Insider Politics Blog

Olszewski: Missing Job Disclosure 'An Oversight'

Councilman John Olszewski Sr. has previously abstained from votes because of his employment with an area contractor.

Councilman John Olszewski Sr. Tuesday said a failure to report a contracting job he has held for the past two years was "an oversight." Olszewski, a four-term Democrat from Dundalk, works for Mason and Son Contracting. Financial disclosure forms filed March 27 do not list the contractor as an employer. The contractor is also not listed in disclosures filed last spring for the 2011 calendar year. The disclosure form asks councilmembers to disclose any job for which they earned income outside their position with the county. "I thought that meant something else," said Olszewski, who works about 34 hours a week for the contractor. "I'm going to look into that and if I need to file an amended report I will." Olszewski has abstained from votes …

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Buzz Beeler

12:41 am on Friday, May 10, 2013

Tina, competition! It's not their story and trust me they know. Their ratings are lower than the Limbo Rock and besides a minuet story on local TV news does not last for more than a minute in the eyes to the three viewers that watched it.   more ›

Insider Politics Blog

Late Disclosure of Teaching Job 'An Oversight'

A 2012 college teaching position held by Councilman David Marks, while legal, should have triggered an amended financial disclosure report.

Baltimore County Councilman David Marks said Thursday that a 2012 teaching job at a local university should have been part of his required financial disclosures. Marks acknowledged the job and failure to file an amended report last year with the Baltimore County Ethics Commission during an interview. "It was an oversight," Marks, a Perry Hall Republican, said after being asked about the job. The undisclosed teaching job as well as two previously disclosed consulting positions do not appear to violate county law. Marks said the teaching job will appear in disclosure forms that he has already filed that will be made public next month. Following the interview, Marks issued a statement by email: "As soon I was offered a three-month teaching …

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amdactivist

5:35 am on Tuesday, April 30, 2013

breadman you know nothing and i don't care if i live in annapolis , if a representative of md is doing ok in this corrupt thievery of a state then it should be told. I wonder how many of you have been to hearings opposing the issues you don't want? if you don't complain you don't win. If you really want something to crow about look at your leader. The worst governor and worst record Md has ever …   more ›

Stormwater Fee Increases for Residents, Decreases for Nonprofits

The Baltimore County Coucil gives nonprofits a 48 percent discount that will be offset by residential property owners.

UPDATED (8:54 p.m.)—Nonprofits in Baltimore County will pay a lower stormwater management fee courtesy of residential property owners. The Baltimore County Council Monday approved new stormwater management fees by a vote of 5-2. Councilmen  Todd Huff and David Marks voted against the amended bill. One of the main amendments adopted by the council reduced the fees that will be charged to nonprofits. Under the proposal submitted by County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, nonprofits would have paid $36 dollars for every 2,000 square-feet of impervious surface. The council amended the bill to reduce that fee to $20—a 48 percent discount. To offset the reduction, the council voted to increase residential fees by $3. Under the newly approved bill, …

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Almond, Marks Want Delay in Stormwater Fee Vote

The bill would impose fees on residents, businesses and nonprofits for federally mandated efforts to clean up the Chesapeake Bay.

At least two members of the Baltimore County Council say they would like to delay a vote on proposed stormwater management fees. Vicki Almond and David Marks both said Tuesday they would like to delay the vote for a month. "Considering the enormity of all this and the information that we have I would personally like us to have a little more time to come up with some amendments and really study this even further," said Almond, a Reisterstown Democrat. "I think three weeks really isn't enough to digest all of this," Almond said, speaking of a briefing the council received last month. Almond added that County Executive Kevin Kamenetz developed the new fees without involving the council or holding any public meetings. The council, in its …

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DAVID PATRO SR

6:22 pm on Saturday, April 13, 2013

zach compromise is for all partys to talk now we need to stop the sale . stop the sale SAY NO to the proposed sale of North Point Government Center PARK!   more ›

Huff Wants Buffer On Protests at Schools

County Executive Kevin Kamenetz seeks a reduction in fees charged to developers who want a waiver on open space.

UPDATED (10:07 p.m.)—Protesters will have to stay a little farther away from public and private schools if one Baltimore County Councilman gets his way. County Councilman Todd Huff, a Timonium Republican, introduced a bill Monday night that will require protesters to stay at least 300 feet from the entrance of a public or private elementary, middle or high school. Protests would be prohibited during school hours or within one hour before or after school hours. It would also be illegal to block or prevent the use of public streets, sidewalks or other spaces while protesting. Violators would be subject to a fine of $1,000 or up to a 90-day jail sentence or possibly both. "It's another layer of protecting our kids," Huff said. "That's it, the…

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Council Approves Changes To Pension Appeals

Councilwoman Vicki Almond is the lone dissenting vote as an 11th hour push to table the legislation fails.

A change to how county employees appeal pension decisions was approved despite an 11th hour attempt to delay the final vote. The Baltimore County Council Tuesday night voted 6-1 in favor of the legislation that moves the appeals process from a seven-member panel appointed by the council to one of two administrative law judges appointed by the county executive. Councilwoman Vicki Almond, a Reisterstown Democrat, was the lone vote against the bill and three amendments. Almond, reading from a prepared statement, said the bill would affect the integrity of the council and "county employees for years to come." She said conflicting legal opinions offered by County Attorney Michael Field and county legislators in the General Assembly was reason …

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moe green

5:29 am on Tuesday, March 26, 2013

another member of the stay at home but want to get paid crowd. how about you lose forty pounds, join a gym and stop smoking?   more ›

Council Approves Mays Chapel Land Swap

The County Council signs off on exchange of 10-acre parcels with the school system that could clear the way for the construction of a controversial new elementary school.

A land swap needed for the construction of a controversial new elementary school in Mays Chapel is one step closer to fruition. The Baltimore County Council Tuesday unanimously approved a resolution approving the swap of a 10-acre wooded property for an adjacent 10-acre property made up of ballfields that is owned by the Baltimore County Public Schools system. The school system intends to use the newly-swapped property to build a new elementary school. The swap still requires the approval of the county Board of Education. The state Department of Natural Resources must also approve the deal because of open space easements on the county's parcel. Those easements are expected to be transferred over to the new parcel. Some residents who live …

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Quirk Elected Baltimore County Council Chairman

The Catonsville Democrat said the council will have to deal with another difficult budget but there's "no political will" for a tax increase.

Newly-elected Baltimore County Council Chairman Tom Quirk is looking forward to a more collegial relationship between the council and county executive and no new taxes in the coming year. "I think 2013 is the year the county executive and the county council work together collaboratively," Quirk, Catonsville Democrat, said, who was elected unanimously by his colleagues. The relationship between the council and County Executive Kevin Kamenetz has undergone considerable strain. Quirk along with then-Council Chairwoman Vicki Almond, Councilwoman Cathy Bevins, and Councilman David Marks all opposed a pension bill that would have ended the use of overtime in the calculation for pension benefits for some county employees. The bill was part of an …

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Legislation Requires Notice for Pet Cemetery Plot Owners

Cemetery owners would have to pay for unused plots or reimburse burial costs if the properties are developed.

Operators of pet cemeteries in Baltimore County will have to notify plot owners, and in some cases offer reimbursement, if those burial grounds are sold for development purposes. The law, sponsored by Councilman David Marks, requires that operators of pet cemeteries to provide public 90-days notice of an intent to develop the burial grounds. The notice must be published in a newspaper of general circulation. Owners of unused plots would be eligible for full reimbursement. Those with pets already buried would be eligible for reimbursement of burial costs. Marks amended out a portion of the bill that would require pet cemetery operators to pay the costs to re-bury the animals. Marks introduced the bill out of concerns that the Oakleigh …

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Barry Friedman

7:38 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012

Anything new? They should have to help us relocate out pets!   more ›

$25M Pension Loan Raises Eyebrows, Questions

Baltimore County officials say the loan for a Cockeysville recycling facility from its underfunded pension system is a "win-win." But some County Council members have questions.

UPDATED (3:16 p.m.)—Some Baltimore County Council members and union officials say a $25 million loan made to the county from its own pension system raises questions. The loan will be used to pay for a new recycling facility in Cockeysville. It's the same facility for which the Baltimore County Council approved $25 million in bond sales last November. Councilmen David Marks and Tom Quirk say they now have questions about the change in how the project is financed and the lack of independent oversight. "I don't know any of the details of the arrangement at all," Quirk said. "We definitely have questions." Marks, a Perry Hall Republican, said he was withholding judgement on the changes but was asking the administration to provide a legal …

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Arlow

10:57 pm on Sunday, August 12, 2012

That's pretty snarky. Stating that FIFA and the others were fired from the County without any proof they ever worked there is childish. It sounds more like you work for the Administration they way you act like they can never do anything wrong.   more ›