Strange Bedfellows

County Administrative Officer Fred Homan, not County Executive Jim Smith, will meet with members of the county’s House delegation Friday to answer questions about the county’s projected $144 million budget deficit.

The delegation asked Smith to meet with them last month regarding the budget at the request of Republican Del. Pat McDonough, who represents the 7th District including Cockeysville, Middle River and part of Perry Hall.

The political ramifications of such a request must also be noted since McDonough is mulling a run for county executive in 2010, and Smith is  considering a run for state senate in McDonough’s district. (more…)

Last night’s council meeting might be the fastest on record, clocking in at 4 minutes, 44 seconds.

From the Pledge of Allegiance to the open public forum, the whole meeting took less time than it takes to find a parking space near the Old Courthouse and navigate through the security checkpoint.

Was it the fastest ever? (more…)

Councilman Vince Gardina’s resignation from his job as a substitute teacher has ended a review by the county attorney but hasn’t stopped some from raising questions about whether it is appropriate for a council member to work as a teacher in the county.

Republican former Councilman Wayne Skinner said he believes that an agency that receives “50 cents of every dollar in the county budget” is clearly a county agency. Working for the system is clearly a problem, he said.

Skinner has some experience with such issues. He was an administrator for the state Department of Assessments and Taxation at the same time he served as a councilman — a position we now know is in conflict with holding office as a councilman in the county, according to the County Charter. (more…)

Let’s face it, nothing is as political in any county as snow removal.

County executives have been nearly run out of town on a rail because of it. That’s why executives hold annual press conferences to tell county residents how they are preparing to keep the streets clear when the snow arrives.

Add to the political fodder a Monday night press release from county Republican Central Committee Chairman Chris Cavey, who criticized County Executive Jim Smith and the County Council for what he desribed as a failure to properly plan for last weekend’s blizzard.

“Everyone knew it was coming,” Cavey said. “They were calling it Snowmageddon and stuff like that.” (more…)

The last thing a county with a $144 million revenue shortfall needs is a blizzard.

Don Mohler, a county spokesman, said he and County Executive Jim Smith tried to ward off the impending storm with a little anti-snow dance.

“Last week I used all my bad dance moves,” said Mohler. “I even had the county executive doing a little butter-churn move.” (more…)

Maryland joined the Powerball drawings last night but that might not help Baltimore County, which just saw its projected budget deficit for the current year grow $6 million to $144 million.

Maryland Morning News Anchor Bill Vanko and I talk about it in this week’s chat about Baltimore County politics.

The state is not the only one with budget woes.

Baltimore County is facing a $138 million budget shortfall due to income tax and property tax revenues being less than anticipated in the budget that was passed last spring.

The only question that remains is how the county will deal with the shortfall. (more…)

Comptroller Peter Franchot came to Towson last week, preaching the gospel of penny-pinching in a place even he seemed to think was a bit odd — a Democratic club meeting.

Franchot spoke to about 50 attendees of the Central Baltimore County Democratic Club last Tuesday and compared the economy to a blizzard.

“The snow has stopped falling, but there’s 10 feet outside and it’s going to take a while to dig out,” Franchot said, adding that the possibility of new taxes to support state spending is slim to none until the economy rebounds.

“As Democrats, we have to reform state spending,” Franchot said. “A lot of Democrats look at me like, ‘What’s that?’ Like they took an oath to defend every last dime of spending in public programs.” (more…)

Republican Councilman Bryan McIntire had debt on the brain — specifically the growing state debt.

The County Council unanimously approved Monday night a debt policy statement that is now required to be submitted to the state.

The General Assembly passed a law earlier this year requiring each jurisdiction to provide a document that governs how bonds are issued and which types of debt are used in each county. (more…)

Del. Pat McDonough says people are talking to him about running for governor and he’s decided to listen — up to a point.

McDonough said he is beginning a “testing the waters” process, which he defined as “something less formal than an exploratory process.”

McDonough, a Republican who represents the 7th District, has previously expressed an interest in running for county executive.

But over the past few months, the three-term delegate said he has been getting calls from listeners to his radio show on WCBM, and also comments from people he meets encouraging him to run for governor. (more…)