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 Governance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Governance. Show all posts

Friday, March 20, 2015

My copy of the pamphlet on the 1979 Maryland Public Ethics Law and some thoughts on the current Maryland Ethics disclosure law.

My copy of the pamphlet on the 1979 Maryland Public Ethics Law and some thoughts on the current Maryland Ethics disclosure law.


For your files, please find from my old papers a copy of a pamphlet that the State Dept. of Legislative References published in early 1979 about the newly enacted Maryland Public Ethics Law which went into effect on July 1, 1979.

I have long-since forgotten the context of the law or what particular incident may have precipitated the law.

I do remember that at the time fulfilling the requirements of the law were relatively effortless and unremarkable.

According to some individuals close to the situation, “legislation enacted by the Maryland General Assembly in 2010 required local ethics ordinances to be at least as stringent as state law. At the time, many municipal government officials expressed alarm over the breadth of the new financial disclosure requirements. Municipal officials were concerned that the broad requirements would deter capable new candidates from seeking local office and influence current elected officials to decline to seek reelection.

“Bills introduced in the 2014 session of the General Assembly by Senator Raskin and Delegates Gilchrist and Haddaway-Riccio sought to exempt local municipal elected officials from disclosing certain items.

In 2015, the Maryland Municipal League is taking a different approach to this legislation. Rather than exempting elected municipal officials and candidates for municipal office from filing financial disclosure statements, or certain information therein, this legislation would shield certain confidential information from public inspection absent a finding by a local ethics commission of a violation of any part of the municipalities’ financial disclosure or conflict of interest requirements.

“Specifically, the law would shield information regarding a spouse or dependent child, and, unless related to a business entity with which the municipality has conducted business within the last 10 years, the candidate or elected official’s interests in real property located outside the municipal corporation, interests in corporations, partnerships, and limited liability companies, employment information, and indebtedness.

“All of the above information would still be reported and submitted to the local ethics commission, be available to the local board of elections, and to the courts; however, it would not be releasable to the public absent a finding by the ethics commission of a violation.”

I was elected to the Common Council of the City of Westminster in 1999 and served as Mayor from 2001 until 2005.  In these capacities, and particularly as Mayor, I expended numerous hours engaged in activities in furtherance of the interests of the City and its residents and businesses.

At all times during my elected service, I worked in non-City-related employment, as a businessman, farmer, artist, and free-lance journalist.

I currently find the requirements of the Model Ordinance to be unreasonably burdensome. Although, in my capacity as an elected official, I thoroughly understand that I have no reasonable expectation of privacy as to information that is relevant to my service as a municipal employee, the Model Ordinance presents an opportunity for an excessive arbitrary invasion of my personal privacy, unrelated to the purpose and intent of the State Public Ethics Law, because the required disclosures would include information neither relevant, material, nor reasonably calculated to lead to the disclosure of pertinent information related in any way to my public service.

I take pride and satisfaction in my past service for our citizens as an elected official in Westminster, notwithstanding the fact that my expenses as an elected official exceeded the compensation provided by the Charter of the City of Westminster

I am unaware of any conduct by a City elected official or by a candidate for City elective office during my tenure that presented either a conflict of interest or the appearance of conflict of interest that would have been identified and corrected by the Model Ordinance but that would have been missed by the City’s Proposed Ordinance.

In my view, the provisions of the Model Ordinance, if not modified and revised as set forth in the City’s Proposed Ordinance, impose a substantial hardship and an undue intrusion upon the personal privacy of persons who choose to run for and serve in public office in the City of Westminster, without accomplishing any significant benefit in terms of protecting the public that would justify the hardship or invasion of privacy.

Although I, along with current and former municipal officials throughout the state, understand that in order for municipal government, the government that is closest to the people, to be effective, it must be transparent and open, approachable and accessible.

Strong ethics ordinances are critical for local government to effective, vibrant and meaningful.

My family has been involved in municipal government for many-generations dating back to before the 1890s. It is my insight that adoption of the Model Ordinance is over-kill and as such would significantly reduce the availability of qualified individuals for public service and encourages currently- elected officials to decline to seek reelection.

I do not know the status of the current legislation in the Maryland General Assembly. I do know that the current law is so severe, punishing and draconian that many good folks who would make great local municipal officials have quietly opted-out of participating in local government as a result of the new law.

Many current officials have determined that it is punitive in nature but find themselves unwilling to publicly challenge it for fear of being subjected to political and media ridicule – so they have simply decided to quietly opt-out from serving.

It should be further noted that no one can serve in public office without the support of their family. Family members across the state have objected to disclosing aspects of their personal life that have nothing to do with the material conduct of municipal government.

The nature and breadth of issues that municipal government officials deal with are far narrower than those that state and even county officials address. It stands to reason that the nature and breadth of financial disclosure of municipal officials versus state officials should parallel those differences.

Just saying

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Baltimore Sun Carroll Eagle: 



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See also - Kevin Earl Dayhoff Art www.kevindayhoff.com: Travel, art, artists, authors, books, newspapers, media, writers and writing, journalists and journalism, reporters and reporting, music, culture, opera... Ad maiorem Dei gloriam inque hominum salutem. “Deadline U.S.A.” 1952. Ed Hutcheson: “That's the press, baby. The press! And there's nothing you can do about it. Nothing!” - See more at: http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/#sthash.4HNLwtfd.dpuf
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Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Memo to Md Gov. Larry Hogan: Always understand the context in which you serve.


The newly-elected Md. Gov. Larry Hogan, is a likeable-enough guy; but now is the time to stop campaigning and start governing.


Kevin E. Dayhoff, February 9, 2015

Apparently, the Baltimore Sun sees it as many do; now is the time for Gov. Hogan to govern. Gov. Larry Hogan’s State of the State address February 4, 2015 http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2015/02/maryland-gov-larry-hogans-state-of.html was a page from the playbook of President Barrack Obama that has failed so miserably.

That is, know when it is the time to be a statesperson and govern and when to stop campaigning.

Now President Obama cannot help himself. He suffers from a destructive narcissistic personality disorder.

But the newly elected Republican governor of Maryland ought to have known better.

As much as many in his base agreed with every comment uttered in the state of the state address, it was mistake to say it. We get it. And it was an unnecessary exposure to say it.

To say much of what he said in the hallowed halls of Md. State Senate President Mike Miller and Md Speaker of the House Mike Busch is tantamount to the old adage, don’t tug on superman’s cape, and don’t spit in the wind….

Now is the time to move-on to the business of governance in the Maryland General Assembly, a government whose feudal middle-ages roots were laid before the birth of the modern Westphalian State in 1648 - a medieval byzantine environment that is ruled by feudal lords of the manor that are inherently hostile to dissent and have no concept of accountability or being held responsible for their behavior.

The governor should take a memo; now is the time to stop preaching to the choir and reach out into the Maryland General Assembly audience and start winning folks over. In this business one accumulates enemies, do not go out of your way to make any.

All the state of the state did was feed red meat to the liberal lions of the Maryland General Assembly and they reacted predictably. It was the mistake of someone who had never held elected office before. It was the sophomoric mistake of a rookie and candidly, the governor is surrounded by enough veterans that the mistake ought to have been avoided.

That said, it is often been stated that the reaction to a problem is often as critical as to the problem itself. Fortunately the governor is a likable-enough guy who roots in real estate transactions have taught him that it is better to be loved than feared.

The Senate President on the other hand, is so powerful – arguably one of the most powerful elected officials in the entire nation - - that he does not care whether or not you like him. He is simply to be feared.

In this case the reaction by the Senate President Mike Miller was the mistake of someone so arrogant as to believe that he so powerful that the rules do not apply - that he would not be held responsible for his actions or behavior. President Miller’s behavior was a manifestation of how dare this conservative Republican upstart tread into my pond and row around spewing such blasphemy.

It brings to mind another rule: Always understand the context in which you serve.

Candidly, if the shoe were on the other foot, and a liberal had rowed into a conservative stronghold and thumbed their nose at the powers-that-be; conservatives probably would not have reacted any better. We hope they would have, but maybe not.

In this case, the case of the Senate President; the reaction was so over-the-top and cringe worthy that even the Baltimore Sun cringed.

Read the first two paragraphs of the Sunpapers’ response here and be sure to go to http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bs-ed-hogan-miller-20150209-story.html and read the rest. It is well worth the time.

Baltimore Sun Editorial: Miller overreacts, Hogan benefits February 9, 2015


We doubt Gov. Larry Hogan intended to make Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller's head explode with his State of the State speech last week, but it might wind up working out for him politically, if not for the people of the state substantively. The governor's address was heavy on recycled bromides from his stump speech and not equal to the occasion, but it looks downright statesmanlike in comparison to the ensuing petulant overreaction from the Senate president and his loyal lieutenants. Nonetheless, it may have given Democrats an excuse to kill legislation they didn't like anyway.

On Friday, the Senate delayed confirmation votes for the first five of Mr. Hogan's cabinet secretary nominees to come before it, and senators were not at all subtle about the connection between that decision and the State of the State speech. The contrast with Mr. Miller's attitude on the opening day of the legislative session, when he predicted before even holding any hearings that all of Mr. Hogan's nominees would be confirmed, is not flattering. It suggests that the Senate's role to advise and consent is a function of the Senate president's mood and not the quality of the nominees… http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bs-ed-hogan-miller-20150209-story.html

Also be sure to read: Miller’s joke with one appointee could prove prophetic By: Bryan P. Sears Daily Record Business Writer  February 9, 2015 http://thedailyrecord.com/2015/02/09/millers-joke-with-one-appointee-could-prove-prophetic/
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Monday, April 21, 2014

The biggest issue in government that no one talks about

The biggest issue in government that no one talks abouthttp://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/innovations/wp/2014/04/04/the-biggest-issue-in-government-that-no-one-talks-about/?wpisrc=nl_inn 

BY MATT MCFARLAND April 4, 2014

"Our opinion of government workers is notoriously low. Just look at these suggested searches from Google.
While Silicon Valley start-ups reinvent the world, most government agencies can only dream of being innovators. Basic competence on tech projects is a struggle, as the rollout of HealthCare.com illustrated.
At a GE-hosted event in Washington on Thursday addressing the future of work" Read more:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/innovations/wp/2014/04/04/the-biggest-issue-in-government-that-no-one-talks-about/?wpisrc=nl_inn 


'via Blog this'

Tuesday, April 01, 2014

New Virginia law protects farmers from meddling local officials - by By Bonner Cohen, Ph. D

New Virginia law protects farmers from meddling local officials - by By Bonner Cohen, Ph. D

Fauquier County officials forced family farmer Martha Boneta to cease selling produce from her own 64-acre farm, and so she took action and had Commonwealth law changed... 

Fauquier County Virginia officials threatened a family farmer, Martha Boneta with $5,000 per-day fines for hosting a birthday party for eight 10-year-old girls without a permit...


… opponents of the bill, including well-funded environmental organizations and power-hungry county governments – both determined to preserve strict land-use controls – reportedly employed lobbyists to kill the bill.  In the end, highly motivated citizens triumphed over highly paid lobbyists...





By Bonner Cohen, Ph. D. March 31, 2014


In a hard-fought and stunning victory for family farmers and property rights throughout the Commonwealth, Gov. Terry McAuliffe on March 5 signed into law legislation solidifying Virginia’s status as a right-to-farm state by limiting local officials’ ability to interfere with normal agricultural operations.


The governor’s signature marks the latest chapter in a swirling controversy that attracted nationwide attention in 2012 when the Fauquier County Board of Supervisors forced family farmer Martha Boneta to cease selling produce from her own 64-acre farm. No longer allowed to sell the vegetables she had harvested, Boneta donated the food to local charities lest it go to waste.


Fauquier County officials threatened Boneta with $5,000 per-day fines for hosting a birthday party for eight 10-year-old girls without a permit, and advertising pumpkin carvings. Seeing the county’s action against Boneta as a brazen effort to drive her off her land, Virginians from all walks of life rallied to her defense.  Supporters gathered in Warrenton, the county seat, for a peaceful “pitchfork protest” to vent their anger over what an out-of-control local government had done to a law-abiding citizen....


[...]



By contrast, opponents of the bill, including well-funded environmental organizations and power-hungry county governments – both determined to preserve strict land-use controls – reportedly employed lobbyists to kill the bill.  In the end, highly motivated citizens triumphed over highly paid lobbyists...

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Monday, September 30, 2013

Blair Lee: Why Baltimore is not Detroit

Why Baltimore is not Detroit


There was considerable rejoicing in Baltimore city this week when George Mason University released a study saying that, compared to Detroit, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Providence and San Bernardino, Baltimore is on “reasonably solid financial footing” and is demonstrating “financial resiliency.”

Of course those other five cities are all basket cases (two are in bankruptcy), so being best of the lot isn’t so hot.

The Baltimore Sun highlighted the parts of the report crediting Baltimore’s success to sound city management provided by a strong-mayor system which lets the city’s Board of Estimates (controlled by the mayor) write the city budget and run the city’s finances without interference from the City Council, which can only lower the spending levels, not increase them.


But if you actually read the George Mason report it tells a much different story. What’s really keeping Baltimore afloat isn’t its mayor or its charter, it’s the billions of dollars the state of Maryland pours into the city every year… http://www.gazette.net/article/20130927/OPINION/130929269/-1/why-baltimore-is-not-detroit&template=gazette
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Wednesday, August 07, 2013

3 shot dead, 3 wounded at Pennsylvania municipal meeting - herald-mail.com

3 shot dead, 3 wounded at Pennsylvania municipal meeting - herald-mail.com: "By Connie Stewart 10:19 p.m. EDT, August 5, 2013

Three people were dead and at least three others were in critical condition after a gunman opened fire at a government meeting in Pennsylvania's Monroe County on Monday night, local media reported.

Pocono Record reporter Chris Reber, who was at the meeting of the Ross Township supervisors, said smoke and plaster flew as gunshots tore holes in the walls. " ... http://www.herald-mail.com/news/la-na-nn-pennsylvania-shooting-20130805%2C0%2C7948377.story

'via Blog this'

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Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Ineptocracy

Ineptocracy

June 17, 2013

The 2014 elections will bring many new faces to new seats and offices throughout the state. It is developing as the perfect storm collision of certain office holders being termed-out of office, others have been in office way too long and change is in the wind. Not to be overlooked is much of the voting public has developed recession fatigue and the public remains restless with a non-specific general malaise brought about as a result of the ineptocracy system of government that pervades the land.

For those who are not aware, ineptocracy is “a system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers.”

A big thanks and a Hat Tip to the former commissioner’s wife…..


And: Harford Co Exe David Craig announces bid for governor’s office http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=5816 by Kevin E. Dayhoff Wednesday, June 5, 2013


Photo courtesy of http://www.davidcraig.com/



Although the Maryland gubernatorial primary is over a year away, last Monday morning the 2014 contest began to take shape in earnest with Harford County Executive David Craig announcing his candidacy for the Maryland State House.

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Sunday, August 12, 2012

FY 2001 Compensation Survey of Maryland Local Governments


Compensation Survey of Maryland Local Governments
FY 2001

Compiled by:
Jeanne E. Bilanin
Clare Capotosto
and
Jeffrey R. Kummer

A Collaborative Project
of
Maryland Association of Counties
Maryland Municipal League
and Institute for Governmental Service
Center for Applied Policy Studies University of Maryland, College Park

January 2001

Originally received December 14, 2002
Retrieved August 12, 2012 from archives for records review, retention or disposition – otherwise known as Fighting the “Stuff Monster,” Kevin E. Dayhoff June 20, 2012 The Tentacle http://www.thetentacle.com/author.cfm?MyAuthor=41 - - The mindless meanderings of a mad writer. http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2012/08/kevin-dayhoff-tentacle-fighting-stuff.html

It is interesting to see how compensation for local government workers has changed in the past ten years.

Sadly, while much of the public’s attention has been distracted by perceived excesses in compensation and job security among state and federal workers – and in some situations, workers higher-up on local county and municipal government pay scales; the workers at the bottom of the pay scale have not seen any increases for as much as five-years.

From the preface of the survey:
Preface

The Institute for Governmental Service (IGS) of the University of Maryland, College Park, in collaboration with the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo) and the Maryland Municipal League (MML), is pleased to present this report of the fiscal year 2001 Compensation Survey of Maryland Local Governments, the latest of a series of wage surveys that IGS began in the 1980s. One hundred thirty jurisdictions, including 107 municipalities and all 23 counties, participated in the survey and contributed to the data for more than 150 different positions. This report also includes information regarding the benefits offered by these participating jurisdictions during the 2001 fiscal year. In addition, compensation information for a number of positions was provided by the administrative office of the courts, boards of education, and public library systems.

In this report, Baltimore City is treated as both a county and a municipality. For positions that are unique to counties, Baltimore City is listed as a county. For positions that are unique to municipalities, Baltimore City is listed as a municipality. For positions and other information that occur in both counties and municipalities, Baltimore City is listed separately at the end of the county list and before the municipal list.

The first table in the report, "Represented Counties and Municipalities," provides estimated populations, expenditure budgets, and numbers of employees for jurisdictions represented in this report. This information may be helpful in the selection of jurisdictions to serve as a reference group against which comparisons can be made.

In using the salary data, we suggest that you refer to the job descriptions given for each position. Respondents were asked to read these descriptions before recording salary data under any particular job title. It is more important that the job description match the position you are comparing than that the job titles match. Also, be aware that the standard workweek varies among jurisdictions, as reported in the table, "Normal Work Schedule," which begins on page 7.

IGS, MACo, and MML would like to thank all of those who completed the questionnaire and who have offered suggestions throughout the years on ways to improve the survey.


Pay scales. compensation, government workers, Maryland
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Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Matt Candland will move into the Carlisle manager’s office July 2


Former Sykesville Town Manager Matt Candland will move into the Carlisle PA manager’s office July 2

Municipal salaries: Carlisle borough manager will join the six-figure club

By ELIZABETH GIBSON, The Patriot-News Wednesday, June 20, 2012




Matt Candland will become Carlisle's borough manager next month.

The salary to be paid to the midstate’s newest municipal manager puts him in the enviable $100,000 club.

Matt Candland will move into the Carlisle manager’s office July 2 and be paid $115,000. His salary will jump to $117,834 on Jan. 1.

Borough officials are defending his $115,000 annual salary, $15,000 in moving expenses and other benefits, saying Candland’s pay was set using a contract template that the borough approved in 2010.

The framework is based on guidelines from national and state municipal advisory agencies.

“We’re paying what the market is. We’re not paying above it or below it,” borough council President Perry Heath said Tuesday.

A national municipal association agrees. Wages to be paid the 46-year-old Candland are on target for managers in towns the size of Carlisle, according to a 2011 report by the International County/City Management Association.

Based on 2009 data gathered by The Patriot-News, there were just four midstate municipal managers making $100,000 or more.

Yet Michele Frisby, spokeswoman for the International County/City Management Association, said… http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/06/municipal_salaries_carlisle_bo.html

[20120620 Candland will move into Carlisle manager ofc]
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Saturday, December 17, 2011

Melissa Maynard Stateline: Short-staffed and budget-bare, overwhelmed state agencies are unable to keep up

Backlogged
After years of budget cuts, layoffs, furloughs and hiring freezes, the everyday work of state government is piling up. This Stateline series examines what causes backlogs, who is hurt by them and how states can dig themselves out.


  1. Today: Agencies overwhelmed

  2. Wednesday: Anatomy of a backlog

  3. Thursday: How one agency overcame its backlog

  4. Have your own backlog story? Tell us about it 
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2011

http://www.stateline.org/live/



By Melissa Maynard, Stateline Staff Writer

After years of budget cuts, layoffs, furloughs and hiring freezes, the everyday work of state government is piling up. This Stateline series examines what causes backlogs, who is hurt by them and how states can dig themselves out.

Today: Agencies overwhelmed


Thursday: How one agency overcame its backlog

Have your own backlog story? Tell us about it.

On the face of it, the backlog the Hawaii Public Housing Authority is experiencing seems a simple matter of supply and demand. Some 11,000 families are on the authority’s waiting list, hoping against the odds that they can get one of only 6,295 public housing units. In a state where housing is notoriously expensive, the only people with a real shot at getting a unit are the homeless and survivors of domestic abuse. Even for them, the waiting can take years. “The waitlist is so extensive and the homeless problem is so great that a lot of people are getting preference over working families,” explains Nicholas Birck, chief planner for the Hawaii Public Housing Authority. “They never make it to the top.”

BACKLOGGED Part 1: Agencies overwhelmed

But there’s another, hidden problem at play in Hawaii’s housing backlog. Lately, the authority hasn’t had enough employees to manage turnover in vacant units. As a result, 310 homes have been sitting empty, even with all the people languishing in waitlist limbo. For many of the vacant units, all it would take is a few simple repairs and a little bit of administrative work to give a family a home — and get the authority’s backlog shrinking rather than growing.

The situation is a byproduct of big budget cuts in Hawaii and a hiring freeze that wasn’t lifted until earlier this year. A handful of employees in the housing authority’s property management office retired, and the hiring freeze made it impossible to fill the vacant positions. For a while, there was only one person overseeing the office’s far-flung portfolio spanning four islands. “It was a very difficult position for her to be in,” Birck says. Today, the office’s ranks are back up to six employees, but both the number of vacant units and the size of the waiting list have continued to grow since a state audit first brought attention to the issue in June.

Hawaii isn’t the only place where the everyday tasks of state government are piling up. A Stateline investigation found that agencies across the country are seeing growing backlogs of work, as increased demand for state services in a weak economy bumps up against the states’ efforts to cut their payroll costs. From public housing to crime labs, restaurant inspections to court systems, four years of layoffs, furloughs, hiring freezes and unfilled vacancies are beginning to take their toll. At its most benign, the result for taxpayers is a longer wait for things like marriage licenses or birth certificates. At its most dangerous, growing backlogs are threatening the lives of vulnerable children, elders and disabled persons, as overwhelmed protective services agencies face delays investigating reports of abuse and neglect.


[20111213 Melissa Maynard Stateline Short staffed and budget bare]

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