Is it time for Charter government in
And for that matter,
November 10th, 2006
In Thursday’s November 9th, 2006 edition of the Gazette, there is an article by Sherry Greenfield, “Brinkley pushes for alternate form of county government;” which reports that Maryland State Senator David R. Brinkley (R-Dist. 4) of New Market is taking a hard look at the form of government in
This is significant for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that members of elected delegations to
One could argue that position; however, these days there are plenty of pressing statewide issues for which state elected officials to focus their time.
Senator Brinkley however is not known for short-sighted approaches to what is in the best interests of the citizens he serves. For Senator Brinkley it seldom is about himself and it is consistently all about what is in the best interests of
I served on the Committee for Charter Government in its beginning exploratory stage, in
I remember well the discussions in 1967 that led to Code Home Rule being put on the ballot in 1968. That effort was defeated and yes - Code Home Rule is not Charter Government, but amazingly, many of the issues that were brought forth in 1967 are still issues today. (Anyway, after a great deal of study, I have determined that Code Home Rule is not the answer. Charter Government is the answer...)
Certainly the time for Charter Government has come for
On the bigger picture, this last election has seen folks get elected to the Maryland General Assembly that will, if you can believe it, take that august body much further to the left.
In the last several sessions there has been a serious erosion for “local courtesy” and the time may be just on the horizon when that august liberal body will be increasingly intolerant of the needs and wants of the counties in the state that need to take local lawmaking to Annapolis.
Numerous examples are available. One awkward moment came in the last session when the Maryland General Assembly played games with a bill brought forward by the Carroll County Delegation to
Although this delighted Carroll County Democrats and various moderate Republicans - - and gave them wonderful sound bites for the election as to the degree of capability and effectiveness of the delegation; it is a slippery slope that may come back to haunt all of us.
It was very bad precedent for all commissioner forms of government counties throughout the state. It was particularly interesting to see folks who complained in the past of local citizens going to
The Gazette has been consistent as to matter of Charter Government in
Another interesting read is Frederick and Washington County Delegate Richard B. Weldon Jr.’s Tentacle column from October 16, 2006: “The Case for Charter:”
“The debate about the form of governance employed by
In light of today’s computer technology, almost fifty years after a commissioner form of government was established in
Just before World War 1, one of the biggest citizen complaints was the road system. Alright, perhaps some things have not changed… The tax rate in 1903 was 87 cents; however the 1909 to 1911 Board of Commissioners raised the rate to $1.18.
Since World War 1, the form of government in
From 1748 to 1851, the form of government was a
Considering the increase in population since 1974, not to mention, the increase in the complexity of the challenges facing local government these days, perhaps it is time to change the form of government again to join the other eight counties in Maryland who have Charter government.
Ms. Greenfield begins her Gazette article:
State Sen. David R. Brinkley wants the new
Brinkley (R-Dist. 4) of New Market, is interested in changing from the current commissioner form of government to a charter, which calls for local voters to create and approve a document that describes how the government will be run.
‘‘I’m encouraging them to get the ball rolling, so if there is a change that has to take place [the
The idea that the county should change its form of government has been batted around for some time. The current boom in population has spurred it along further.
In the late 1950s and again in 1991, county residents voted down a charter. In 1991, 67 percent opposed a charter government.
‘‘There has always been discussion of changing our form of government,” Brinkley said. ‘‘...There are those that claim they don’t want to go through the delegation and they want a single person at the top running things.”
Read the rest of her article here.
And stay tuned for the rest of the “Charter Government” story as it continues to unfold, as I have it on good authority that this story is not going to go away anytime soon for either Frederick County or Carroll County.
