County Government

County leaders and Baltimore Mayor Stephanie-Rawlings-Blake came together Wednesday in Annapolis to fight the governor's proposal to shift part of the cost of teacher pensions to local governments, saying they would have to cut deeply into essential services to pay for such a change. "This puts a potentially devastating squeeze on local government," said Howard County Executive Ken Ulman, a Democrat. "Find the $239 million somewhere else in the budget. " The local officials pointed to libraries, public safety and education as services that could be hurt if the General Assembly transfers millions of dollars in costs to them.

The State Board of Education was right to reject Anne Arundel County Executive John Leopold's attempt to evade the spirit of a law that prevents local jurisdictions from slacking off in their support for public schools. Protest though he might that he had done nothing wrong, Mr. Leopold's budget for the current fiscal year provided less money to support classroom education than in the year before, and had his effort been allowed to stand, that difference - amounting to about $12 million a year - would have been cemented into perpetuity.

The explanation "But we are running a business" by Lynnie Cook, executive director of the Baltimore County Revenue Authority, in saying why he wants to close and sell a Parkville parking lot shows the attitude messing up this country for the last 40 years ("Sale of Parkville parking lot opposed by local merchants," April 13). Baltimore County is not a business but a government agency whose duty is to provide a service, not make a profit. If the parking lot helps the Parkville merchants stay in business and even expand, it is serving its purpose.

Dear Editor: We were very disturbed to read the article about the proposed 2013 Harford County budget. Harford County Executive David Craig proposed no increases in spending for education, emergency service and, most importantly, public safety. Your newspaper regularly reports on a number of serious crimes that occur in many of the communities of Harford County which tarnish an otherwise wonderful place to live and raise children. Harford County Sheriff L. Jesse Bane held a series of town meetings recently and discussed his department's efforts in dealing with the numerous crimes that have been committed in our county.

Like new homeowners who rush in to remodel, repaint and repaper their new purchase, every new board of commissioners in Carroll feels compelled to reorganize county government.The current board is no exception. It has redrawn the county's organizational chart in the hope of increasing efficiency and lowering costs. Shortly after taking office, the commissioners said they would retain a consulting organization affiliated with the University of Maryland to study Carroll government. Once they discovered the review would cost $10,000, commissioners W. Benjamin Brown and Donald I. Dell took a "stab" -- in Mr. Dell's words -- at reorganizing.

Harford County was governed by county commissioners from the time it was created by the state legislature in 1773 until 1972. In December 1972, enactment of the Harford County Charter gave the county a system of home rule. The charter provided for legislative and executive branches of government. The county executive is the chief executive officer of Harford County and heads the executive branch of the county government. Elected every four years, the county executive is aided by a Cabinet of directors from 23 departments and agencies, including Public Works, Treasury, Planning and Zoning, Community Services, Economic Development and Parks and Recreation.

Let the political jockeying begin.Carroll residents will be voting Nov. 3 not only to choose federal representatives and register opinions on the abortion issue but also to determine the county government's future.Overcoming concerns about an ambitious schedule, the Carroll Charter Board presented a proposed charter to the county commissioners Thursday. The board completed its work in time for the charter to be put on the Nov. 3 ballot, saving the county an estimated $50,000 for a special election.

The Anne Arundel County government has won eight achievement awards from the National Association of Counties in an annual competition recognizing excellence in local government.The county won awards in every category it entered for the fourth consecutive year.The awards will be presented at the NACo convention later this week in Cook County, Illinois.County governments can enter only one project per department or agency."It pleases me to see Anne Arundel County employees honored for their dedication and hard work," County Executive Robert R. Neall said in a written statement.

Politicians are paying more attention to the voice of youth these days, from Barack Obama's groundbreaking presidential campaign to County Council members getting Facebook pages. But young people are poised to take another step in Howard with the inclusion of youth members on the Women's Commission and the Recreation and Parks Board. The council must first pass legislation to allow it, but that seems a foregone conclusion because all five members are sponsoring the bills.

As part of Howard County's Discover County Government Week activities, to be held through Saturday, tours of several facilities -- the landfill, the recycling center, the water reclamation plant and the new Glenwood Community Center -- are being offered to showcase the county's environmental initiatives. The Department of Public Works will hold tours of the recycling center in Elkridge at 1 p.m. tomorrow, Tuesday and Wednesday. Tours of the Alpha Ridge Landfill in Marriottsville will be offered at 3 p.m. Landfill tours are open to all ages, but anyone younger than 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

In a way, the problem with Harford County's ambulance service, which appears to be running in the red these days, according to a recent presentation to the Harford County Council, is emblematic of the problems facing the U.S. health care system. The short version: There's a lot of money involved and a lot of people who aren't directly involved in providing health services have a financial stake in what's going on. The long version is complicated and mind-numbingly detailed, but worth taking the time to understand.

In response to the article "Zoning changes OK'd for swim clubs, Woodbine farm" (March 8), I again note that an exception has been made in the west county for a single individual. The article specifically states that "the legislation is aimed to help Larriland farm. " Infringing on a group's rights and quality of life just to benefit one entity seems to have become common practice (see the Walker case in Woodbine). Evidently, county government has evolved to protect the needs of the one over the needs of the many ("The proposal drew opposition from several farmers")

Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold was smiling and upbeat Saturday after eating at a diner in his hometown, part of a county he has led for more than five years and where he now faces the political and legal fight of his career. Just one day before, Leopold was indicted on corruption charges alleging he used his taxpayer-funded security detail to arrange sexual liaisons and to defeat political adversaries. But he didn't want to discuss the allegations on his way out of the Double T Diner in Pasadena.

Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold appointed veteran county budget officer John R. Hammond as chief administrative officer Wednesday. Hammond will take the position formerly held by Dennis M. Callahan, who died Feb. 8 of a heart attack. Hammond has worked for the county government for 18 years, joining the county's finance office in 1993 and later becoming budget officer. Leopold said he briefly considered other candidates within county government but selected Hammond, whom he called the "obvious and logical choice," because of his experience.

Baltimore County Executive Kevin B. Kamenetz said he is seeking legislation that would combine some school system and county government functions, an effort to save money if teacher pension costs are transferred to counties. Kamenetz is one of the few local leaders not to protest Gov. Martin O'Malley's plan to transfer a portion of the costs of teacher pensions — now entirely paid for by the state — to the counties. The local leaders have said they would need to cut deeply into services to handle the pension costs, which are projected to rise each year.

County leaders and Baltimore Mayor Stephanie-Rawlings-Blake came together Wednesday in Annapolis to fight the governor's proposal to shift part of the cost of teacher pensions to local governments, saying they would have to cut deeply into essential services to pay for such a change. "This puts a potentially devastating squeeze on local government," said Howard County Executive Ken Ulman, a Democrat. "Find the $239 million somewhere else in the budget. " The local officials pointed to libraries, public safety and education as services that could be hurt if the General Assembly transfers millions of dollars in costs to them.

BY HIRING Stephen Brown, son of Carroll Sheriff John H. Brown, as the county's airport manager without advertising the job, the county government creates the distinct impression that its personnel policies are designed to reward insiders. This unfortunate incident only reinforces a notion that Carroll government is run by a good old boys network.There is no dispute that the county needs an airport manager. The position has been vacant since May, after former manager John W. Lucas left after serving for only six months.

Regardless of the outcome of the dispute between the Harford County Council president and the county executive regarding water and sewer rates, it's good to see someone on the county council performing a key legislative function, namely questioning the county executive. In this matter, County Council President Billy Boniface has pulled his support for a billing schedule for water and sewer rates because of what he views as a key sticking point. In this case, it's a provision in the new rate schedule that would charge the owners of homes with sprinkler systems more for water than homes not protected by such fire suppression systems.

It is more than unfortunate that Anne Arundel County Executive John Leopold continues to imply that funding our school system is like throwing money into a bottomless abyss with absolutely no return on investment ("School funding mandate hurts counties," Jan. 19). There are certainly flaws with the state's maintenance of effort law, but the bigger problem in our county is Mr. Leopold's ongoing disparaging comments and his desire to control our school system in a dictatorial fashion.