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 three-term Democratic senator believes the death penalty should be placed on the 2014 ballot but finding voters to sign the petition might be a challenge.
Getting the signatures required to place the death penalty on the 2014 ballot is going to take a lot of work, according to Baltimore County State Sen. Jim Brochin. "I give it a 50-50 chance," Brochin said during an interview with Jimmy Mathis on WBAL Radio. The trouble, Brochin said, is finding a constituency to support the petition effort to re-instate capital punishment in Maryland. "If you wanted to get same-sex marriage on the ballot, you went to the Catholic Church. If you want to get the gun issue on the ballot you can go get signatures in North County," Brochin said. "If you're gathering signatures for he death penalty, where do you go?" Brochin, the three-term Democratic Senator from Towson, is part of an effort to reinstate the …
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 …
Monday, May 13, 2013
The two-term Democratic senator's decision comes one month after he said he was considering leaving public office.
Democratic State Sen. Bobby Zirkin is running for re-election in 2014 after all. Zirkin, in a text message to a reporter late Friday, write that he "officially filed for Senate today." The decision to run for a third term in the Maryland Senate comes a month after an interview in which he said he was considering leaving public office. "The most important thing in my life is my family," Zirkin said last month. "I have two small children and whatever decision I make will be all about them. I love the Senate and the public policy debates even when they are controversial. It's hard to juggle all those things, to keep all those balls in the air. The balls I refuse to let drop are my kids. I don't want to miss anything with them." Zirkin said at…
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 …
Two former firefighters and a police officer could return to light duty as a result of the agreement.
Baltimore County officials said Thursday that they have settled three disability lawsuits with two firefighters and a police officer. "These settlements honor these employees for their past service while also ensuring that firefighters and police officers who serve the residents of Baltimore County are working in jobs that match their physical abilities for the safety of all," wrote Baltimore County Attorney Michael Field in a statement on the county's blog Thursday. "Residents of Baltimore County demand no less than this." As part of the settlement, the county does not admit any liability. In September, firefighters Donald Becker and Stanley Kuklinski and police Lt. Michael Lauenstein field lawsuits seeking $2.3 million in damages and …
A poll by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press reports that state and local government fare well as public opinion of federal government declines.
How do you feel about Baltimore County Government? Chances are that if you like a majority of those surveyed by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press then your answer might be "pretty good." A poll released last month found that 63 percent of those surveyed looked favorably on their local governments. That percentage is roughly unchanged from last year when the group conducted a similar survey. State governments are enjoying similar public approval with 57 percent of those surveyed saying they look favorably upon their state governments—a five-point increase over last year. Meanwhile, public opinion of the federal government decreased by 5 points to 28 percent—the lowest point ever in a Pew poll, according to the center. The…
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 …
Duane Davis, known for leaving toilets as political protest outside the Historic Courthouse in Towson, is running as a Republican in 2014.
A Milford Mill man known for political protests involving putting toilets in front of a county government building in Towson has filed as a candidate for Lt. Governor in 2014. Duane "Shorty" Davis has filed as the running mate with Brian Vaeth, a Perry Hall man. Davis was charged in February 2011 with planting a fake destructive device in the form of a toilet outside the Historic Courthouse in Towson and making false statements about a fake destructive device. He was acquitted of those charges seven months later. Davis, a caterer, said in a February 2013 article that the incident in 2011 was a protest of alleged corruption in Gov. Martin O'Malley's administration. He claims that he had made political statements using toilets previously, …
amdactivist
4:52 pm on Saturday, May 18, 2013
k blue. bc don't use e-verify. I hear harford county does only with government contractors. Also the bids are done by licensed contractors but who they subcontract the jobs to don't count.. NOt in md anyway. Illegals were all over our highways at one time doing the stimulus work. When i contacted the state and told them that if they hire illegals on our state roads using stimulus, the $$ can be … more ›