Howard County Council

Sheila M. Tolliver, who was council administrator when Democrats controlled the Howard County Council four years ago, is coming back to the job now that the Democrats have won back a 3-2 council majority.At $89,752 a year, the Democrat will make substantially more than her Republican predecessor, Christopher Emery, who earned roughly $68,000 a year.Her salary also is more than $20,000 higher than it was when she was fired by the County Council after Republicans won a 3-2 majority in 1994.

THE LESSONS that George L. Layman has learned as a member of the Howard County Zoning Board of Appeals would make him a valuable asset to the county council. Mr. Layman successfully made the transition from outsider to insider.As a community activist more than a decade ago, he helped block construction of Route 100 through his neighborhood. But the past five years he has played a different role: passing judgment on development projects as an appointed county official. He would bring both perspectives to the council.

A YEAR AGO, conventional wisdom was that C. Vernon Gray would not run for a fifth term on the Howard County Council. However, rather than aim at becoming Howard's first African-American county executive, Mr. Gray has resorted to the relative safety of yet another campaign for his 2nd District council seat. He deserves re-election.Mr. Gray, a Democrat, is opposed by Republican Susan J. Cook, whom many countians will recall from her successful tenure on the school board from 1990 to 1996. Education remains Mrs. Cook's central focus, but she also promises to work to revitalize older neighborhoods and to address neighborhood concerns about encroaching development.

After years of trying, the Howard County Council may soon rid itself of one of its most tedious duties -- administering the county's liquor laws.A compromise fashioned by council members and state Sen. Martin G. Madden would create a separate liquor board while giving the council ultimate veto power over the board's decisions.Howard is one of only three Maryland counties in which the governing body -- be it a county council or county commissioners -- also serves as the liquor board, charged with overseeing the approval, transfer and occasional revocation of liquor licenses.

Sierra Club of Maryland Executive Director Guy Guzzone yesterday entered the race for the Howard County Council seat that includes North Laurel and the southern edge of Columbia -- the "swing vote" in the battle for control of the council.Guzzone, a 33-year-old Democrat, represents his party's best chance to regain a council majority, which it lost for the first time in Howard history when Republican Councilman Dennis R. Schrader won the seat in 1994.Schrader, now council chairman, plans to give up his seat to run for county executive, opening the door to a race between Guzzone and PTA activist Wanda Hurt, a Republican who represents the Village of Owen Brown on the Columbia Council.

Past and present members of the Howard County Council are joining forces in hopes of eliminating one of its more tedious chores, overseeing which county establishments can sell beer, wine and liquor.But they can't agree on who should take over the job.Tomorrow night, Howard's state delegation -- which includes two former council members -- begins considering 13 local bills, including one to allow county officials to appoint a Liquor Board.At the 7: 30 p.m. hearing in the Howard building in Ellicott City, the delegation will also hear public comments on bills that would change county ethics rules, add a new fine for domestic abusers and give the council new power to restrict tobacco sales.

What a perfect excuse after running a red light: Officer, that wasn't me driving.But it's certainly not good enough for the Howard County Council, which pledged yesterday to keep pushing for state approval to mount cameras on top of traffic signals to nab deadly red-light runners."

Expense limits may seem like a cut-and-dried matter. But for the Howard County Council, that's hardly the case -- as evidenced by the latest chapter in the yearlong saga of council members trying to control their own spending.During Friday's council meeting, Councilman Dennis R. Schrader of North Laurel introduced two pages of formal rules for council expense limits.He hopes that if the rules are adopted, they will end the long-running argument over whether Councilman C. Vernon Gray owes the county $1,300 in travel and cellular phone expenses -- bills that some council members insist exceed a expense limit.

Members of the Howard County Council asked last night for a legal opinion regarding the county's liability once it joins Anne Arundel County in operating Tipton Airfield at Fort Meade as a civilian facility.The problem is not what Howard and Anne Arundel plan to put on the site once they begin managing the airport, but what the Army may have left there."Given the Army's history with unexploded bombs from World War II, I am concerned about future liability," Councilman C. Vernon Gray, 2nd District Democrat, said.

On Nov. 8, the voters will be asked to vote on three proposed amendments to the Howard County Charter. Two of these proposed amendments, which will be designated Question A and Question C, result from resolutions which were passed by the Howard County Council. . . . Question A provides that appointments to permanent positions in the classified system of Howard County government be made on the basis of merit, as defined in law. . . . Currently, appointments to the merit system must be made on the basis of competitive examination, and the appointing authority must consider the 10 highest candidates who are eligible.

A trio of former Ehrlich administration officials are hoping to wrest power next year from Democrats in Howard County, a bellwether jurisdiction for the two major political parties in recent Maryland elections. Democrats, led by County Executive Ken Ulman, hold the majority of Howard's political offices - four of the five council seats, two of the county's three state Senate seats and six of the eight state delegate posts. The county, though, has supported Republicans in the past. Former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. won the county in 2002 but lost it four years later.

After weeks of debate, the Howard County Council unanimously approved yesterday an amended package of Ulman administration legislation intended to give environmentally friendly development a strong push. "I believe this county moved forward dramatically," County Executive Ken Ulman said after the vote. Greg Fox, the five-member council's lone Republican, disagreed, saying, "It was gutted to the point where it was responsible." Fox earlier tried to have the package tabled, saying the council needed more time to consider the complex legislation.

The Howard County Council's decision, one week before the election, to cut property taxes for elderly residents by 25 percent raises the question of whether any purpose is being served beyond currying favor with likely voters. No doubt there are economic as well as social benefits in helping retirees on fixed incomes remain in their homes without taxes tapping deeply into their disposable incomes. AARP contends that older people who remain in their communities with support networks of family, friends, activities and perhaps even jobs remain healthy longer and less of a drain on the health care system.

David Rakes stepped down from the Howard Community College board of trustees last night because of his candidacy to represent District 2 on the Howard County Council. Maryland governors appointed Rakes to six-year terms on the college board in 1994 and in 2000. Rakes was vice chairman of the board from 1995 to 1997 and from 1997 to 1999. Two weeks ago, Rakes won the primary to become the Democratic nominee for the council seat, which represents east Columbia. "I am working as hard as I can to become a member of the Howard County Council, and therefore am not able to devote the time to the board that I believe it deserves," Rakes said in a statement.

Sheila M. Tolliver, who was council administrator when Democrats controlled the Howard County Council four years ago, is coming back to the job now that the Democrats have won back a 3-2 council majority.At $89,752 a year, the Democrat will make substantially more than her Republican predecessor, Christopher Emery, who earned roughly $68,000 a year.Her salary also is more than $20,000 higher than it was when she was fired by the County Council after Republicans won a 3-2 majority in 1994.

A YEAR AGO, conventional wisdom was that C. Vernon Gray would not run for a fifth term on the Howard County Council. However, rather than aim at becoming Howard's first African-American county executive, Mr. Gray has resorted to the relative safety of yet another campaign for his 2nd District council seat. He deserves re-election.Mr. Gray, a Democrat, is opposed by Republican Susan J. Cook, whom many countians will recall from her successful tenure on the school board from 1990 to 1996. Education remains Mrs. Cook's central focus, but she also promises to work to revitalize older neighborhoods and to address neighborhood concerns about encroaching development.

THE LESSONS that George L. Layman has learned as a member of the Howard County Zoning Board of Appeals would make him a valuable asset to the county council. Mr. Layman successfully made the transition from outsider to insider.As a community activist more than a decade ago, he helped block construction of Route 100 through his neighborhood. But the past five years he has played a different role: passing judgment on development projects as an appointed county official. He would bring both perspectives to the council.

Sierra Club of Maryland Executive Director Guy Guzzone yesterday entered the race for the Howard County Council seat that includes North Laurel and the southern edge of Columbia -- the "swing vote" in the battle for control of the council.Guzzone, a 33-year-old Democrat, represents his party's best chance to regain a council majority, which it lost for the first time in Howard history when Republican Councilman Dennis R. Schrader won the seat in 1994.Schrader, now council chairman, plans to give up his seat to run for county executive, opening the door to a race between Guzzone and PTA activist Wanda Hurt, a Republican who represents the Village of Owen Brown on the Columbia Council.

After years of trying, the Howard County Council may soon rid itself of one of its most tedious duties -- administering the county's liquor laws.A compromise fashioned by council members and state Sen. Martin G. Madden would create a separate liquor board while giving the council ultimate veto power over the board's decisions.Howard is one of only three Maryland counties in which the governing body -- be it a county council or county commissioners -- also serves as the liquor board, charged with overseeing the approval, transfer and occasional revocation of liquor licenses.

Past and present members of the Howard County Council are joining forces in hopes of eliminating one of its more tedious chores, overseeing which county establishments can sell beer, wine and liquor.But they can't agree on who should take over the job.Tomorrow night, Howard's state delegation -- which includes two former council members -- begins considering 13 local bills, including one to allow county officials to appoint a Liquor Board.At the 7: 30 p.m. hearing in the Howard building in Ellicott City, the delegation will also hear public comments on bills that would change county ethics rules, add a new fine for domestic abusers and give the council new power to restrict tobacco sales.