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

Wednesday, September 28, 1994

19940927 Republican Contract With America

(Photograph from Newt.org – Contract with America)

See text below…

UPDATE:

{The Contract itself emerged publicly with the staging of the mass signing of the Contract on the steps of the U.S. Capitol by 367 candidates for office on September 27, 1994. On that day, all of these candidates publicly pledged: "If we break this Contract, throw us out." The Republicans who were already Members of the House of Representatives organized themselves into 11 working groups that eventually drafted ten bills that made up the Contract.}

For more information go here, and here, and here.

Newt.org’s: Download the 10-Year Anniversary Fact-Sheet

Other information sources retrieved from Wikipedia on June 10th, 2007:

Text of the Contract, from the U.S. House website

The Contract with America: Implementing New Ideas in the U.S., from the Heritage Foundation

Beyond the Contract, criticism of the Contract from Mother Jones magazine

Contract on America's Environment, criticism of the Contract from the Sierra Club

Twelve years later, myths about the Contract persist, mixed picture from A.B. Stoddard of The Hill.

Ignoring evidence to the contrary, USA Today editorial asserted 1994 "Contract with America" was "effective ... in bringing Republicans to power", Media Matters For America cites variety of polls (including NBC/Wall Street Journal) showing low public awareness of Contract.

__________________

_________________

As Republican Members of the House of Representatives and as citizens seeking to join that body we propose not just to change its policies, but even more important, to restore the bonds of trust between the people and their elected representatives.

That is why, in this era of official evasion and posturing, we offer instead a detailed agenda for national renewal, a written commitment with no fine print.

This year's election offers the chance, after four decades of one-party control, to bring to the House a new majority that will transform the way Congress works. That historic change would be the end of government that is too big, too intrusive, and too easy with the public's money. It can be the beginning of a Congress that respects the values and shares the faith of the American family.

Like Lincoln, our first Republican president, we intend to act "with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right." To restore accountability to Congress. To end its cycle of scandal and disgrace. To make us all proud again of the way free people govern themselves.

On the first day of the 104th Congress, the new Republican majority will immediately pass the following major reforms, aimed at restoring the faith and trust of the American people in their government:

FIRST, require all laws that apply to the rest of the country also apply equally to the Congress;

SECOND, select a major, independent auditing firm to conduct a comprehensive audit of Congress for waste, fraud or abuse;

THIRD, cut the number of House committees, and cut committee staff by one-third;

FOURTH, limit the terms of all committee chairs;

FIFTH, ban the casting of proxy votes in committee;

SIXTH, require committee meetings to be open to the public;

SEVENTH, require a three-fifths majority vote to pass a tax increase;

EIGHTH, guarantee an honest accounting of our Federal Budget by implementing zero base-line budgeting.

Thereafter, within the first 100 days of the 104th Congress, we shall bring to the House Floor the following bills, each to be given full and open debate, each to be given a clear and fair vote and each to be immediately available this day for public inspection and scrutiny.

1. THE FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY ACT: A balanced budget/tax limitation amendment and a legislative line-item veto to restore fiscal responsibility to an out- of-control Congress, requiring them to live under the same budget constraints as families and businesses. (Bill Text) (Description)

2. THE TAKING BACK OUR STREETS ACT: An anti-crime package including stronger truth-in- sentencing, "good faith" exclusionary rule exemptions, effective death penalty provisions, and cuts in social spending from this summer's "crime" bill to fund prison construction and additional law enforcement to keep people secure in their neighborhoods and kids safe in their schools. (Bill Text) (Description)

3. THE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY ACT: Discourage illegitimacy and teen pregnancy by prohibiting welfare to minor mothers and denying increased AFDC for additional children while on welfare, cut spending for welfare programs, and enact a tough two-years-and-out provision with work requirements to promote individual responsibility. (Bill Text) (Description)

4. THE FAMILY REINFORCEMENT ACT: Child support enforcement, tax incentives for adoption, strengthening rights of parents in their children's education, stronger child pornography laws, and an elderly dependent care tax credit to reinforce the central role of families in American society. (Bill Text) (Description)

5. THE AMERICAN DREAM RESTORATION ACT: A S500 per child tax credit, begin repeal of the marriage tax penalty, and creation of American Dream Savings Accounts to provide middle class tax relief. (Bill Text) (Description)

6. THE NATIONAL SECURITY RESTORATION ACT: No U.S. troops under U.N. command and restoration of the essential parts of our national security funding to strengthen our national defense and maintain our credibility around the world. (Bill Text) (Description)

7. THE SENIOR CITIZENS FAIRNESS ACT: Raise the Social Security earnings limit which currently forces seniors out of the work force, repeal the 1993 tax hikes on Social Security benefits and provide tax incentives for private long-term care insurance to let Older Americans keep more of what they have earned over the years. (Bill Text) (Description)

8. THE JOB CREATION AND WAGE ENHANCEMENT ACT: Small business incentives, capital gains cut and indexation, neutral cost recovery, risk assessment/cost-benefit analysis, strengthening the Regulatory Flexibility Act and unfunded mandate reform to create jobs and raise worker wages. (Bill Text) (Description)

9. THE COMMON SENSE LEGAL REFORM ACT: "Loser pays" laws, reasonable limits on punitive damages and reform of product liability laws to stem the endless tide of litigation. (Bill Text) (Description)

10. THE CITIZEN LEGISLATURE ACT: A first-ever vote on term limits to replace career politicians with citizen legislators. (Description)

Further, we will instruct the House Budget Committee to report to the floor and we will work to enact additional budget savings, beyond the budget cuts specifically included in the legislation described above, to ensure that the Federal budget deficit will be less than it would have been without the enactment of these bills.

Respecting the judgment of our fellow citizens as we seek their mandate for reform, we hereby pledge our names to this Contract with America.

Wednesday, February 23, 1994

19940223 Carroll County Unified Municipal Solid Waste Management and Recycling Services Program

Maryland Municipal League's Award For Excellence Competition

Carroll County Unified Municipal Solid Waste Management and Recycling Services Program

February 23, 1994

Ms. Karen Liskey

Maryland Municipal League

1212 West Street

Annapolis, MD 21401

RE: Maryland Municipal League's Award For Excellence Competition

Dear Ms. Liskey:

Please find enclosed the City of Westminster's application for the Maryland Municipal League's Eleventh Annual Award for Excellence Competition. This entry describes a program the City coordinated among six of the eight municipalities in Carroll County which reduced the public cost in contracting services for the collection of solid waste and recyclables.

We hope that the Maryland Municipal League finds the Carroll County Unified Municipal Solid Waste Management and Recycling Services Program an innovative approach towards reducing costs incurred by small municipalities in the provision of public services. We look forward to hearing from you. If there are any question, or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at (410) 876-1313, extension 9002.

Very truly yours,

Thomas B. Beyard

Director of Planning and Public Works

TBB/KLT:klt

cc: Mayor and Common Council

APPLICATION

FOR

THE MARYLAND MUNICIPAL LEAGUE'S

ELEVENTH ANNUAL

AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE

Submitted by

The City of Westminster

for the

Carroll County Unified Municipal Solid Waste

Management and Recycling Services Program

Population Category: Over 10,000 population

Respectfully,

W. Benjamin Brown

Mayor

Contact Person: Mr. Thomas B. Beyard

Director of Planning and Public Works

(410) 876-1313, extension 9002

OVERVIEW

Seven of the eight municipalities within Carroll County provide solid waste collection and disposal service to the residents within their corporate boundaries by contracting with a private waste management company. In June of 1992, the contracts for five of the municipalities expired. Prior to renewing their individual contracts, the City of Westminster under the direction and guidance of Mayor Brown, coordinated a program between six municipalities to jointly solicit unified bids for the provision of municipal solid waste management and recycling services. The unified contract would cover a three year period.

The municipalities which solicited the unified bid included the Town of Hampstead, the Town of Manchester, the Town of New Windsor, the City of Taneytown, the Town of Union Bridge, and the City of Westminster. By soliciting bids for solid waste management on a multi-jurisdictional level this program reduced the total cost of providing solid waste and recycling collection services. In the "Request for Bids" the total number of units from each municipality were combined together. The guarantee of a larger number of units permitted private haulers to reduce their overhead costs, and, therefore, submit bids which were lower than those submitted individually to each municipality.

The waste management company which submitted the lowest sealed bid was awarded contracts with five of the municipalities. The Town of Manchester retained their existing contractor, after the contractor lowered their rate equal to the rate quoted in the unified bid. Each of the other five participating municipality executed a separate contract with the successful bidder. Therefore, payment from each municipality is forwarded directly to the waste management company, forgoing the need to create a centralized bookkeeping and finance effort between the municipalities.

SAVINGS

Evidence that the service could be provided at a lower cost under a unified bid scheme was available since five of municipalities had already received individual bids. The contract for Manchester, the sixth municipality, did not expire until the end of 1993, therefore, a separate bid had not been requested.

Specifically, the unified bid approach will save Westminster $10,345.00 in collection costs over the course of the three year contract. Combined with the four other participating municipalities whose savings are clearly known, the total savings over the three year period of the contracts will be $91,175.00.

Under this unified bid approach only Union Bridge would have experienced a higher per unit cost than it would have had under an individual bid. So the that the other four participating municipalities could enjoy the cost savings available under this unified approach, in the spirit of intergovernmental cooperation they each agreed to pay a slightly higher fee to offset the increase that Union Bridge would have experienced. Therefore, Union Bridge retained their existing lower per unit fee, while the other municipalities were still able to save their taxpayers dollars.

Moreover, the cost savings did not end with the signing of the contracts. The bid specified curbside collection of recyclable products, such as glass, paper, and plastic. The contracts went into effect in August of 1993, and during Fiscal Year 1992-93 the combined curbside recycling rate averaged 18.7 percent. With the curbside recycling program, the five participating municipalities saved over $53,500.00 in avoided landfill tipping fees during FY 1992-93, in addition to the savings already described.

APPLICABILITY TO OTHER LOCALITIES AND PUBLIC SERVICES

This type of unified bid scheme can reduce costs to small individual municipalities which must contract with private sector companies for municipal services. Enlarging the number of units serviced by joint approaches allows the provider to experience economies of scale, and offer the service at a lower cost. Small municipalities can then provide the types of services at a cost comparable to that which are typically only found in more densely populated areas.

Furthermore, a unified approach eliminated duplication of efforts, such as the cost of advertising a "Request for Bids" and the cost of supplying bid documents. With the unified approach these costs are borne by several municipalities, and, therefore, are spread equally among them. It is not necessary for each to publish a separate advertisement or prepare and supply copies of the bid document to every interested company. Staff time is also saved in the preparation process, since each municipality does not have to create and produce and individual bid.

This program does not add any additional costs to the process of requesting and awarding bids for public services which must be contracted out to private companies. When public services can be provided at a lower rate, the savings can be used to lower, or maintain, the tax rate. Ultimately, the taxpayer experiences the real savings.

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Environmentalism Solid Waste Management, Westminster City Public Works Solid Waste Management