Thursday, May 23, 2013
The timing of a bill that reduces fees for developers comes as an August deadline looms for more than a dozen projects.
The Baltimore County Council Thursday is scheduled to vote on a bill that would lower the rates charged to developers who would rather pay a fee in lieu of setting aside a portion of a proposed development as open space. Michael Harrison, a lobbyist for the Home Builders Association of Maryland, said his group asked for the rates to be updated last November—the first such change in seven years. "The fees were set at the peak of the market and developers could afford those prices," Harrison said, adding that later it became apparent that a number of developers were in danger of losing their ability to move forward because they had not yet paid the waiver fees. If the council adopts the new fee schedule, developers would pay rates equivalent…
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Council correction of a $100,000 math error represents the smallest budget reduction in the last three years.
The Baltimore County Council Thursday took a little off the top of County Executive Kevin Kamenetz's third budget. The council cut just $100,000 from Kamenetz's proposed $2.8 billion spending plan for the budget year that begins July 1. That plan includes nearly $1.7 billion in general fund spending paid for with county property and piggyback income taxes. "It's a fiscally prudent budget," Council Chairman Tom Quirk, a Catonsville Democrat, said, explaining that the small reduction taken by the council was a reflection of the weakened economy and sluggish property tax receipts. "There really wasn't a lot to trim," Quirk said. "It's all muscle and bone." The proposed budget contains no furloughs or layoffs and no property or income tax …
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
The 10-term Republican state delegate will challenge First-term incumbent Todd Huff in the 2014 primary election.
State Del. Wade Kach Tuesday announced he will challenge fellow Republican Todd Huff for the 3rd District seat on the Baltimore County Council. Kach made the announcement on his Facebook page. “When I look at the 3rd District, I see a need for an experienced, tested legislator to deal with the challenges we face,” Kach wrote on his Facebook page. “I believe that by moving from the House of Delegates to the County Council, I can bring the kind of responsive public service that the citizens want and need.” Kach was expected to make the announcement. In March he said he was considering the campaign. Sources who know Kach said the delegate began to consider the race in February after Huff was arrested on drunken driving charges. Huff pleaded …
Thursday, May 9, 2013
The four-term Dundalk Democrat will add his contracting job to the forms that are required by law.
Councilman John Olszewski Sr. will file an amended ethics report that contains information about his contracting job. Olszewski said late Thursday that he planned to turn the updated forms into the Baltimore County Ethics Commission by the end of the day. The updated report could be available online as early as Friday. The amended reports come two days after Patch reported that Olszewski, a four-term Dundalk Democrat, had failed to disclose his job with Mason and Sons Contracting on reports covering 2011 and 2012. Olszewski has abstained from votes in the past two years because of concerns about potential conflicts with his employer. Willful and false financial disclosure filings can carry a criminal penalty under law. Failure to file or …
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Councilman John Olszewski Sr. has previously abstained from votes because of his employment with an area contractor.
Councilman John Olszewski Sr. Tuesday said a failure to report a contracting job he has held for the past two years was "an oversight." Olszewski, a four-term Democrat from Dundalk, works for Mason and Son Contracting. Financial disclosure forms filed March 27 do not list the contractor as an employer. The contractor is also not listed in disclosures filed last spring for the 2011 calendar year. The disclosure form asks councilmembers to disclose any job for which they earned income outside their position with the county. "I thought that meant something else," said Olszewski, who works about 34 hours a week for the contractor. "I'm going to look into that and if I need to file an amended report I will." Olszewski has abstained from votes …
Council Chairman Tom Quirk's verbal approval allows Baltimore County to jump the legal process and start using three new electric police vehicles.
Three new electric stand-up vehicles gifted to the Baltimore County Police Department aren't exactly street legal yet. But that didn’t stop county officials from putting them into service at the Towson Spring Festival, just three days after publicly showing them off at news conference. That's more than two weeks before the Baltimore County Council gets a chance to officially approve the acceptance of the $39,000 gift from Baltimore County Police Foundation. County law allows the county to accept gifts valued at $5,000 or more after sending the Council notice and giving them 14 days to decided if they want to formally discuss and vote on the gift. The Council Monday introduced a resolution seeking to approve the gift. That resolution will …
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
The Baltimore County Council was about to end a public meeting on the budget as soon as it started but one late arrival arrived with something to say.
It almost happened again. For the second year in a row, the Baltimore County Council was on track to end its annual public hearing on County Executive Kevin Kamenetz's proposed budget as soon as it began. Just as Council Chairman Tom Quirk appeared ready to close the meeting, in walked Jean Suda, an education advocate and member of the Dulaney High School PTA. "I was so flabbergasted by the fact that nobody was there," Suda said following the meeting. The council typically holds the public to a 3 minute rule during public testimony in order to allow everyone to speak and have an equal say. Suda received that and more. In fact, the council staff didn't bother to turn on the timer as Suda addressed her comments regarding teacher to student …
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
County Executive Kevin Kamenetz: "I believe he has the capacity to recognize his failures and learn from them, and can successfully complete such conditions as the court might impose in disposition."
County Executive Kevin Kamenetz was one of three people to write a character reference to a Baltimore County Circuit Court Judge on behalf of Councilman Todd Huff, who has pleaded guilty to DUI. The letter, which carried the county seal, was part of a defendant's exhibit provided to Baltimore County Circuit Court Judge Timothy Martin two weeks ago as the judge began to contemplate Huff's sentence. The packet included letters from Nancy Hafford, executive director of the Towson Chamber of Commerce, and Rev. Paul Cummins, retired pastor of Hereford United Methodist Church and long-time family friend. Kamenetz, a Democrat, was the only elected official to pen a letter on Huff's behalf. The letter did not ask for leniency for Huff or make any …
Monday, April 29, 2013
The state-mandated fee will appear on county property tax bills just in time for the annual July 4 parade circuit.
County Executive Kevin Kamenetz may not be looking forward to walking in July 4 parades around the county because of the recently passed storm water fee. Kamenetz, speaking on WBAL TV, said the new fees will appear on county property tax bills this July 1. "It's really a great time," Kamenetz joked during the April 21 interview. "I do all the Fourth of July parades and people are getting their tax bills. They're very happy and waving." We're assuming he meant that the audience used all five fingers. Earlier this month the Council approved the fees, which add a flat $21 fee to townhouses and $39 for single-family detached homes. The fee was increased by $3 after the Council cut rates for nonprofits. Businesses will pay a fee based on the …
Thursday, April 25, 2013
A 2012 college teaching position held by Councilman David Marks, while legal, should have triggered an amended financial disclosure report.
Baltimore County Councilman David Marks said Thursday that a 2012 teaching job at a local university should have been part of his required financial disclosures. Marks acknowledged the job and failure to file an amended report last year with the Baltimore County Ethics Commission during an interview. "It was an oversight," Marks, a Perry Hall Republican, said after being asked about the job. The undisclosed teaching job as well as two previously disclosed consulting positions do not appear to violate county law. Marks said the teaching job will appear in disclosure forms that he has already filed that will be made public next month. Following the interview, Marks issued a statement by email: "As soon I was offered a three-month teaching …
Paul Dongarra
8:34 am on Thursday, May 23, 2013
The council should weigh this bill very carefully. Baltimore County, is different than the other County's referenced in the graph above as we have had uncontrolled development for decades prior to any notion of the importance of open space. In comparison, open space is a foundation of Columbia where they have dedicated teams to maintain it. Howard County also has numerous regional parks over 200 … more ›