20070514 Westminster Common Council Mins and Election results

Westminster Common Council

Minutes of City Council Meetings | Agenda for next City Council Meeting

Minutes of City of Westminster Council Meeting

May 14, 2007

QUORUM:

A meeting of The Mayor and Common Council was held in City Hall, 1838 Emerald Hill Lane, on the evening of May 14, 2007 at 7:00 P.M. Council President Chiavacci; Council Members Albert, Wack, Utz, and Pecoraro; City Administrator Wolf; Acting Director of Planning and Public Works Glass; Chief Spaulding; Director of Recreation and Parks Schroers; City Treasurer Unger; and City Attorney Walsh were present.

Mayor Ferguson read a Proclamation declaring Wednesday, June 6, 2007 the Carroll County Law Enforcement Torch Run Day for the benefit of the Special Olympics.

MINUTES:

Mrs. Albert moved to approve the minutes of the meeting of April 23, 2007. Mr. Utz seconded and the Motion passed unanimously.

PUBLIC HEARINGS:

Ms. Sandy Ebaugh of the Office of Housing and Community Development summarized the Community Development Block Grant Program Citizen Participation Plan and the Residential Anti-Displacement and Relocation Assistance Plan. There being no further comment, Mayor Ferguson closed the hearing and the record.

Mr. Gary Ehlers, Manager of Housing and Community Development, summarized the Annual Public Housing Administration Plan and the Annual Administrative Plan for Fiscal Year 2007 – 2008. There being no further comment, Mayor Ferguson closed the hearing and the record.

REPORTS FROM MAYOR:

Mayor Ferguson announced his reappointment of Mr.Jay Bogash and Mr. Joe Barley to the City Tree Commission. Upon Motion of Mr. Pecoraro, seconded by Mr. Utz and unanimously passed, the reappointments were confirmed.

Mayor Ferguson introduced Toni Pomeroy and Jill Paparonous of the recently opened Pomeroy’s Jewlers, along with their landlord, David Baxter. At the Mayor’s request, Chief Spaulding reported on several initiatives to deal with a group of people that has been loitering near the store on Locust Lane and in front of the Library. He reported that the Police and the Library are working closely together to resolve the issue.

REPORTS FROM STANDING COMMITTEES:

Dr. Wack reported that the Cable Committee would meet on May 24, 2007.

ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS:

Dr. Wack moved to adopt Resolution No. R07-4 - Community Development Block Grant Program Citizen Participation Plan. Mr. Pecoraro seconded and the Motion passed unanimously.

Mrs. Albert moved to adopt Resolution No. R07-5 - Residential Anti-Displacement and Relocation Assistance Plan. Mr. Utz seconded and the Motion passed unanimously.

NEW BUSINESS:

Mr. Utz moved to cancel the meetings of May 28 and June 25, 2007. Mr. Pecoraro seconded and the Motion passed unanimously.

Council President Chiavacci announced that the Biennial Organizational Meeting and the Hearing on the Fiscal Year 2008 Tax Rate, the Fiscal Year 2008 Budget, and the Capital Improvements Program would take place in City Hall on Monday, May 21, 2007 at 7:00 P.M.

DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS

Mr. Schroers reported on the success of the Flower and Jazz Festival. He thanked the Streets Department and the Police Department for their assistance.

Mr. Schroers reported that the family of the late Brandon Main, an avid skateboarder, donated $3,200 to the City skatepark after holding a fundraising event.

Mr. Glass reported that the annual hydrant flushing would begin during the next week. He also gave an update on various construction projects.

Ms. Wolf thanked Sandy Ebaugh for organizing the first annual small business reception on behalf of the Greater Westminster Development Corporation and Carroll Community College.

Ms. Wolf noted that she was working with the Community Media Center to film a program concerning the water situation. The Center has invited the City and the Water Task Force to make a presentation concerning public education about issues with water.

CITIZEN COMMENTS:

Toni Pomeroy, owner of Pomeroy’s Jewelers, thanked City staff for helping her to open the store and expressed concern about loitering in the area of Main Street and Locust Lane. She also thanked the Chief for his efforts thus far to deal with loitering problems.

Greater Westminster Development Corporation President Lori Graham reported on recent activities of the organization. She also advised that the second annual Jeff Graham Memorial Ride would take place on Sunday, May 20, 2007.

Council President Chiavacci recessed the meeting at 7:55 P.M. He reconvened the meeting at 8:15 P.M.

Mayor Ferguson presented City resident Susan Thomas with a Mayor’s Recognition for her years of service on the Historic District Commission.

Chief Judges of Election Nancy Smelser and Susan Thomas announced the results of the election held that day, reading the following Statement.

Today’s election results are as follows: The total number of votes cast is 411.

Of that number, the votes cast for each candidate are as follows:

FOR COMMON COUNCIL

Suzanne Albert 287

Charles Cull 104

William Gill 105

Gregory Pecoraro 284

Robert Wack 319

Kenneth Warren 52

Kevin Dayhoff 3 (write-in)

The three candidates who received the highest number of votes for Common Council are: Robert Wack, Suzanne Albert, and Gregory Pecoraro.

Respectfully submitted this 14th day of May, 2007, Nancy A. Smelser and Susan H. Thomas, Chief Judges of Election.

Council President Chiavacci adjourned the meeting at 8:20 p.m.

Laurell E. Taylor

City Clerk

20070514 Be sure to vote in the Westminster City Election today

Be sure to vote in the Westminster City Election today.

For more information: Elections 20070514 Westminster Councilmatic Election

“Elections have consequences.”

May 14, 2007

So if you are a Westminster voter – get out and vote in the municipal election today, Monday, May 14, 2007

Westminster Elections: Six vie for three seats

Elections for three seats on the Westminster Common Council will be held next Monday, May 14.

Three incumbents — Suzanne Albert, Dr. Robert Wack and Gregory Pecoraro — are squaring off against a trio of challengers — residents Charles Cull, William Gill and Kenneth Warren.

The non-partisan position is for a four-year term.

Polls will be open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. For more information on voting, call Laurell Taylor at city hall, 410-848-9000.

Read the entire article here: Westminster Elections: Six vie for three seats

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20070418 Westminster Common Council incumbents face challengers

Election 2007: Common Council incumbents face challengers

Writing for the Westminster Advocate, Ashley Reams has written an excellent primer for the upcoming Westminster City Council elections…

Election 2007: Common Council incumbents face challengers

Ashley Reams 18.APR.07

Six candidates have filed to run for three open seats on the Westminster Common Council as of press time Monday morning. The deadline to file was Monday at 5 p.m. The election will be May 14 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., according to Laurell Taylor, city clerk.

Those who live on the east side of Md. 31 vote at the Westminster fire department at 28 John St., she said. Those who live on the west side of Md. 31 vote at the Community Center at 325 Royer Road.

Anyone who has lived within the city limits for at least six months and can vote in a general election is qualified to vote in the municipal election, she said. The deadline to register to vote was Monday.

Incumbents Suzanne Albert, Gregory Pecoraro and Robert Wack will be vying to keep their seats against challengers Charles Cull, William Gill and Kenneth Warren.

[…]

Read the rest here: Election 2007: Common Council incumbents face challengers

The rest of the piece includes a brief bio of each of the candidates and some idea as to why they are running and what their positions are on various issues…

Some quick thoughts:

From feedback I have received, Councilwoman Suzanne Albert delineates some thoughtfulness and has a strong platform… Councilwoman Albert is a sentimental favorite among many citizens. She has never been a strong campaigner – but we are all looking forward to her continuing to serve on the Common Council.

It is well accepted that Councilman Greg Pecoraro is one the brightest public policy analysts in the state… Agree with him or disagree with him – he has one of the sharpest municipal government minds around and his continued service on the Common Council is important.

Almost all the candidates talk about water – no surprise there.

Only one candidate, William Gill, mentions economic development – and that is a huge surprise… . And the candidate that mentioned it, “nobody” has heard of before.

So much for name recognition and the old model of being active and visible in the community and thereupon throwing your hat in the ring for additional community leadership responsibilities. Whatever.

Many of us would love to hear of some ideas for addressing the historic level of vacancies in Westminster’s historic downtown… At least candidate Ken Warren mentioned it…

One of several frequent criticisms of the current administration is the seemingly inaccessibility, unresponsiveness and lack of visibility of the elected officials… . That said, I always seem to be able to reach Councilwoman Albert and Councilman Pecoraro and have a meaningful conversation with them in which they seem to “be real” with me.

The wild card, before this article came out, was Mr. Cull. He “said housing in Westminster is expensive, and he would like to see more workforce and family housing. He said such housing could possibly be built on government-owned land.”

His platform, as articulated in this article, is weak – and that is being kind.

Most any broadminded public policy analyst understands that facilitating more workforce housing in the community is critical to our continued success and growth – but solving it by “big government” is not the answer. More on that when I get a chance…

Ultimately the best systemic solution to workforce housing in Westminster is enabling and facilitating the private, market driven, sector to tackle the issue and conventional wisdom in much of the community is, that with the exception of the city’s meager existing involvement in HUD housing, the City of Westminster needs to get out of the housing business.

Dr. Wack mentions that he would “like to finish implementing the city’s new accounting software, increase the accountability of the city’s finances and increase citizens’ ability to access city services on the Web, such as online bill pay. He said he would also like to make it easier for citizens to see how their tax dollars are being spent, perhaps making the information available online.”

The City of Westminster has one of the most atrocious web sites around. Upgrading the web site and having such services as “online bill pay,” would be greeted quite favorably by the community.

The other challenge with the web site is the scarcity of meaningful information. Many of us would love to see proposed ordinances and resolutions and other supporting paperwork up for discussion in the council meetings – on the web site.

And for fun, click on “Finance Department:” Budget Summary, Annual Budget Detail or Annual Audit Reports. All of the information is out of date.

I am happy to see Councilman Wack continuing to address the upgrade of the financial software and technology issues. He has the background and apparently the tenacity to see that maybe, just maybe – Westminster may yet enter the electronic information age.

Apparently long forgotten on the minds of many Westminster citizens was the total unequivocal budget fiasco of last year. Councilman Pecoraro was appointed to his council seat to take the place of Councilman Tom Ferguson who prevailed in the mayoral election - and never really got involved in the budget process and it showed.

It would be in Westminster’s best interests to see Councilman Pecoraro once again as the Common Council’s Finance chair.

As far as growth in the city, most of us have confidence in Councilman Pecoraro to make wise public policy decisions preparing us for the future.

Councilman Pecoraro “he’s proud of how the council has handled the city’s water situation since September when the Maryland Department of the Environment put a moratorium on the city’s building projects. That moratorium was lifted earlier this month.”

On this issue, the verdict is still out. Most of us are placing our faith in City Administrator Marge Wolf and acting Planning and Public Works Director Jeff Glass on that issue.

Overheard several times in the community is that it would be better to keep the elected officials away from many of the intricacies and science of the water issues.

Perhaps the smartest comment I’ve heard from any of the elected officials on the water issues came from Councilman Pecoraro when he remarked that he places his faith in City Administrator Wolf and Director Glass to take the lead on those issues. Wise man.

Perhaps the most humorous platform was the idea put forth by candidate Ken Warren – an otherwise well intentioned candidate: “He said if elected, he would hold community forums at Denny’s restaurant to let residents voice their concerns and discuss ways to address them.”

Huh? Oh whatever – moving on…

More thoughts as I find the time… If I were a betting man – and I’m not, but nevertheless the conventional wisdom is be nice to the three incumbents because they are all coming back.

And I guess I’m okay with that. No – I certainly have not agreed with all their initiatives and decisions, but I am convinced that they have the best interest of the city at heart and are working hard to move the city ahead. It has been a difficult two years for all of the elected and appointed officials in the City of Westminster and for their dedication and hard work; they all deserve our respect and our vote.

In the coming weeks, I reserve the right to change my mind – but this is where I am today.

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20050615 Westminster Eagle: Pecoraro returns to council by Alex Gayhart

Westminster Eagle: Pecoraro returns to council by Alex Gayhart

June 15, 2005

The other night at the Westminster Common Council meeting, the Council appointed former Westminster Common Council member – and arguably one the brighter public policy analysts and political scientists in Maryland – to fill the seat vacated by Tom Ferguson when he took the office of mayor.

Councilman Pecoraro is almost a necessary decision – to join a council that, with exception of Councilwoman Suzanne Albert, has little institutional memory or municipal public policy experience. Whether the balance of the Common Council has the skills and abilities to continue a tradition of excellence in governance in Westminster remains to be seen…

Pecoraro returns to council 06/15/05 by Alex Gayhart

Monday night saw the end of Westminster City Council's election season.

Sure, the votes had been tallied back on May 9 - putting Roy Chiavacci back in office, Kevin Utz on the council for the first time and placing Tom Ferguson in the mayor's seat.

But Ferguson's move from the council to the mayor's position left a hole - that is, until Monday evening, when the four council members unanimously voted to put Greg Pecoraro in that seat.

Pecoraro ran in the May 9 election, one of five candidates for two seats, but came up just a bit short.

In fact, he was just 69 votes shy of the second place vote-getter.

"I plan to work as hard as I can to justify your confidence in me," Pecoraro told the council Monday night, shortly after being appointed and sworn in.

He called the experience humbling - humbling enough to have put himself on the line in an election, not to mention having to go through it again a month later for the appointment process.

Last week, the council held a special meeting where members "interviewed" the seven candidates who applied to fill Ferguson's vacant seat. Pecoraro was unable to attend that meeting due to a business trip.

He did, however, send a letter, which was read by Westminster City Clerk Laurell Taylor, expressing his desire to be on the council and his qualifications to be chosen.

Pecoraro, 45, served on the Westminster city council from 1994 until 2003.

During his campaign, Pecoraro discussed the issue of growth in Westminster and the need for the city to grow wisely while ensuring that adequate facilities are provided.

Monday evening saw Pecoraro's appointment not only to the council, but to the position of chairman of the public works committee.

"Which is the one committee that I haven't served on," Pecoraro said after the meeting, expressing amusement in the fact that he will have served on all of four standing committees between his last tenure on the council and the next two years.

Before a motion was made to appoint Pecoraro Monday evening, Councilman Robert Wack made comments on the difficulty of his decision in choosing an appointee.

"I seriously considered abstaining from this vote," Wack said. "(But) we are elected to these positions to make these types of decisions."

Wack called attention to discussion outside of public meetings, which suggested the need for racial and/or ethnic diversity on the council.

"We need to be sensitive to racial, cultural and ethnic issues," Wack said. "We do have some folks (of) various backgrounds in leadership positions in this county, but we don't have enough."

That being said, however, Wack said race and ethnicity did not play a part in his decision.

"All of our candidates are excellent candidates and stand on their own (regardless of race and ethnicity)," he said.

He then made a motion to appoint Pecoraro.

After the meeting, Wack went on to discuss his reasoning. "Because all the candidates ... were all so qualified - it sort of took ethnicity off the table for me," he said.

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20050615 Westminster Eagle: Pecoraro returns to council by Alex Gayhart

20020423 Baltimore Sun: Westminster property tax rise proposed and Officers disapprove of pension plan

Baltimore Sun: Westminster property tax rise proposed and Officers disapprove of pension plan

http://www.sunspot.net/news/local/carroll/bal-ca.council23apr23.story?coll=bal%2Dlocal%2Dcarroll

Westminster property tax rise proposed

Officers disapprove of police pension plan

April 23, 2002

The Westminster Common Council unveiled last night a proposed $21.9 million spending plan for fiscal 2003 that calls for a 4.8-cent increase in the property tax rate - the city's first increase in five years.

"It's a pretty responsible budget that does two things - it tries to meet the city's current need to provide services and it also tries to look to the future for other needs," said Councilman L. Gregory Pecoraro, chairman of the council's finance committee, which drafted the proposed budget.

In another money-related matter, the council introduced last night an ordinance creating a pension enhancement plan for the city's 43 police officers.

Concern for adequate room in case of a large turnout by police officers prompted the council to move the meeting to a hearing room at the County Office Building. More than half the force showed up.

The proposed 2003 budget, which includes monies for the water and sewer funds as well as building projects, is up $4.6 million from the current fiscal year, which ends June 30. Pecoraro said more than half of the money is earmarked for construction of the Longwell Avenue parking deck.

Under the spending plan, city employees will receive a 1 percent cost-of-living raise. This year employees received a 2.5 percent raise, plus $240.

While water and sewer rates will remain the same, the property tax will increase 4.8 cents to 40 cents per $100 of assessed value. The average Westminster home has an assessed value of $125,000 and the homeowner pays $440 in property taxes each year. That will increase to $500 next year.

Pecoraro said the increase could provide the city with about $500,000 in additional revenue.

A public hearing on the proposed budget and tax increase will be held May 6. The council could take action on the proposals as early as May 13.

Local police officers - and several supporters from the Annapolis Police Department - showed up to voice their disapproval of the proposed supplemental retirement plan for the Police Department.

At a cost of $125,000 a year, the city would deposit the equivalent of 5 percent to 9 percent - depending on years of service - of an officer's annual salary into an account similar to a savings plan.

The Westminster Police Association, Local 84, released a statement at the end of the meeting outlining its opposition to the plan.

The organization questioned the viability of the plan to retain officers because its five years' vesting gives officers an excuse to quit in favor of employment by a police department offering the kind of plan they want - a 25-year retirement threshold and 50 percent guaranteed payback.

"Now is the time for the City Council to begin taking care of the employees that take care of the city and keep it running," the statement read.

20020423 Baltimore Sun: Westminster property tax rise proposed and Officers disapprove of pension plan