NEWS
By Alison Knezevich, The Baltimore Sun | May 16, 2013
Baltimore County officials gave proper notice of its meeting where residents could testify about a new stormwater fee, according to state panel that rules on open meeting complaints. In an opinion this week, the Open Meetings Compliance Board said county documentation shows it met legal requirements to advertise a County Council work session where the public could comment on the fee, as well as the legislative meeting where the council voted to adopt it. Both meetings were held in April.
NEWS
By Alison Knezevich, The Baltimore Sun | May 15, 2013
The Baltimore County Council could vote next week to reduce fees that developers pay to help the county build parks and buy recreational land. A council resolution would lower — in some cases by nearly 90 percent — so-called open-space waiver fees. A vote is set for May 23. Under county law, developers must set aside land for recreation or open space when they build housing developments. But since 2000, the county has allowed developers to pay cash into a fund instead of preserving land, if approved by the county's director of parks and recreation.
NEWS
By Tricia Bishop, The Baltimore Sun | May 15, 2013
Maryland's in-state undergraduates will pay a few hundred dollars more per semester this fall under a new tuition-and-fee plan approved Wednesday by the university system's Board of Regents. Out-of-state students will be hit a little harder, paying as much as $1,060 more, for example, at the University of Maryland, College Park. The plan marks the fourth year that tuition for resident undergraduates at most Maryland schools has gone up 3 percent — an increase characterized by university system officials as moderate and lower than many states.
NEWS
By Luke Broadwater, The Baltimore Sun | May 14, 2013
City officials plan to raise fees for docking boats in Baltimore's Inner Harbor in hopes of generating about $35,000 in added revenue. With that money, officials say, they could reduce the amount that taxpayers spend to operate the city-owned docks. Barry Robinson, the city's head of transit and marine services, said officials are working to make the program self-sufficient. "This is the first step in that direction," he said. The Board of Estimates is expected to approve increases to the Inner Harbor docking fees Wednesday.
NEWS
By Alison Knezevich, The Baltimore Sun | May 8, 2013
A Pikesville man has filed an Open Meetings Act violation complaint against the Baltimore County Council, alleging that citizens didn't get proper notice of a meeting where they could have testified about the county's new stormwater fee. The council voted 5-2 on April 15 to approve the fee, which they discussed at a work session the week before. County officials say they properly advertised that work session, where the council also discussed other bills. In his complaint to the state's Open Meetings Compliance Board, Ralph Jaffe said four people testified about the fee at the work session - a fact that he said indicates people didn't know about the meeting.
NEWS
May 6, 2013
Maryland lawmakers are wringing a tax from the rain that falls from our roofs. It won't be long before Gov. Martin O'Malley and the General Assembly come up with a way to tax the rain that falls from our umbrellas ("Arundel council overrides stormwater veto," May 2). They can use the same criteria that they use for the roofs and the driveways. I can visualize the Maryland Raindrop Police running after us with their measuring tapes, assessing all parasols, umbrellas and large golf umbrellas.