Tag: Maryland Association of Counties
40 years later, much the same as county officials head ‘downy ocean’
Forty years ago this month, I attended my first summer conference of the Maryland Association of Counties in Ocean City. Rereading my piece from 1975, it was funny how many aspects of the annual confab were the same.
Read More‘Rain tax’ falls all over the place: Stormwater fees uneven, from a penny to thousands
The state’s 10 most populated counties are required by law to implement a stormwater utility fee by July 1. The revenue will be used to fund watershed protection and restoration programs, designed to prevent pollutants from entering the Chesapeake Bay. Seven jurisdictions have set a fee, but three others are still in the process of setting fees or getting local approval. The fees range from a penny to thousands of dollars.
Read MoreBill expands maintenance of efforts to other county services
Expanding on last year’s Maintenance of Effort requirements mandating counties’ levels of funding for K-12 education, Montgomery County senators are seeking to establish similar requirements for county critical services throughout the state. Representatives of county governments think it’s a bad idea.
Read MoreCounty and municipal organizations would have to follow lobbying rules under proposed bill
The staff of the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo) and the Maryland Municipal League (MML), which represent local governments at the State House, would have to file as registered lobbyists and follow lobbying laws under a bill being considered in the House of Delegates.
Read More‘Enough is enough,’ county officials telling the state
After several years of pummeling by state government, through cuts in aid, offloading of state expenses and unfunded mandates, county officials gathered here for their annual conference believe that “enough is enough,” said Rick Pollitt, new president of the Maryland Association of Counties.
Read MoreTeacher pension shift would cost counties $500 million over next four years
In the Senate’s proposed budget plan, some of the costs of teacher retirement would be shifted to county school boards over the next four years, not to the county governments next year, as Gov. Martin O’Malley had proposed. But the approved proposal would ultimately force counties to give their school boards $500 million more over the next four years.
Read MoreMiller wants to expand gambling and raise gas and flush taxes
Senate President Mike Miller told county officials from across that Maryland that he wants to expand casino gambling, increase the gas tax and push some of the costs of state pensions onto the counties.
Read MoreIrene gives Rawlings-Blake a hand; O’Malley on MLK and spending
Hurricane Irene blew political coverage off the media websites, but how chief executives handle a storm can be intensely political. Irene gave a media boost to Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, even as a Baltimore Sun poll released Sunday showed her clobbering her opponents in the Sept. 13 Democratic primary.
Read MoreState grants more time for local feedback on PlanMaryland
Yielding to pressure from local officials, the state is putting more time – and more feedback – into its comprehensive smart growth plan. The Maryland Department of Planning announced on Thursday that it will allow about two more months for people to review and comment on the final version of PlanMaryland.
Read MoreMunicipal, county governments do more cooperating than arguing
The Maryland Municipal League representing 157 municipal government is marking its 75th anniversary. “Cities and towns provide basic grassroots meat and potatoes services,” said Scott Hancock, executive director of the Maryland Municipal League. But counties provide those services — like water and sewer, emergency responders, trash and recycling pickup, and parks and recreation — too. Their overlapping duties require a lot of give-and-take.
Read MoreInteractive map helps visualize county-by-county pension payments and liabilities
While most of the focus on pension reform for public employees has been on the state as a whole, counties are also finding themselves with growing unfunded liabilities, according to a new interactive chart launched on Tuesday by the Maryland Public Policy Institute.
The pension map plots out the amount that each county and Baltimore City spent on pensions – both in benefits paid out and in the employer contribution – in the last fiscal year.
Read MoreO’Malley says he won’t shift teacher pension costs to counties this year
Gov. Martin O’Malley gave county officials from across Maryland some good news at their annual meeting Thursday night, saying he would not seek to shift the huge costs of teacher pensions to them “this year.”
O’Malley said the state needed to make the pension system more sustainable first by either reducing benefits or increasing contributions from employees before shifting those costs – now approaching $1 billion a year – onto county governments.
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