: When Howard County gave up the commissioner system of government for home rule with a county executive and council in 1969, the population was fewer than 62,000 people. The county charter required that to petition a County Council bill to referendum no more than 5,000 signatures of registered voters were needed. In 2005, the county's population is about 265,000, but a move to increase the number of names needed for referendum was defeated last year. A group of citizens has collected nearly 5,000 signatures to place on the 2006 ballot a council-approved zoning bill that would regulate how dozens of parcels of land may be used.

Ellicott City residents hoping to overturn a County Council bill that changed zoning on dozens of Howard County properties are moving to quickly organize their petition drive to beat an initial 60-day deadline. Angela Beltram, a former County Council member helping to organize the campaign to bring the bill to referendum in next year's election, said residents are gathering resources to start collecting signatures by late next week. Beltram's group plans to file election board papers by Monday and have an organizational meeting Wednesday night, where Patrick Dornan, organizer of a petition drive two years ago to block an income tax increase, is expected to speak.

A battle is brewing -- yet again -- over the fate of the date of city elections. Voters, don't be confused. November's general election for mayor and City Council (oh, and president, too) are proceeding as scheduled. But don't be surprised to see a referendum on November's ballot asking city voters to return city elections to the odd-numbered-year schedule they voted to abandon in 1999. The City Council is scheduled to take its final vote tonight on a resolution for such a ballot initiative.