On December 11th I will be hosting a Community Conversation on "Public Education in Anne Arundel County." The three panel participants will include:
Two zoning bills are scheduled for a public hearing and vote this coming Monday, October 1st. These bills affect a variety of zoning and development issues such as traffic, road capacity, and infill development of small lots.
Three bills that I am co-sponsoring are scheduled for a public hearing and vote this coming Tuesday night. These bills affect community meetings, secondary police employment, and electronic signs. (Note that because of the Labor Day holiday, the Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday night instead of Monday.)
Community Meetings Bill
County law requires a developer to hold a community meeting before submitting a new subdivision or development plan. The meeting is "for the purpose of allowing the developer to present information regarding the development, and allowing the community to ask questions or provide comments (Sec. 17.2.107)."
The law requires the meeting to be held at an ADA-accessible facility "reasonably close" to the development site. In practice, this usually works out as intended. On a handful of occasions, however, the developer has creatively interpreted the term "reasonably." Earlier this year, for example, a developer held a meeting for a proposed development in Crownsville at the Eastport/Annapolis Neck Library, a good 30 minutes and two zip codes away.
To correct this loophole, Bill No. 62-07 requires that developers hold the community meeting "within five miles of the development site." On that rare occasion when the five-mile limit is impractical, for instance in rural South County, the five-mile limit may be waived but only by the Planning and Officer.
County Executive John Leopold and Council Members Jamie Benoit, Cathy Vitale and I are co-sponsoring this bill.
Police Secondary Employment Bill
Anne Arundel County police officers have long held secondary jobs at restaurants and other businesses around the county. This secondary employment provides a quadruple benefit: first, it enhances public safety by putting more uniformed officers out into the community; second, it accomplishes this without spending taxpayer dollars; third, it provides business owners with well-trained personnel to enhance security and safety at their establishments; and fourth, it provides a reasonable way for police officers to earn additional income.
Several years ago, the County's Ethics Commission opined that it was a conflict of interest for police officers to work secondary employment at establishments that sold alcohol. The reasoning was that the officer might feel compromised if he or she observed an alcohol violation, because the establishment, not the government, was paying for him or her to be there. In other words, according to the opinion, an officer could be reluctant to make an arrest or take an action that might disrupt the establishment's revenues.
When the opinion came out, the police chief at that time, Tom Shanahan, disregarded it. He continued to allow police officers to work secondary employment at restaurants that served alcohol. An Ethics Commission opinion is strictly advisory and Chief Shanahan was within his authority to disregard it.
Earlier this year, the new police chief, James Teare, made a decision to prohibit secondary employment at establishments that served alcohol. Even though such employment was not prohibited by law, Chief Teare wanted to be consistent with the Ethics Commission's opinion.
As I indicated above, secondary police employment provides several benefits. I believe these benefits are greatest at an establishment that serves alcohol. When the bartender yells "last call" is when the presence of a uniformed officer is most helpful. The officer can provide a deterrent effect for unruly patrons as they head to their cars, and also provide an added level of security for the remaining employees who are closing up after the customers leave.
Bill No. 59-07 will amend the law to clarify that police officers can indeed work secondary employment at establishments that serve alcohol and also at bingo parlors. It draws the line at bars, and only permits secondary employment at restaurants whose primary business is not alcohol. I support expanding this provision in the future to allow secondary employment at bars as well, but the police union is requesting only the current language. For now the police union just wants the law to affirm what had been the practice for many years.
It bears mention that the nature of secondary employment has been misconstrued in some of the press coverage. Contrary to what was reported in one article, officers may not work as bouncers or assist in the operation of the business in any way. Secondary employment allows an officer to be paid to remain onsite, provide a calming presence, and respond in a police capacity when necessary.
County Executive Leopold and Council Members Ed Middlebrooks, Ron Dillon, Cathy Vitale and I are co-sponsoring this bill.
Electronic Sign Bill
You have probably noticed more and more electronic signboards with moving images popping up around the county. As these signs become more affordable, we can expect to see more businesses erecting them.
I am concerned about this trend for two reasons. The first is public safety. Our eyes are naturally drawn to moving images, especially bright, electronic red dots. The whole purpose of these signs is to attract attention. Every driver is responsible for driving safely, but the fact is that we have too many distractions while driving already. Even if I am driving responsibly, do I want the driver next to me to be reading a moving sign instead of paying attention to the road?
The second reason is aesthetics. I admit that this is getting into a personally subjective gray area. Glitzy signs can be attractive and they do have their place, but not in Anne Arundel County. Our county still has a unique, attractive character and we should be doing what we can to preserve what makes us special. My concern is that ten years from now, these signs will be everywhere and we'll look more like the Las Vegas Strip than the county we know and love today.
Although the Chamber of Commerce opposes this ban, I believe that in the long run it will be good for our local economy. Strong design guidelines establish a sense of place and help attract new businesses to an area. Ed McMahon of the Urban Land Institute (not the one from The Tonight Show) has written extensively on this issue. (Lessons in Community Development Learned from Traveling is a brief piece he wrote in 2005 about development in San Antonio.)
Bill No. 63-07 establishes modest limitations on how electronic signs display their messages. The bill prohibits "... moving picture or video images, moving electronic images, (and) moving, flashing, or scrolling text messages..." The bill does not ban electronic signs, nor does it require businesses to take down any electronic signs they already have. Instead, it simply requires that an image remain static for at least five seconds.
Councilmember Jamie Benoit and I are co-sponsoring this bill.
To Testify
The Council Meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the Arundel Center. Anyone wishing to speak may sign up beginning at 6:30 p.m. For more information visit the County Council's webpage.
This past Monday night I introduced a bill to help foster and grow our county's valued maritime sector.
Bill No. 56-07, co-sponsored by Councilman Ed Middlebrooks, will create a countywide Maritime Advisory Board. This Board will help Anne Arundel's diverse maritime community speak with a unified voice and advise the County on issues that affect it. Doing so will benefit not only the maritime industry, but all of us who value our county's maritime character and quality of life.
Maritime industry in Anne Arundel County
Individually, many maritime businesses are small, locally-owned operations that employ just a handful of people. Collectively, the maritime indusry is a major economic force. According to the Boating 2000 report by the University of Maryland, Maryland's maritime industry generates a massive $1.6 billion economic impact statewide. Anne Arundel County alone generates $400 million, a full quarter of the statewide impact. This is not surprising considering that more boats are registered here than in any other county in Maryland.
Why do we need another County board?
Anne Arundel's maritime industry is well established but we cannot afford to take it for granted. Maritime businesses have to navigate more than the usual amount of regulations because they are located literally at the juncture where land meets water. County government impacts so many aspects of the industry, from zoning and permits to health and environmental regulations. That's why decision makers need to be informed and understand the effects of their decisions on our maritime community. This new Board will give the industry a platform from which to advocate for its concerns.
What about water quality?
With dead zones sadly becoming more common in our rivers and the Bay, people are becoming more concerned about our water quality. Maritime businesses have a special responsibility to be good stewards of the water. In recognition of this, the bill establishes that one of the Board's voting members shall be one of our county's RiverKeepers. Ensuring an environmental voice on the Board just makes good sense. After all, maritime businesses benefit too when our creeks and rivers are clean and safe and support aquatic life.
Next steps
Bill No. 56-07 is on the agenda for a public hearing and vote on Monday, August 6th. The council meeting is at 7 p.m. in the Arundel Center. People can sign in to testify beginning at 6:30 p.m. If and when the County Council adopts the bill, the County Executive will appoint the members. I am hopeful that the Board will be appointed and will start meeting by the end of this year.
Last week the County Council adopted the Annapolis Neck comprehensive zoning bill. The final version that passed is a mixed bag.
The adoption finally brings closure to a 10-year planning process that started with the 1997 General Development Plan. On the plus side, the bill limits future development on hundreds of acres of environmentally sensitive land south of Forest Drive, as recommended by the 2003 Annapolis Neck Small Area Plan.
In the minus column, some amendments that passed open the door to more intense development by upzoning several parcels along the Bestgate Road corridor. Most disheartening is that the bill fails to honor the agreement reached by community leaders and owners of the Samaras property on Bay Ridge Road. I'll discuss this agreement more towards the end.
What's in the adopted bill
One parcel at the intersection of Generals Highway is the site of the former Naval Institute book warehouse. It was already zoned C-2 commercial and the bill upzones it to C-3.
Several residential lots along Fowler Road across Bestgate Road from Fowler United Methodist Church;
The home site between Sunrise Assisted Living and the 24-hour Emergency Veterinary Clinic. This is to become a new dental clinic;
The house at the intersection of Rowe Boulevard and N. Bestgate Road across from St. John Neumann Church;For the past four months, several community leaders worked hard to negotiate a landmark agreement with the owners of the properties referred to as the Samaras property. These six acres on Bay Ridge Road include the C&C Liquors store across from Georgetown Road, as well as several residences next to and behind it.
The agreement secured several concessions to benefit the community. It would have required the property owners to build LEEDS-certified green buildings; replicate the stormwater runoff as if the land were in its pristine, natural state; protect a forest conservation easement along the rear property line; reduce curb cuts onto Bay Ridge Road; and add a bike path.
In addition to these specific concessions, the property owners agreed to establish a design review board of residents to work with the developer and monitor the project from start to finish. This would have literally given the community a seat at the table to help shape the development in a positive way.
In return for these concessions, the agreement called for rezoning the balance of the property from R-2 residential to C-1 commercial. Making the property all commercial would have benefited both parties. It would have given the property owners the financial return to pay for the concessions. It also would have meant no more houses along this stretch of Bay Ridge Road, something the community leaders were trying to avoid.
The community representatives who participated in the negotiations shared my belief that some development is inevitable on that site. The purpose of the agreement was to ensure that when the site does get redeveloped, it would be done in a neighborly way that enhanced rather than diminished our quality of life.
Last week the County Council adopted the Fiscal Year 2008 budget for Anne Arundel County. The $1.44 billion budget includes $1.22 billion in operating funds and $219 million in capital projects.
The County Auditor noted that this is the tightest budget in 20 years. The budget limits spending increases through a combination of tax rate cuts and expense cuts. At the same time, the budget funds a record increase to the Board of Education.
Overall, the budget process was collaborative and it worked well. Although many worthy items were not funded, we did the best we could to balance different objectives with the money available.
Taxes
The budget reduces the property tax rate by three percent, from 91.8 cents to 89.1 cents per $100 of assessed value. This reduction is required by the county’s property tax revenue cap, which requires the county to reduce the tax rate when rising assessments outpace the rate of inflation. With this tax rate cut, Anne Arundel County continues to have the lowest property tax rate ($0.891) and income tax rate (2.56%) of any of Maryland’s “big seven” largest jurisdictions.
This past March, the Standard & Poors bond rating agency awarded us a coveted Triple-A bond rating. This valuable designation will save taxpayers money by letting the county borrow money at more favorable rates to pay for long-term capital improvements. This rating is due in large part to the county’s history of prudent fiscal management.
What’s in the budget
The budget invests a record $545 million to the Board of Education, an increase of roughly $29 million. This increase funds 213 new positions including 111 new teachers and 45 new teacher aides. The budget also funds the negotiated 6 percent teacher salary increase supported by the County Council.
The budget includes $25,000 for a proposed Forest Drive commuter express shuttle. I have requested a $25,000 match from the State of Maryland and an in-kind match from the City of Annapolis. By partnering together, the City, County and State can make this new service a reality.
Several capital projects in District 6 are funded. Most of the press attention centered on the Quiet Waters Park Ice Rink repair which made it through. (The County is paying $750,000 of the $2 million total price tag. The State is paying the remaining $1.25 million through its Program Open Space funds.)
Other funded projects include the Forest Drive road widening project to add an additional through lane in each direction between Chinquapin Round Road and Hilltop Lane. Engineers estimate that this will reduce backup times by 25 percent during peak hours. The budget also funds an expansion of Peninsula Park on Bay Ridge Road, and keeps the new Annapolis Neck Fire Station on schedule to open in late 2008.
What’s not in the budget: full funding for education
Despite the record funding and new positions, in my view the budget does not do nearly enough to bring our public school system “from good to great,” as schools Superintendent Kevin Maxwell often says.
Although 213 positions may sound like a lot, many of them are mandated and do not address existing needs. For example, almost 100 of the 213 new positions are going to a state-mandated all-day kindergarten or to Pre-K. The budget partially funds the IB Middle Years Program at Annapolis Middle School and two other schools, but fails to fund the new teaching positions that go along with it.
It is unclear how the Board of Education will provide for the new Annapolis High School initiatives. AHS faces the prospect of a state takeover if it fails to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) during this coming school year. Principal Don Lilley has good ideas such as identifying struggling, incoming ninth-graders and providing them with a rigorous educational program before they fall further behind. But he can only implement these initiatives if the money is there.
It is a common misperception that most education dollars should fund only teachers, and that non-teacher positions are mostly unnecessary. In fact, without the help of guidance counselors, social workers, pupil personnel workers, secretaries, test coordinators and other staff, teachers would be unable to spend the necessary time on instruction. It is vitally important to maintain a full component of these services.
It is hard for a student to excel when his or her family is in the midst of a crisis such as going through a divorce or battling addiction. Guidance counselors can intervene in these difficult situations and help students find stability and stay focused. Unfortunately, guidance counselors, social workers and others are spread far too thinly to do their job well. Guidance counselors are often unable to even meet with students because the lack of test coordinators requires them to spend weeks on end doing paperwork instead.
What’s not in the budget: non-profits
The budget cuts grants to non-profits by almost 50 percent. Although the County Council and Executive restored a little over $800,000 in funding, severe cuts may force many agencies to close their doors. It is especially distressing that the County provided no funding at all to the OIC Job Readiness Center and Centro de Ayuda (Center of Help), two local non-profits. OIC has offered adult basic education and job skills training to thousands of low-income county residents since 1978. Center of Help is one of only a handful of organizations that assist Spanish-speaking residents with everything from paperwork to after-school programs.
In my view, many grants to non-profits are sound investments that are more than matched by the non-profits’ own resources. Non-profits leverage their public funding to bring in additional resources such as foundation grants and private donations. Armies of dedicated volunteers supplement paid staff. Cultural and arts groups also make an intangible but important contribution to our quality of life. They not only bring jobs and revenues to our county, they help make it a vibrant livable community instead of a bedroom community of commuters.
The County recently sought and received the State grant office's assistance to help local non-profits pursue other funding sources in the future. This is a welcome offer but unfortunately may be too late to help some agencies. Many of the non-profits who were counting on County grants have no time to replace those funds before the fiscal year starts on July 1st.
What does the future hold?
Our economy is not as robust as it was just a couple of years ago. For instance, real estate transfer and recordation taxes, which account for more than $100 million in County revenues, have been declining for two years. Next year the state has to solve a huge structural deficit that many budget experts believe will lead to cuts in state aid to counties. Clearly we need to be frugal as we go through an uncertain time.
Still, at some time Anne Arundel County will need to decide if it is content with the services it offers and the achievement level of its schools, or if it wants to do better. I believe that Anne Arundel County cannot afford to continue on its current path. Of the big seven counties, Anne Arundel ranks sixth for our ratio of students to instructional staff and seventh for non-instructional staff. Our rank is a meager 21st and 20th in these two categories when compared to all 24 counties statewide.
In the Annapolis feeder system, almost 40 percent of middle school students attend private school. This is unacceptable for so many reasons. Around Fort Meade our county will bear the brunt of, and pay the infrastructure costs for, a tremendous military expansion. We will only realize the full revenues associated with that expansion if new taxpayers choose to live in our county rather than Howard County or another jurisdiction. We need a top-notch school system in order to compete. We owe it to ourselves and to our children.
I welcome your thoughts on these and other issues. You can reach me at 410-222-1401 or by email at joshua.cohen@aacounty.org.
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