County Charter

HAGERSTOWN - A day after the Washington County Commissioners appointed a nine-member board to write a county charter, the questions were already coming. Several of the approximately 35 people who attended a meeting Wednesday night wanted to know more details about the makeup of the charter board and what kind of authority the commissioners would have if county voters approve charter home rule. The meeting was held by the League of Women Voters of Washington County at St. John's Episcopal Church in Hagerstown.

The charter home rule board appointed by the Washington County Commissioners will meet at 5 p.m. today at the County Administration Building. The nine-member board will work on a meeting schedule and discuss other organizational matters, County Administrator Rodney M. Shoop said Tuesday. The board hopes to begin meeting regularly in January, Shoop said. The charter board is charged with writing a county charter that would serve as the governing document for the county, if approved by voters.

tammyb@herald-mail.com ANNAPOLIS - The Washington County government wants to start regulating alarm systems, enforcing rules for electricians and controlling the height of weeds. Seems simple enough - and hardly the kind of thing that warrants statewide attention. But before the commissioners can start registering alarm systems or cutting down weeds, they must get permission from the state legislature. "There are a lot of people who don't understand why," Commissioners President Gregory I. Snook said.

A group that thinks Washington County residents should vote on the membership of a board charged with writing a county charter isn't sure whether it will have enough signatures to force a special election. Dan Seiler of Citizens for Elected Charter Board said Wednesday the group obtained about 1,000 signatures of registered voters. It needs 2,000 signatures for the county to hold a special election. The Washington County Commissioners on Sept. 19 appointed nine people to serve on the charter board in an attempt to change the county's form of government from commission to charter home rule.

WASHINGTON COUNTY - The Charter Board of Washington County is putting the finishing touches on the final draft of its county charter. At a meeting Thursday night, the nine-member board approved most of its 20-page draft charter, which would serve as the county's governing document if voters approve it in an election. The board's current draft would change Washington County's governing body from a board of commissioners to a seven-member county council. The council would include five district representatives and two at-large members.

WASHINGTON COUNTY Saying residents would have a louder voice in how local government is run, the Washington County Commissioners on Tuesday endorsed changing the county's current type of government to charter home rule. Under charter home rule, the County Commissioners would have more authority in creating local laws, but residents could challenge those laws and force a referendum. The county currently operates under a commission form of government, which depends more on state lawmakers to decide local decisions.

Washington County Director of Emergency Services Joe Kroboth will chair a task force created by the County Commissioners to study a possible move to code home rule government in the county. The task force will consist of a member from each of the League of Women Voters of Washington County, Hagerstown-Washington County Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Hagerstown Committee. Two citizens will be appointed by the commissioners and one person will be appointed by the Washington County Delegation to the Maryland General Assembly.

County home rule to be object of study group By SCOTT BUTKI scottb@herald-mail.com A study group is being assembled to gauge public interest in switching to "home rule" government in Washington County, said Linda Irvin-Craig, who is on the Hagerstown-Washington County Chamber of Commerce's government affairs committee. The Chamber, the League of Women Voters of Washington County and the Greater Hagerstown Committee are working on the project jointly, she said.

WASHINGTON COUNTY - A Washington County home rule board said Thursday that it wants a consultant from Carroll County, Md., to help the group write a county charter. The Charter Board for Washington County voted unanimously to hire Victor K. Tervala, an attorney and home rule expert who has written the book "Home Rule Options for Maryland Counties. " Tervala attended the meeting and spoke about the preliminary steps to writing a charter. Board Chairwoman Jeanne Singer said final approval on whether to hire Tervala is up to the Washington County Commissioners.

Washington County residents will not be voting on the membership of a board charged with writing a county charter. A group hoping to change the charter board's makeup fell about 800 signatures short of the 2,000 it needed to force a special election. Dan Seiler of Citizens for Elected Charter Board said the group needed more time to obtain the signatures. "We gave it a good try, and we just fell short on the time," Seiler said. The Washington County Commissioners on Sept.

Stadium zeppelin about to balloon out of control To the editor: One day, it's renovating a stadium to preserve a local tradition, and the next its mounting a campaign to replace The Herald-Mail for a new ballpark. Let's go to the breakdown. Down the stretch, time to tie this project to anything, except for baseball, that might win public support. From roundhouses and railroads to revitalization, makes me wish I owned a steam engine and that laundromat on Summit Avenue.

Last Tuesday, Washington County voters soundly rejected a proposed county charter. The two-to-one margin was a more lopsided defeat than either of the previous home rule efforts in 1977 and 1988. To charter supporters who claim that local voters need to be empowered, those voters delivered a powerful message. The defeat should baffle charter supporters: Who could oppose allowing county government to set local policies that now must be approved in Annapolis? Shouldn't local government decide local issues?

The pros and cons of Washington County's proposed home rule charter will be debated tonight from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at Hagerstown Community College's Kepler Theater. The public is invited to attend the debate on Washington County's proposed home rule charter, which will be voted on in the Feb. 12 primary election. Those participating in the debate in favor of the proposed charter will be Jeanne Singer, who served as chairwoman of the charter board for Washington County; James F. Kercheval, a Washington County Commissioner; and Brien Poffenberger, president of the Hagerstown-Washington County Chamber of Commerce.

The pros and cons of Washington County's proposed home rule charter will be debated Wednesday, Jan. 30, from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at Hagerstown Community College's Kepler Theater. The public is invited to attend the debate on Washington County's proposed home rule charter, which will be voted on in the Feb. 12 primary election. Those participating in the debate in favor of the proposed charter will be Jeanne Singer, who served as chairwoman of the charter board for Washington County; James F. Kercheval, a Washington County Commissioner; and Brien Poffenberger, president of the Hagerstown-Washington County Chamber of Commerce.

The Washington County Charter Board thanks each member of The Herald-Mail's Opinion Club who took the time to read the draft of the charter and offer his or her comments. Unfortunately, these comments were not published in time for the Charter Board to consider them when finalizing the charter. The final charter was presented to the County Commissioners on Oct. 30, the last day possible for the charter to be on the February ballot. However, most of the concerns of the Opinion Club and Commissioner Kristin Aleshire that were published on Sunday relate to provisions contained in the draft charter that were revised in the final version, making the concerns moot.

Click here to view the draft of the Washington County Charter.

Washington County residents would elect a seven-member county council - two members at-large - under the latest draft of a county charter. Charter board representatives say they've gotten fewer than 50 citizen responses to what they've done so far, so we urge all who care about good government to read the document prior to the Feb. 12, 2008, vote, which coincides with Maryland's presidential primary. Charter government would give the county's elected officials power to do some things - weed ordinances and the like - which would otherwise have to be approved by the Maryland General Assembly.

WASHINGTON COUNTY - The Charter Board of Washington County is putting the finishing touches on the final draft of its county charter. At a meeting Thursday night, the nine-member board approved most of its 20-page draft charter, which would serve as the county's governing document if voters approve it in an election. The board's current draft would change Washington County's governing body from a board of commissioners to a seven-member county council. The council would include five district representatives and two at-large members.