It's Time to Televise County Council Work Sessions

Some people who come to a County Council legislative meeting are surprised by the efficiency with which the Council conducts meetings.   That's because Councilmembers ask most of their questions at the work session, which is held the Tuesday afternoon before the Monday legislative session.

At a work session, Councilmembers have the opportunity to discuss pending contracts with agency heads.   Sponsors of a bill give their reasons for the legislation, and there is an opportunity for the public to speak for or against its approval.   

While legislative sessions are held at 6 p.m., work sessions start at 2 p.m.   From time to time, there has been discussion about moving work sessions to the evening, but I understand there are concerns with the cost of overttime for staff.   In the meantime, one important reform we should adopt is the televising of work sessions.

Televising work sessions would give the public the opportunity to watch the back-and-forth between the legislative and executive branches of government on bills and fiscal issues.   It would improve transparency and openness in government, and is a reform that hopefully could be done with minimal cost.   I have already talked with Council Chair Vicki Almond about this reform, and I hope our cable provider can implement it over the next few months. 

County Council Starts Budget Process

This month, the Baltimore County Council began the process that will culminate with the adoption of the county budget in May.  

Our charter gives the County Executive strong powers; the Executive submits the budget to the Council, which can only delete from the proposal.   The County Council does, however, have an important responsibility that occurs several months before the submittal of the budget proposal.

In 1990, the County Council passed a spending affordability law to ensure that increases in spending do not exceed the county’s rate of economic growth.  The law mandates that the County Council’s Spending Affordability Committee make a recommendation each Fiscal Year on spending and debt guidelines.

I have been honored to serve on the Spending Affordability Committee for both of my years on the County Council.  The other two County Council members are Tom Quirk, who chairs the SAC, and Vicki Almond, chair of the full Council.  There are also two members from the private sector.  An Economic Advisory Committee assists with the assessment of private sector growth. 

Our first meeting was last week.  The Economic Advisory Committee noted some positive signs that  that the economy is slowly improving.  Economic growth in the housing and labor markets improved during the later months of 2011; December was the best month for home sales since 2007.  Still, personal income in Baltimore County is expected to have grown only between 4 percent and 4.5 percent this Fiscal Year, and while other counties have higher unemployment rates, there are still many residents who are out of work.

Add to this the likelihood of cuts from the federal and state governments, and the prospect of teacher pension costs shifting to the counties, and it’s clear that this Spending Affordability Committee must adopt a conservative budget threshold.  I look forward to working with my colleagues and the County Executive to ensure we maintain a fiscally disciplined approach.