County Services

Anybody ready for a kinder and gentler county?This used to be a nice place to live. However, since the county is caught up in this recession like everywhere else, things here have been getting nasty.We've got people pointing fingers in all directions.It's Bobo's fault, it's Ecker's fault, the County Council, Bush, Reagan, Schaefer, Jimmy Carter, developers, the Japanese and whoever might be yourfavorite scapegoat.We've seen all sorts of nasty and some unintentionally humorous letters in the local newspapers.

A small, sparsely furnished room tucked away in a library hardly seems like a center of government, but for South Carroll residents, it is a start. The South Carroll Government Center, which officially opens Thursday, will let residents skip a half-hour drive to the County Office Building in Westminster and pay property taxes and water and sewer bills near their homes. They also can apply for building permits, dog tags and raffle licenses. "This is commissioner-originated customer service," said Neil Ridgely, county zoning administrator.

A bill proposed by the Howard County executive would eliminate a two-tiered fire tax system and could garner about $1.8 million in revenue, county officials said. Howard, unlike the rest of Maryland, has two fire tax rates: one for the more densely populated eastern part of the county and another, which costs 2 cents less, for the more rural west. Some western residents say the current system is fair because they benefit less from county services. But County Executive Ken Ulman says the west receives the same fire service as the east and should pay the same rate — as western residents do for other county services, such as school and police.

The Anne Arundel County Department of Aging and Disabilities is seeking volunteers for a focus group to help the agency form a marketing strategy to promote its services. Part of the problem, officials say, is that some people aren't aware of specific county services. "That has been a concern of our department," said Jeffrey Balentine, assistant director of the Department of Aging and Disabilities. "We'll hear about people saying they haven't heard of our services, so we'll try to market our department and make sure they know what we offer."

Most Baltimore County officials predict a 2 percent cap on the increase in property tax revenue would be a disaster. Yet recent polls suggest voters simply refuse to believe that prognosis.Arbitrary spending limits have wreaked havoc wherever they have been tried. Just ask Californians. They voted for Proposition 13 and saw that this economizing measure wore them threadbare.Or ask residents of Prince George's County. They are still recovering from the devastation of TRIM, a dose of bad budgetary medicine.

WITH PRESSURES of growth at home and budget deficits in Annapolis, Harford County can't afford a legislative delegation of ideologues. It's a conservative part of Maryland, but its representatives should resist purely symbolic gestures that do little to address the county's everyday problems. District 34: The Sun endorses incumbent Republican Sen. Nancy Jacobs of Aberdeen, applauding her decision to be, as she says, a bit more "mellow." Her reputation for hard-edged conservatism has so far undermined any hope she may have had about being taken seriously in Senate councils.

Montgomery County Executive Neal Potter has given county workers and school employees a tough choice: forgo scheduled pay hikes or face layoffs. This dilemma could confront government workers throughout the region in the weeks to come. We have reached the pivotal point when speculation about deficits gives way to painful but necessary remedies. This is especially true in Montgomery, where next year's budget gap of $175 million is the largest among Maryland counties.Even with a salary freeze, Mr. Potter expects to slash 1,041 positions from a work force of 6,600 and a teacher corps of 7,000.

After county Executive Charles I. Ecker announced thisinformation administrator, he was asked why he needs a press officer."I don't,"Ecker replied. "I'm my press officer."What Kenneth Charles Mays, 42, will be doing, Ecker said, is something else entirely. "He will promote the county, not Chuck Ecker," and will "play a key role in redirecting the mission of the public information office."Trained as a writer and graphic designer, Mays said that mission will be to "communicate on a regular basis with every citizen in the county."

Bob Neall calls county government "the company." We want to run the company efficiently, he says. We want to be sure the company's in good shape. And the Anne Arundel County executive is off to a promising start.Neall's first budget -- a business-like, bottom-line approach to county services -- is, in a word, austere. For the first time in the history of charter government, the county budget will be lower than it was the previous year. Yet Neall has proposed no layoffs. And though 80 vacant positions were cut, 80 new ones were added.

Despite protests from builders and other businesses, the County Council voted to raise permit and inspection fees Monday night to bring in about $5.6 million in additional revenue.The council's unanimous vote was expected, because the fee increases were included in County Executive Robert R. Neall's $616.6 million budget approved by the council May 31. Most increases will take effect in mid-August, 45 daysafter Neall signs them into law.Builders aren't the only ones who will pay more for county services.