Charter Writing Board Nears Completion, Obstacles Remain

George Wenschhof

The change to charter government for rapidly growing Frederick County has long been advocated by many as more effective than the current cumbersome five member Board of County Commissioners (BoCC).

If successful, Frederick County will join the other larger counties in Maryland who elect a county executive and legislative council.

The county executive, with checks and balances by the council, will provide for a clearer administrative vision and result in more clout in Annapolis. An added plus is the county government would not have to go through the “Mother, May I” process with the local state delegation in regard to county legislation.

In a recent email, Ken Coffey; chair of the charter writing board, informed me he intended to hold a vote on July 10 on the final document containing the details on how charter government would operate in Frederick County, Maryland.

A notice posted Friday on the Charter Writing Board discussion group Facebook page stated they will hold a public hearing at Winchester Hall on Wednesday June 27 at 7:00 PM.

The scheduling of a public hearing prior to the final vote by the charter writing board is an excellent idea. However, more notice should be given to the public. A public hearing date scheduled in the middle of July and a final vote by the charter writing board the following week may be more appropriate.

Coffey said following the vote, the board will submit the governing document to the (BoCC) in early August. Afterward, no changes will be able to be made prior to it being placed on the November 6 ballot.

In spite of the vigorous effort made by the charter writing board to be transparent in their deliberations and to reach out to voters for input, many obstacles remain in the passage of charter in Frederick County.

There are many reasons the change to charter government remains elusive; ranging from interpersonal issues, differences on sections of the charter, resistance to change, to the positioning of the charter question on the ballot.

Attempts to change to charter failed in 1970 and 1991 and to code home rule in 1968 and 2002. The more recent defeats due in part to the“boogeyman association” made by opponents who tied former Commissioners; Democrat Galen Clagett in 1991 and Republican John “Lenny” Thompson in 2002 to charter and code home rule.

Today, Frederick County voters experience the bitter divide between the “Hagenites” (former commissioner Kai Hagen (D) devotees) and the “Blainiacs” (die-hard Blaine Young (R) supporters).

Recently, I asked a fellow Democrat what his position was in regard to charter.His answer was “If Blaine is for it, I am against it”. His answer should not be taken lightly, as BoCC President Blaine Young has fallen out of favor as a result of his draconian actions regarding the budget and opposition to the wide spread county re-zoning underway.

Disagreement on sections of the charter is a given as there is no perfect model. So, it is not surprising, differences abound pertaining to the composition of the council, salary and benefits of the elected officials, role of council in the budget approval process, term limits, residency requirements, and more.

In a previous column, I pointed out reasons the council should be comprised of five members elected at-large and why the proposed hybrid council consisting of 7 members; five elected by districts and two at-large is not a good idea.

The deliberately low proposed pay for the county executive ($95,000) and council members ($22,500 and no benefits) also deserve further scrutiny. To attract a wider range of qualified individuals to run for office, salaries should be higher and benefits included.

Council members should also have the authority to change line items in a proposed budget by the county executive, similar to the authority provided to The City of Frederick Board of Aldermen.

Legal rulings on The City of Frederick residency requirements for candidates indicate requiring residency in excess of one year is unlikely to withstand a constitutional appeal. So, it would be wise to adjust the county charter residency requirements to one year or less.

More hurdles to overcome involve entrenched feelings as many older residents can be heard saying “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” in regard to the change to charter. At the same time, newer and younger residents express frustration saying they moved to Frederick County to get away from higher populated counties in the state which have charter government.

Another impediment to the passage of charter is the highly passionate ballot questions which will appear on the November ballot.

According to Frederick County Election Director Stuart Harvey, the county charter question will appear last on the ballot.

Preceding the charter question on the ballot, will be the statewide effort to reject same-sex marriage. Additional questions to reject the Dream Act and Redistricting may also appear on the ballot, if petition gathering is successful.These questions are all likely to be rejected by local voters.

Voting “yes” to charter after saying “no” to a number of previous emotional questions may prove to be difficult.

With the July 10 charter writing board vote rapidly approaching, it would be prudent for Frederick County voters to read the draft charter.It is easy to review online at: http://frederickcountymd.gov/index.aspx?NID=4490

If, there are changes voters wish to see made, they should attend the June 27 public hearing and the July 10 meeting and share their thoughts.

 While, the charter writing board took the right action by providing a draft charter for comment and scheduling a public hearing, more notice should be given and the dates moved back two weeks.

Revising sections of the charter based on the feedback received would be a wise move before submitting to the BoCC.

Again, it is important to note once the charter document has been presented to the BoCC in early August, it cannot be altered.

Look to see campaign efforts for and against charter begin in earnest in September and last through the November 6 election.

Stay tuned.

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