By Kevin Dayhoff October
30, 2011
On Sunday evening, October 30, 2011 and early Monday
morning, October 31, 2011, 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.
I have not attended a fall Maryland Municipal League (MML) conference
since 2004. In that year, I attended as the mayor of Westminster and an elected
member of the Maryland Municipal League’s board of directors.
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.
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.
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.
If I am not mistaken, the first fall MML legislative
conference I attended was in 1999. On October 27, 2004, I wrote about the fall
conference:
On October 21-23, 2004, I had the privilege to join Carroll
County leaders such as Suzanne Albert, Laurell Taylor, John Medve, Haven
Shoemaker, Jim McCarron, Bob Flickinger, Frank Johnson and Wendy Peters at the
annual Maryland Municipal League’s (MML) Fall Legislative Conference at Rocky
Gap near Cumberland.
Each year, the MML
fall conference unites elected officials from municipalities across the state
and experienced speakers to assist local governments with various issues.
While the MML’s legislative agenda for the upcoming Maryland
General Assembly remains a priority, the conference has been expanded in recent
years to make it more like a "mini convention.
This year, over 225 municipal officials from 70 of the
state's 157 municipalities, joined statewide leaders such as Senator Rich
Colburn, Harford County Executive Jim Harkins, Delegate Brian Moe, Congressman
Bartlett and Lt. Governor Michael Steele in an intense interactive agenda that
included nine workshops that touched upon issues that are affecting citizens
today, including everything from
environmental issues and growth and development to an explanation on First
Amendment legal issues and the Main Street Maryland program.
The conference had a
good mix of education and training through workshops, networking and meeting
counterparts and other officials with information that could be helpful
to all of us – now.
Local officials, John Medve and Steve Horn gave excellent
presentations on planning issues. Other
presentations included: Local Government Employment Issues; Administering the
Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund; Municipal Utilities – Growth Capacity
Analysis; The “Main Street Maryland” Program; Maryland’s “Priority Places”
Initiative; Growth is Coming – Are You Ready?; Parliamentary Procedure &
Effective Council Meetings; First Amendment Legal Issues Explained; Basics of Risk Management for Public
Officials; and Understanding Your Municipal Charter.
The main issues were growth and planning issues, and that
five letter word: ‘water’. The issue just doesn’t seem to go away.
At the business meeting on October 22, the three MML
priorities for this coming year were intensely debated.
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. This year's legislative platform
addresses public safety, restoring municipal resources and electric
aggregation.
All
three issues greatly impact the lives of citizens, with the biggest priority
being the issue of restoring funds that have been lost over the last three
years because of problems in the state budget.
Cities
have lost the most money in Highway User Revenues and Program Open Space funds.
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.
For the FY 2005 budget, approximately 36% of Maryland’s
municipalities increased instituted or increased cost recoveries or user fees,
14% reduced or eliminated existing services, 45% laid off employees or
eliminated cost of living increases in salary, 46% delayed construction
projects, delayed capital purchases or sold assets, 48% used money from their savings
accounts to pay operating expenses, and 18% increased property taxes.
In terms
of public safety, the idea is for police departments to receive better
equipment so officers can communicate with each other quicker.
The most
hotly debated issue was the matter of municipal electric aggregation.
The 1999
electric deregulation legislation specifically did not allow municipalities a
reasonable opportunity to pool our citizens’ electric bills in an attempt to
minimize the impact of electric deregulation and rising electric bills.
In
subsequent attempts in the last several legislative sessions, the Maryland
General Assembly has consistently said that it will not even entertain MML
legislation to remedy this situation.
Reminding
the municipalities at the business session, the MML leadership wanted to change
the Electric Aggregation Legislative Priority to request a Taskforce, instead
of remedial legislation.
After a
floor fight conducted by about 60 mayors, who dusted the cobwebs off the deep
arcane corners of Roberts Rules of Parliamentary Procedure and traded motion
and counter motion for 45 minutes, ultimately deciding upon, attempting the
legislation with a fall back position of a Taskforce. Can you say “aspirin”?
+++++++++++
MML – Maryland Municipal League Fall Conference October 31 -
November 2, 2011
Labels: Maryland
Municipal League see MML, MD
MML Muni League Disclosure, MD
Municipal League qv MML, MML, MML
Municipal League
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.
Labels: Maryland Municipal League see MML, MD MML Muni League Disclosure, MD Municipal League qv MML, MML,MML Municipal League, MML Municipal League Fall Legislative Conferencehttp://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/2011/10/reminiscing-about-2004-october-mml-fall.html
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