20080802 MML Scholarship is too important to be mismanaged
"There are two types of knowledge. One is knowing a thing. The other is knowing where to find it." -Samuel Johnson
MML Scholarship is too important to be mismanaged
August 2, 2008 by Kevin Dayhoff
Mount Airy Mayor Frank Johnson’s assertion in a July 31, 2008 article, “Town asked to cover cost of scholarships” by Times Staff Writer, Jennifer Jiggetts; that “No one was aware that there had been a change.” is not consistent with the Carroll County Chapter of the MML records.
Westminster - On July 31, 2008, Carroll County Times Staff Writer, Jennifer Jiggetts, had an article published in the paper: “Town asked to cover cost of scholarships.”
The article explained, in part:
“The president of the Carroll County chapter of Maryland Municipal League is asking each county municipality to pay $375 to cover the cost of scholarships the league awarded.
“After a two-year hiatus, the Carroll chapter decided to give three $1,000 scholarships to students pursuing municipal careers. But the chapter was surprised to learn it would have no monetary help from the state association, said chapter president Frank Johnson. The scholarships were awarded in June, the same time the chapter found out they’d have to foot the bill entirely. The checks have recently been sent to students, Johnson said.”
I served as secretary/treasurer of the Carroll County Chapter of the Maryland Municipal League for five years (12/07/1999 – 05/16/2005.) I also served on the Maryland Municipal League board of directors annually for five consecutive years, from June 2000 to May 2005.
The municipal scholarship referenced in the article was first adopted by the (statewide) MML board of directors for FY 1991.
It was continued for twelve years through FY 2002.
At that time, according to the September 4th, 2003 Quarterly [Carroll County MML] Chapter Meeting Minutes Dutch Corner Restaurant, 3154 Main Street, Manchester, Md., the (statewide) MML board of directors “re-directed funds that had helped to support the Chapter Scholarship Program, in order to support a new academic fellowship/intern scholarship program initiative, which will create a partnership with the University of Maryland School of Public Affairs and the MML.”
For five years, from 2000 through 2004 - during my tenure as secretary/treasurer – the chapter tasked me in my capacity as the chapter secretary/treasurer to administer the Carroll County Chapter of the MML scholarship program.
In those five years the Carroll County Chapter of the MML was proud to have efficiently distributed a total of $11,900.00 to a total of 19 students.
The purpose of the scholarship was to foster an interest in municipal government with the future leaders of our community. The minutes of the September 4th, 2003 Quarterly elaborated:
“… to increase public awareness of municipal government in Carroll County and to foster interest and research in municipal government, to recognize students who have demonstrated a commitment to public service, and to provide needed financial support for students pursuing studies leading to a career in government or public service.”
Fast-forward to today. Ms. Jiggetts wrote on July 31, 2008 that “After a two-year hiatus, the Carroll chapter decided to give three $1,000 scholarships to students pursuing municipal careers…”
In response to questions about the management of the contemporary scholarship program, Mayor Johnson asserted that:
… he was under the impression that things stayed the same and the state would continue to supply the funds because they did so in the past.
When the state organization stopped funding the scholarship several years ago and the Carroll County chapter put it on hold, Johnson said he wasn’t around to have found out about the state’s decision.
“Our assumption was that nothing had changed from a few years ago,” Johnson said. “No one was aware that there had been a change.”
Above and beyond conventional fiscal prudence that dictates that the source of funding is determined before a scholarship program begins, it is also wise to research the history – and precedence - of a successful program in order to build upon past performance to ensure future successability when the program is reconvened.
To that end, Mayor Johnson has served on the (statewide) MML board of directors since at least June 2007. His tenure is concurrent when decisions pertaining to the Carroll County Chapter scholarship program were being decided.
In his capacity as board member, is it too far a stretch of the imagination to suggest he could have easily asked about the current status of the old discontinued statewide MML scholarship program?
Of course another way of determining the history of a program is to ask one’s predecessors; which is how I did it…
In reference to “… [t]he checks have recently been sent to students,” basic common sense indicates that a person or an organization have the funds in the checking account before a check is written and distributed.
To further cloud the issues swirling around how the scholarship program has been administered under Mayor Johnson’s leadership; records indicate that he was in attendance at the September 4th, 2003 Carroll County Chapter of the MML Quarterly Chapter Meeting at Dutch Corner Restaurant, 3154 Main Street, Manchester, Md. when changes to the program were discussed.
It was at this meeting when agenda item number 2 pertaining to the scholarship program was discussed and it was “agreed to continue our own self-funded scholarship program within the Carroll County Chapter.”
September 4th, 2003 Quarterly [Carroll County MML] Chapter Meeting Minutes - Dutch Corner Restaurant, 3154 Main Street, Manchester, Md.
[Agenda Item] 2. Discussion of the future of the Annual MML Scholarship.
MML Executive Director Scott Hancock and MML Liaison Candice Donoho gave a presentation on the 12-year old MML Chapter Scholarship Program. The MML Board of Directors has recently re-directed funds that had helped to support the Chapter Scholarship Program, in order to support a new academic fellowship/intern scholarship program initiative, which will create a partnership with the University of Maryland School of Public Affairs and the MML.
The MML Board of Directors is encouraging individual MML Chapters to continue self-funded scholarship programs and to develop scholarship program criteria that best fit the needs and desires of our respective chapters.
In the past, the Carroll County MML Chapter has assessed the Carroll County member municipalities a total of $1,500 to add to the $1,000 annual contribution from the MML. We then distributed five scholarships of $500 each at the annual June joint Carroll County/Frederick County Chapter meeting in Mt. Airy.
After thoughtful discussion, it was agreed to continue our own self-funded scholarship program within the Carroll County Chapter.
It was moved by Sykesville Councilwoman Jeannie Nichols and seconded by Hampstead Councilman Chris Nevin to sponsor two $1,000 scholarships for Carroll County students who reside within the corporate boundaries of a Carroll County Municipality and to bill the eight municipalities for the $2,000. The motion passed unanimously.
The purpose of the scholarship is to increase public awareness of municipal government in Carroll County and to foster interest and research in municipal government, to recognize students who have demonstrated a commitment to public service, and to provide needed financial support for students pursuing studies leading to a career in government or public service.
Particulars as to how the MML Carroll County Chapter will adapt and implement the Scholarship Program will be discussed after the first of the year. Meanwhile, the Treasurer was directed to assess the eight municipalities pro-rata for the $2,000 for the scholarships.
Sykesville Councilwoman Jeannie Nichols will continue as Chair of the Carroll County MML Scholarship Committee. Anyone who would like to work on the Scholarship Committee should contact Councilwoman Nichols.
As far as the original pro-rated funding plan is concerned – the scholarship levy for the purposes of funding the scholarship program - was adopted at the April 27, 2000 meeting.
It was decided at that meeting to raise the funds on a proportional basis based on precedent that went back to the “Carroll County Chapter of the Maryland Municipal League Articles of Organization,” which were introduced on April 21, 1988 and adopted August 14, 1988:
Carroll County Chapter Maryland Municipal League Meeting April 27, 2000 Minutes Union Bridge Community Center 4770 Ladiesburg Road Union Bridge, Maryland:
MML Scholarship Levy: It was discussed that the $2,500 needed for the MML academic scholarship was funded: $1,000 from the MML's statewide office and $1,500 raised from the County Chapter's coffers. It was decided that we would levy each Carroll County town a percentage portion of the $1,500. Mr. Dayhoff asked if it would be acceptable to simply use the formula developed by Sykesville Town Manager Matt Candland in his January 17, 2000 Carroll County Census Committee budget. That was accepted.
The Carroll County Chapter of the Maryland Municipal League ran a very successful scholarship program for five years.
In 2000 we awarded $830.00 each to three students for a total of $2490.00. In 2001 we awarded $625.00 each to four students for a total of $2500.00. In 2002 we awarded $500.00 each to five students for a total of $2500.00. In 2003 we awarded $500.00 each to five students for a total of $2500.00. In 2004 we awarded $1000.00 each to two students for a total of $2000.00.
To state the obvious, the current elected and appointed leadership in our communities are not going to be in office forever and it is critical that we bring along folks who will take our places in the future and carry the mantle of governance into the future.
The program was a great success because of all the hard work of officials in the past such as then-Taneytown Mayor Henry Heine, Hampstead Mayor Haven Shoemaker, Hampstead Councilman Chris Nevin, Sykesville Councilwoman Jeannie Nichols and others too numerous to mention.
To see the program end up on the front page of the newspaper portrayed in a less than favorable light is disturbing – especially since the misunderstandings were all so easily avoided.
Nevertheless, many of us agree and easily understand a quote from a Carroll County Times July 20, 2008 editorial: “Juggling the intricacies of a municipal government can be challenging for anyone, and there are sure to be missteps along the way.”
No citizen expects perfection; however the level of incompetence and mismanagement that once again rears its ugly head in matters of Carroll County local government is unacceptable.
Especially in the light that Mayor Johnson refused to accept responsibility for the mistake by piously suggesting “No one was aware that there had been a change,” when the record does not support that defense.
Perhaps the only explanation for this latest of gaffs and missteps by the Mayor of Mount Airy – President of Carroll County Chapter of the MML – Member the statewide MML board of directors - Senior Assistant County Attorney/Legislative Director – Baltimore Regional Transportation Board empowered representative for Carroll County Commissioner Julia Gouge - - is to revisit a February 9, 2003 20030209 Carroll County Times editorial: Frank Johnson – “A problem of wearing many hats”:
“… Frank Johnson has been wearing a lot of different hats lately, but the time has come for him to step back and make some realistic decisions about where he believes he can do the most good.
[…]
“Johnson also took a job as assistant to County Commissioner Julia Walsh Gouge. And while he and others have said there is nothing legally wrong with collecting paychecks from both the Town of Mount Airy and the county, there likely is an ethical issue involved.[1]
“At the very least, Johnson has spread himself too thin to be entirely effective in any one of the positions. And because his many positions span from Mount Airy to Carroll's municipalities to county government, that means the impact is being felt everywhere in the county.
“Johnson owes it to the people of Mount Airy, owes it to the towns, cities and organizations that make up the Council of Governments and owes it to taxpayers who pay his salary as Gouge's assistant to step back from some of these responsibilities.
“He must assess where he believes he can be most effective, and then concentrate on those areas.
“Wanting to help out in as many different ways as possible is an admirable trait, but it does no good if the person is running in so many different directions that it takes away from all of his various jobs and duties.”
Meanwhile, many of us agree in principle with Hampstead Mayor Haven Shoemaker who noted: “$375 is a fairly small price to pay [for such an important program…].”
However, New Windsor Mayor Sam Pierce is also correct when he “said changes need to be made to the scholarship program.
“‘You don’t go out and spend money before making the budget,’ he said. ‘If we know we’re going to do something, we budget for it. That’s basic. It’s the way towns operate.’”
And finally, Union Bridge Bret Grossnickle was correct when he said: “…the funds were unfairly split. They should have been divided per capita, not by town, he said.”
“‘$375 is not going to break us, but we have to do it differently next year,’ Grossnickle said.”
Nevertheless, as Mayor Johnson said in a Baltimore Sun article on August 22, 2002: “We are all part of the same county," Johnson said. "What happens in one part of this county does have an effect on other parts. There is much more of a connection and a need for ongoing communication, a problem-solving approach that brings everybody to the table.”
Hopefully Mayor Johnson will be able to rekindle an “ongoing communication, a problem-solving approach that brings everybody to the table” and get the MML scholarship program back on track.
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Related references:
“Town asked to cover cost of scholarships” By Jennifer Jiggetts, Times Staff Writer for the Carroll County Times, Thursday, July 31, 2008 – see: 20080731 Towns asked to cover cost of MML scholarships By Jennifer Jiggetts, Times Staff Writer for the Carroll County Times
20030904 September 4th, 2003 Carroll County MML Quarterly Chapter Meeting Minutes
20030209 Carroll County Times editorial: Frank Johnson – “A problem of wearing many hats”
20000427 Carroll County Chapter MML Meeting at Union Bridge
20060617 Mount Airy Mayor Frank Johnson joins county attorney staff
MD Municipal League Carroll Co. Chap. Meeting Minutes
Labels: MD Municipal League Carroll Co. Chap., MD Municipal League Carroll Co. Chap. Scholarship Program, Westminster Mayor 200105 200505 Kevin E. Dayhoff, People Carroll Co. Johnson – Frank Johnson,
[1] The matter of any potential conflict… was covered in a June 17, 2006 Carroll County Times article, “Mt. Airy mayor joins county attorney staff.” When Mayor Johnson was hired to be a senior assistant county attorney for Carroll County: “Before accepting the position, Johnson received approval from both the county ethics administrator and the Mount Airy Ethics Commission” See: 20060617 Mount Airy Mayor Frank Johnson joins county attorney staff
