Dayhoff Westminster

Dayhoff Westminster
www.kevindayhoff.city Address: PO Box 124, Westminster MD 21158 410-259-6403 kevindayhoff@gmail.com

Monday, October 31, 2011

Municipal officials gather in Cambridge for annual conference

Municipal officials gather in Cambridge for annual conference By Kevin Dayhoff October 30, 2011

Sunday evening and early Monday morning, elected officials from Maryland cities and towns throughout the state will converge on the Cambridge Hyatt Chesapeake Bay conference facilities for the Maryland Municipal League’s fall legislative conference.

The Maryland Municipal League, was founded in 1936 by Annapolis Mayor Louis N. Phelps in an effort for Maryland municipalities to obtain funds available to local governments from the Work Progress Administration (WPA] under President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal.

The organization that is completely run by local officials from the 157 cities and towns from across the state works as an advocate for municipalities throughout the State of Maryland.

Rockville Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio summed it up best in a June 9, 2011 press release when “Rockville was one of 44 cities and towns in Maryland to earn the Maryland Municipal League (MML) distinction of Banner City/Town…

“The work that the Maryland Municipal League does is vital to the cities and towns in Maryland, and Rockville is better able to enhance the quality of life for residents because of our work with the group,” said Marcuccio.

This year’s fall conference comes hours after a rare October winter storm dumped approximately 4 to 9 inches of heavy wet snow on the Maryland area for most of Saturday.

According to a Baltimore Sun article by Joe Burris, “Wet snow fell throughout Maryland, with the National Weather Service issuing preliminary reports of up to 4.5 inches in northern Baltimore County, as much as 6 inches in Carroll County and up to 9 inches in Allegany County…”

The unseasonable cold temperatures resulted in “The weather service (issuing) a freeze warning for the Baltimore-Washington area from midnight to 9 a.m. on Sunday. The weather service said that temperatures would range from the 20s in mountainous areas to the low 30s in urban areas,” according to Burris.

The weather may not the only “deep freeze” descending upon the state as national, statewide and local elected officials attempt to fathom the political consequences of the recent Maryland General Assembly’s congressional redistricting special session, October 17 – 19, 2011.

On the third day of the special session, October 19, the Maryland House of Delegates passed Democrat Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley controversial redistricting map to redraw Maryland eight seats in the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 91-46.

The results drew the ire of statewide and local official, both Democrat and Republican alike and spawned threats of federal lawsuits.

“A coalition of African-American voting rights groups and Republicans announced they will oppose Gov. Martin O'Malley's plan to redraw the state's eight congressional districts and warned that they intend to take the issue to court,” noted Bryan Sears in an article for the Lutherville – Timonium Patch,

“Carletta Fellows, a spokeswoman for the Fannie Lou Hamer PAC, called O'Malley's plan ‘institutional racism’ and said it violates the federal Voting Rights Act by not creating a third majority minority district.”

With the controversial congressional redistricting already a distant distraction from the country’s ongoing economic malaise, elected officials from Maryland’s cities and towns have their work cut out for them as they prepare for the upcoming regular session of the Maryland General Assembly in January 2012.

The contracted economy has caused a prolonged reduction of revenues from local governments from across the state in the face of increased demands on services.

The most pressing issue on the minds of municipal officials is the matter of restoring funds that have been lost over the last number of years because of problems in the state budget. 

Other areas that appear to be on the minds of municipal officials are Maryland Department of Planning’s PlanMaryland initiative and the recent recommendation by the Maryland Blue Ribbon Commission on Maryland Transportation Funding that the state increase the gas tax by 15 cents per gallon.

Cities have lost the most money in Highway User Revenues.

Maryland’s incorporated cities and towns have few municipal revenue sources to rely on. More than other government forms in Maryland, cities and towns depend on the property tax as their primary general fund revenue source with which to support basic services for our communities. 

However, as I learned first hand when I served on the MML board of directors for five consecutive years, from June 2000 to May 2005; in addition to education and networking, perhaps the MML has been most effective in advocating for municipalities with the Maryland General Assembly. 

Each year, the MML chooses several priority issues that directly affect the future well-being of Maryland’s cities and towns, and those who live in them. 

The MML then has these issues introduced as legislation before the Maryland General Assembly, and works to usher these issues through the legislative process. 

While the MML’s legislative agenda for the upcoming Maryland General Assembly remains a priority of the conference, the annual training and educational get-together has been expanded in recent years to make it more like a “mini convention.” 

Each year, the MML fall conference gives elected officials from municipalities across the state an opportunity to get together for seminars, workshops and discussions on the various issues facing Maryland cities and towns and helps prepare for the upcoming regular session of the Maryland General Assembly in January.

It may be easily argued that Maryland state budget cuts to municipalities in recent years could have easily caused much more damage to local governments if it had not been for the tireless efforts of the MML working the hallways and offices of Annapolis during the legislative session.

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MML – Maryland Municipal League Fall Conference October 31 - November 2, 2011





For more information on the 2011 Fall Maryland Municipal League’s Fall Legislative Conference at the Cambridge Maryland Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay, including a “Complete 2011 Fall Conference Information (.pdf)” packet, visit the MML website at www.mdmunicipal.org.

MML Fall Conference October 31 - November 2, 2011

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