Taxes

In 2006 tax relief was my number one campaign promise. The proposal advanced during the campaign was to reduce the cap on the homestead tax credit from 7% to 5%. The current Board of Commissioners finally agreed to embrace this idea during the budget process for Fiscal Year 2011. That means the reduction in the cap will be implemented in Fiscal Year 2012. This move will provide tax relief to home owners when the real estate market recovers and assessments begin to rise again.

When home assessments increase in the future the impact of those increases will be limited or capped to 5% per year. This is real tax relief that will benefit tax payers for many years. Would it have been better for the Board to offer tax relief sooner? Of course that is true.

The results of the 2006 election established a Board with one member eager to bring immediate tax relief to our citizens. Unfortunately, the other two members were resistant to this approach. Over various budget cycles I tried both informal persuasion and formal motions to urge the Board to accept either a rate reduction or a reduction in the homestead tax credit cap.

Last year I voted against the Fiscal Year 2010 budget specifically because the majority refused to agree to even a modest tax relief package. My proposal would have reduced the tax rate by two cents per thousand dollars of value. The plan accommodated this rate reduction with a cut in funding to the agriculture preservation program.

My hopeful expectation is that the voters from other districts will send a working majority of Commissioners who will join me in creating new opportunities for tax relief. [Top]

Budgets

The declining economy has severely impacted county revenues. State funding for county programming has been drastically cut. As a result of these impacts the current Board has made targeted budget reductions to allow us to live within our means. Some of the measures embraced to save money have been to not fill open positions and even close open positions. Also positions in county government have been eliminated during the budget process.

In the fall of 2009 the county offered staff an early retirement package to lower costs. Finally, in December of 2009 some staff were let go again to lower costs.

In a two year time frame county government eliminated 93 positions in order to save money. These changes were done in a targeted way to limit the impact on services to our citizens.

Can more be done? Absolutely, I’ve repeatedly offered significant budget savings proposals to the rest of the Board. That has occurred both during regular budget process and during a mid cycle process last fall. Those cuts were required in light of 90% funding cuts the state made to certain categories of the budget. Neither of the other current Commissioners ever submitted a comprehensive written list of budget savings measures for consideration during the last three and a half years.

The majority agreed to some of my savings ideas. They compromised on others. Some they rejected totally. The savings I put on the table would have saved many millions of dollars in annual savings had they enjoyed majority support.

Since we are moving to an entirely new form of government that will include some number of new members, it might be helpful to have a member representing District 5 who has actually participated in the budget process and established true results for curbing spending and targeting capital expenses to only the areas of the greatest need. [Top]

Law Enforcement

Since 1974 Carroll County has relied on the Resident Trooper program and the Maryland State Police as our primary law enforcement agency. The program has served the people well in terms of professionalism and responsiveness. Unfortunately the costs associated with the program have ballooned beyond what we can endure in our ever tightening budgets.

Since 1999 the Sheriff’s Office has provided supplemental law enforcement services to Maryland State Police on a 24-7 basis. We’ve been blessed as a county to have Sheriff Ken Tregoning lead the Deputies and Correctional Officers since 1998. He has raised the bar of professionalism for his agency and seen that his office has nationally recognized accreditation.

It has been clear for quite some time that the Resident Trooper program is not well suited to take our county into the future. The course of change in this area has been controversial. The current Board did vote to move toward a county police force to replace Resident Troopers in October of 2007. Unfortunately, we failed to use an appropriate process to engage with the public on a decision of such magnitude.

Sheriff Tregoning and many citizens appealed to the Carroll Delegation to the General Assembly to hold us accountable for that failure. The Delegation agreed and filed a bill to require a popular referendum on this initiative prior to it becoming effective. This bill passed the General Assembly.

After it passed I wrote the Governor asking him to sign the bill. The other Commissioners wrote to ask him to veto it. The bill was an appropriate accountability measure on the Board for failing to properly engage with the public prior to a substantive vote.

In the summer of 2008 the majority of the Board voted to deny the referendum. I voted against their procedural motion and urged them to allow the referendum. This would have given the public the opportunity to express clearly their desires regarding the future of law enforcement.

Since that time it has become crystal clear that the next Board of Commissioners will embrace a transition in law enforcement away from Resident Troopers and in favor of a greatly expended number of Sheriff’s Deputies. In January this year at the State of the County lunch, I called on the current Board to begin this transition now so it could occur in a smooth fashion over five years.

The Resident Trooper program includes 45 Troopers. County budget staff calculated a savings of $45,000 per year per position transitioned into Deputies. For this reason staff recommended a shift of nine Trooper positions to nine Deputies as a savings measure in the Fiscal Year 2011 budget.

Commissioner Minnich and I agreed to this approach in the Commissioner Proposed Budget. This is however but one step in the budget process. After the Proposed Budget we have a public hearing. Two people attended the hearing this year. Both spoke favorably about the education funding in the budget.

After the public hearing the Maryland State Police offered a new proposal to save the threatened 9 Trooper positions. Their proposal would potentially save $400,000 in Fiscal Year 2011. Our staff calculated that this would actually cost more money over the next six years of our operating plan.

They calculate six years worth of savings at $1.5 million had we stuck with the original plan of shifting Troopers for Deputies. Because the majority took these steps without any formal opportunity for public comment on the budget and because the majority plan would cost more money, I voted against the Fiscal Year 2011 budget.

I appreciate the guidance and leadership Sheriff Tregoning has brought to his office. It is time to fully harness these improvements. It is time to realize major savings that can be achieved by fully transitioning away from Resident Troopers by expanding the Sheriff’s Office.

Under that scenario that the next Board will no doubt make, the Barrack Troopers of the Maryland State Police will continue to play a vital role in protecting and serving the people of Carroll County. My hope is the voters of District 5 will allow me to follow through with the next Board to ensure these changes will occur smoothly over perhaps a four year time frame. [Top]

Education

The students, educators and parents associated with Carroll County Public Schools have established outstanding achievements under the leadership of Dr. Charles Ecker as Superintendent. The elected Board of Education which hired Dr. Ecker and those which renewed his service have made a truly wise choice in selecting him to lead our system.

Dr. Ecker retired at the end of the 2009-2010 school year. What a record of achievement he and his team have left. Even as we look upon these developments with pride we know there is more work to be done.

Stephen Guthrie the newly appointed Superintendent has already established himself as a skillful leader in our system as an Assistant Superintendent under Dr. Ecker. It has been my privilege the last three and a half years to work closely with both of these gentlemen.

One of my key liaison assignments as Commissioner has been to serve as Ex Officio member to the Board of Education. This role has given me great insight into our schools. However, some things can’t be learned by just attending a meeting. Since becoming a Republican Primary winner in 2006 I’ve been privileged to visit every school in our system.

From principal to teacher to support staff, I’ve observed the highest degree of professionalism in our schools. We have an amazing staff instructing our students. Our students exhibit wonderful qualities such as focus and the desire to learn. We of course have dedicated parents encouraging students and staff alike for the highest degree of excellence.

None of these things happen by accident. The results we’ve seen of the highest performance with modest per pupil funding can only happen with planning and cooperation. The Board of Education has extended to county government a firm commitment to working through challenges in a cooperative and mature fashion.

Since 2008 when the economy began to falter revenue reductions have caused the county to adjust budgets to every aspect of our funding. Our schools have been impacted. Some projects that the Board of Education has supported have not been able to secure funding. This has been an economic reality. Even in the midst of tight budgets our schools have continued to thrive.

There is every reason to believe that will continue. Sound leadership from the next Board of Commissioners is critical to ensure this success continues into the future.  [Top]

Jobs and the Economy

The disruptions to the national and global economy have impacted our county. The majority party in Annapolis hasn’t helped matters with tax hikes that drive businesses out of our state. The majority party in Washington also has failed to help our economy by placing unwanted mandates on employers.

We need a strong pro-small business voice in all levels of government. That is the philosophy I’ve advanced as Commissioner.

Some of the areas that need additional improvement in Carroll relate to the development review process of commercial and industrial projects. Some elements of this process are working well. Some are not. Unfortunately, my counsel to the other two sitting Commissioners has not always been followed in such matters.

As a practicing attorney in our community I’ve been privileged to represent many small businesses during key moments in their quest to grow their business and add local jobs to our economy.

Local job creation and expanding our economic pie helps our county in multiple ways. One of the most important ways it helps is to balance our tax portfolio. For many years our tax base has relied too heavily on home owners and not enough on businesses.

Commercial and industrial uses of land pay in way more taxes to the county than the demand in services. Typically, the reverse is true for homes.

Efforts to rezone land into businesses can be helpful, but they need to happen with care. Business rezoning is most beneficial where the land has access to infrastructure like water and sewer. Care also needs to be exercised to protect sensitive environmental features. [Top]

Fire and Ambulance Service

We are blessed as a county to be served by fourteen individual volunteer fire companies united under the leadership of Carroll County Volunteer Emergency Services Association (CCVESA). As Commissioner supporting the work of CCVESA and the individual companies has been a key priority.

During my first year as Commissioner I was pleased to support the county purchase of three pieces of reserve equipment that are available as a back up to the companies. These reserve units included a fire engine, an ambulance and a utility vehicle. CCVESA report that the engine and ambulance are very nearly in daily service as a front line unit in the various companies.

As a Board we also meet with the officers of CCVESA on a quarterly basis. At these meetings we discuss mutual concerns such as support for a training burn building, meeting budget needs and a possible future plan for organizing ambulance services. There a number of concerns that still need to be addressed in fire and ambulance protection.

Companies struggle to recruit volunteers. During the term of this Board of Commissioners we funded an additional contribution to the fund that rewards volunteers after years of service. This program is known as Length of Service Award Program. It is crucial for the long term financial health of this program for it to be strengthened periodically.

CCVESA has studied for many years how to improve their ambulance service. Currently the county funds the salary of paid staff for one ambulance at most of the companies. Two companies actually have a second ambulance funded by the county. Those would be Sykesville-Freedom and Westminster.

The officers of CCVESA have expressed the concern that the current system may not meet our future needs. The current system allows for paid staff to have a job, but not every aspect of what one may call a career compared to the system offered by our neighboring jurisdictions.

CCVESA have offered to the Commissioners a comprehensive county wide reform of how we manage ambulance service under CCVESA management. There was an amazing amount of work and planning that went into developing this proposal. The plan had a lot of features that seemed attractive and workable. Unfortunately, the timing of CCVESA presenting the plan to the county coincided with major retreats to county revenue sources.

Because CCVESA’s plan for the future of ambulance services had a fairly serious price tag, the current Board concluded that we simply could not afford to fund the proposal. The next Board of Commissioners will have to wrestle with this issue. It is my hope to assist the Board and CCVESA in moving some version of these plans to fruition assuming the voters allow me that opportunity. [Top]

Land Use and Growth

For many years the pace of residential growth and the lag in infrastructure has been a sore spot in the county. Some of the efforts to address infrastructure needs such as with school construction have largely been successful. Other areas like water availability and traffic conditions have met with mixed results across the county.

We’ve also experienced a steep decline in the number of new houses being built in recent years. This is more a result of economic conditions than any government policy initiative. When the economy recovers residential growth pressures could be sparked again.

This area gets complicated by environmental mandates established by the state and federal government. These other levels of government pass new mandates every year, but the mandates don’t necessarily have funding associated with them.

Historically, the county has tried to slow growth pressures and save family farms through the use of agriculture preservation programs. These programs have a lot of benefits. I have supported them, but I have asked the current Board to moderate the funding directed in this area to enable other priorities such as tax rate reductions to occur. Highly productive farms and creative agri-businesses are the best means for saving farms from over development.

It is clearly important to respect private property rights when determining land use policy. Sensitivity to environmental features is also an important value to keep in mind when establishing land use policy. [Top]

Recreation

We have fantastic volunteer leadership to serve our community in local recreation councils. County staff has worked very hard to provide additional game and practice space for the tremendous demand for participation.

The new South Carroll Senior and Community Center represents a wonderful opportunity to address needs for recreation space. This is the first center in the county to include a full size gymnasium. Many programs of the Freedom Area Recreation Council have already taken advantage of this new resource.

Ground has been broken on a new park in the southern end of the county known as Krimgold Park. This new facility will include ball diamonds, multi-purpose fields and passive recreation. It will be a shared facility to benefit Freedom Area Rec. Council and the Winfield Rec. Council as well as the public in general.

The creation of Krimgold Park was only possible because the land owner donated a portion of the value of the land in order to see that it was preserved from residential development as a park. This kind of private partnership was exactly the vision that I shared when running for Commissioner in 2006.

Another example of this sort of cooperation between various parties is the restoration of a ball field on the grounds of Springfield Hospital which is state property. During one of the Commissioners’ community discussion meetings, Ellen Dix the president of the Freedom Area Citizens Council suggested to the Board that there was a potential field location at Springfield. We immediately directed county staff to cooperate with the state and the community to bring this field into service for the community. [Top]

Roads

The current Board of Commissioners has worked hard to coordinate with state elected officials in the General Assembly and with the State Highway Administration to bring road projects of various sizes to successful conclusion. Additional improvements are needed especially in the Freedom area to improve safety and quality of life.

One troubling area has been the use of micro-seal on county roads. I’ve lost confidence in this process and have suggested to the other members of the Board to eliminate funding of this technique from the budget. The product has a number of negative qualities. I’ve encouraged the use of an alternative product that avoids the negative features of micro-seal. The alternative product is in use by the United States Air Force and many jurisdictions around the country. The alternative product can be used for both preventive maintenance and repair of asphalt roads in distress. [Top]