What wouldn’t you give for the chance to sit your elected representatives down as a captive audience so you can tell them what you think of the job they are doing? Unless you were one of the 53 citizens in attendance at last evening’s Public Input Hearing at the Baltimore County Council, you missed your chance. And duct tape and gags were not even needed.
The hearing was an opportunity for public comment on the county budget, the property tax rate, and the Constant Yield Rate. Pessimists will say that public input is merely a formality at that point because the decisions have already been made by the council. 53 citizens were willing to challenge that assessment.
53 people represent .0087% of the adult population of Baltimore County, but nonetheless the turnout was encouraging, because it is far more than have been seen in recent years for a budget hearing. Of the 53, 22 were in attendance regarding taxes and budget control. Two even held Tea Party style signs. 16 testified for their allotted 2 minutes, 12 from the taxpaying constituency, and four asking for air conditioning at Ridgely Middle.
The councilmen seemed to take note. Five of the seven councilmen disappeared immediately following the hearing. Only Chairman Joseph Bartenfelder and Councilman Bryan McIntire ventured into the crowd. “You’re comments were right on,” said Bartenfelder. Mr. Bartenfelder stated he questions the wisdom of the five-year average under the Spending Affordability Law. “The five year average is a bandaid that will hurt us three years down the road.” Bartenfelder added, “I didn’t know anybody knew about this.”
When prompted for comment, McIntire offered, “I’m glad to see people speak up about things that concern them. I’m tired of my taxes being raised.” He continued, “I will cut (the budget) wherever I can. We are in a bind because the County Executive has already given people this money in the budget. Now we have to take it away.” On the Constant Yield issue, he said, “We have achieved (constant yield) two or three times. We haven’t done a bad job.”
There was a good feeling of comraderie among the taxpayers in attendance. Among the testifiers was Rani Merryman, candidate for state delegate in Legislative District 8 in Parkville. “These are tough ecomomic times. Every citizen (must) keep a watchful eye and hold (our elected officials) accountable for their actions. The time dictates that we spend smarter not supplementary.”
Dee Hodges, Chairman of the Maryland Taxpayers Association, had this to say, “In these times, government takes a bigger share of the economy and never lets go. In good times and bad spending always goes up, which means families pay more and more.”
Now is the time for emails and calls to our councilmen before the budget and property tax rate are adopted at the May 21 Legislative Session. Public comment is allowed at that meeting after the vote has taken place. The meeting begins at 10:00 am at the Old Courthouse, 400 Washington Avenue, Second Floor, Towson.
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