Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist

Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist
Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Md Troopers Assoc #20 & Westminster Md Fire Dept Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist
Showing posts with label Dayhoff writing essays MML. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dayhoff writing essays MML. Show all posts

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Dayhoff Time Flies: Ocean City - Down the ocean, hon.


Dayhoff Time Flies: Ocean City - Down the ocean, hon.

Sunday, June 30, 2019 by Kevin E. Dayhoff

This year I enjoyed the summer solstice, Friday, June 21, by doing a 2.25-mile run on the boardwalk in Ocean City. According to the Washington Post, “The summer solstice is … our longest day and shortest night of the year, and the first day of astronomical summer in Earth’s Northern Hemisphere… In Washington, the sun (was) up for 14 hours and 54 minutes on June 21, rising in the northeastern sky (at) 5:43 a.m. and setting in the northwest at 8:37 p.m. (For perspective, that’s about 5½ hours more daylight than seen on the winter solstice in December.)”

I could not think of a better way to spend the longest day of the year than to spend it in Ocean City “down the ocean, hon.”

Some of my fondest childhood memories include leisurely vacations on the Chesapeake Bay, explorations throughout the Eastern Shore and walking on the boardwalk in Ocean City. For some reason French fries, pizza and ice cream, always taste better when it is mixed with an ocean salt breeze, walking the boardwalk, while fighting off the seagulls.




Friday, September 29, 2017

Congratulations to Commissioner Steve Wantz for graduating from the Univ. of MD Academy for Excellence in Local Governance

Congratulations to Commissioner Steve Wantz for graduating from the Univ. of MD Academy for Excellence in Local Governance

Commissioner Steve Wantz, District 1, graduated from the Academy for Excellence in Local Governance on Sunday, September 24, 2017
 
September 28, 2017 by Kevin Dayhoff

It was announced today that Commissioner Steve Wantz, District 1, graduated from the Academy for Excellence in Local Governance on Sunday, September 24, 2017.

The graduation ceremony took place at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy Academy Fellows graduation ceremony in the University of Maryland Memorial Chapel.

I would like to be among the first to congratulate Commissioner Wantz on his accomplishment. Graduating from the academy takes long hours, and a great deal of perseverance, and dedication, on top of attending to the day-to-day time and energy challenges of being an elected official.

Westminster Common Council Member Suzanne Albert and I graduated among a total of five local Carroll County officials on June 2, 2001. We are well-aware of the challenges of attending out of town classes and spending long hours in the classroom in order to complete a minimum of 12 classes in a two year period, in order to be eligible to graduate.

In 1999, I was encouraged to take the classes, by my late father-in-law Dave Babylon, who had served on the Westminster Common Council for 25 years in the 1970s-1980s. He was a big supporter of the MML and emphasized looking beyond our walls – beyond of city limits for learning opportunities in order that we maintain Westminster’s reputation for being on the cutting edge of forward thinking governance.

On October 18, 1999, I explained in a memo, “The Academy is a joint effort of the Maryland Municipal League (MML), the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo), the Local Government Insurance Trust (LGIT,) and the University of Maryland Institute for Governmental Service (IGS.)

“The Academy is a voluntary training program designed as an educational response to the professional needs of local officials in Maryland. Local Officials are increasingly asked to do more, often with fewer resources. As more governmental decision making is made at the local level, increasingly, local officials are called on to understand and make decisions on highly complex issues with weighty implications to their jurisdictions.

“The Academy has been designed to help local officials meet the challenges of their roles. To receive the Academy certificate local government officials must complete training sessions on six core topics and six elective topics. Classes will be of varying lengths. On average, it is expected each Fellow will have completed between 25 and 40 hours of training.” 

On September 28, 2017, Carroll County government announced that “Commissioner Wantz joined more than 90 public officials from across the state to receive an Academy certificate in the presence of family and friends. All Academy Fellows completed a substantial number of program hours, which included core and elective classes designed to meet their professional needs as municipal or county officials in local government. Through the program, Academy Fellows not only enhanced their understanding of local government issues and ethical standards for public service, but also developed a foundation for informed policy making and effective governance.

Commissioner Steve Wantz said in a county media release, “This professional development program greatly increased my knowledge as a government official. The curriculum was challenging and included topics such as risk management, county financial management, employment issues, ethics, open meetings, and the Public Information Act. I thoroughly enjoyed working with officials from other jurisdictions and believe the program made me a stronger, more informed and effective leader for Carroll County.”

The release further explained “The Academy, which offered its first classes in 1998, is a collaborative effort between the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, the Maryland Municipal League, the Maryland Association of Counties, and the Local Government Insurance Trust.

“The School of Public Policy is recognized as one of the country’s premier programs in public policy and management. The School has more than 25 years of experience delivering acclaimed leadership development and public policy programs to public (federal, state and local) clients as well as for- and non-profit organizations and government agencies from abroad.”

Congratulations Commissioner Wantz. The classes you took to graduate from the Academy for Excellence in Local Governance will serve you well and all of Carroll County will benefit.




*****

Monday, September 22, 2008

Westminster Eagle: Be critical of spending, but MML has been worthwhile by Kevin Dayhoff


Westminster Eagle: Be critical of spending, but MML has been worthwhile by Kevin Dayhoff

Posted on http://www.explorecarroll.com/opinion-talk/ 9/17/08

There has been a fair amount of discussion of late regarding published accounts of the June trip by 15 appointed and elected officials from Westminster to attend the annual Maryland Municipal League summer convention -- which city officials acknowledge cost approximately $19,000 in taxpayer money.

The reaction on the street and in the grocery store checkout line was, to be polite, outrage. "Where were their heads when they made this harebrained decision?" asked an acquaintance while I was munching on fries and a roast beef sandwich at Baugher's.

Well, have a seat and take a deep breath. For you see, I can't entirely go along with the populist rabble on this one.

Yes, I enjoy my reputation as a tightwad penny pincher, for which I have endured eloquent criticism in the past -- criticism that comes from those who believe tax and spend big government is the answer to all the challenges in our community.

At a time when city officials are, to the best of my knowledge, for the first time in Westminster history laying off employees due to budget constraints, raising taxes and actively discussing curtailing city services; was it really wise to spend $19,000 on a convention -- which included a $1,500 "team-building dinner?"

Probably not. As one person said to me, it doesn't meet the smell test.

City officials have defended the expense of attending the MML convention, as well they should, by saying in affect that the conference is cost effective.

However, by all accounts, they missed the big picture in defense of the expenditure in that the real challenge facing Westminster is a community conversation over the growth of city government and the spending priorities and policies of the current administration.

The cost of the MML convention served as a lightning rod for the frustration of many folks in the community concerning the past several years when conflicting messages have been telegraphed to the public about city finances. For example, in the last several years the city has added new administrative positions at a cost of more than $200,000 a year -- all the while pleading poverty.

If you want to be upset over the spending priorities and the lack of fiscal discipline of the current administration; have at it.

However, I would leave the MML out of it. For my money, MML is actually part of the solution.

To be fair, the current administration campaigned on the need for increased spending, taxes, bureaucracy and larger government. To now be angry because they've been true to their word is disingenuous at best.

When I was an elected official with the city, I attended six conferences in Ocean City and I continue to keep in touch with MML officials and stay current with MML initiatives, programs, conferences and seminars.

The annual summer convention has grown over the years into a must-attend event for statewide elected leaders as well as municipal officials. Even though it's held in Ocean City, it is a far cry from a vacation at the beach. It's a great deal of work crammed into too few days.

What city officials ought to have done is give a "show me the money" report on what an invaluable service the MML and the summer convention provides our community. There really is bang for that buck, but it's hard to hear that bang over the sound of public protest.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster. E-mail him at kdayhoff@carr.org.

http://www.explorecarroll.com/opinion/1005/be-critical-spending-but-mml-has-been-worthwhile/

20080917 WE Be critical of spending but MML has been worthwhile

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