Local Governments

HAGERSTOWN -- Representatives of six local governments discussed issues ranging from taxes to recycling during a meeting Thursday night at Bulls & Bears Restaurant on South Potomac Street. Local government officials have expressed an interest in meeting as a "council of governments" to discuss issues that affect them, said Washington County Commissioner Kristin B. Aleshire, who attended the meeting. In addition to the County Commissioners, representatives from the City of Hagerstown and the towns of Boonsboro, Keedysville, Smithsburg and Clear Spring attended the meeting.

Should local governments pay lobbyists to help them obtain federal or state funding? Yes 52 votes (20 percent) No 206 votes (80 percent) Results of online votes received as of 10:30 a.m. Monday

The Maryland General Assembly's fiscal advisors gave Governor-elect Martin O'Malley some good news and bad news this week. The good news is that because outgoing Gov. Robert Ehrlich left the state with $1.6 billion in cash reserves, the legislature won't have to do anything drastic in 2007. And the bad news? The state's structural deficit - the projected gap between revenues and expenses over the next four years - has increased from $4 billion to $5.8 billion. On Wednesday, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller told The Associated Press that 2007 will be "a very challenging year for Governor O'Malley.

At a time when many local governments are looking at things like impact fees to help them keep pace with rising costs, it seems incredible that for more than a dozen years, the borough of Chambersburg has charged nothing for hook-ups to its water and sewer system. That will change Jan. 1, but there's a lesson here for all local governments facing development pressure. Give borough officials credit for not trying to fudge the details. Borough Manager Eric Oyer told the borough council this week that if the new $3,035 fee had been in place for the past 12 years, Chambersburg would have had $2.5 million to use for capital improvements.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Administrators from Franklin County and its townships and boroughs contend they are on track to fix the so-called millennium bug, but independent experts warn they may be overconfident. [cont. from front page ] Analysts who track year 2000 computer issues said local governments as a whole have lagged in the effort to make their computer systems ready. "As far as we can tell, they're significantly worse than any other sector," said Leon A. Kappelman, a University of North Texas professor and head of the Y2K Working Group.

By JULIE E. GREENE and STEVEN T. DENNIS Staff Writers Washington County took another step on Tuesday toward securing the local filming of the movie "Gods and Generals. " The Washington County Commissioners voted 4-1 to approve a $250,000 loan guarantee for the movie during a Tuesday meeting. Farmers & Merchants Bank and Trust has approved a $500,000 loan for pre-production costs, said Robert E. Ernst II, a bank vice president. So far, pledges of $382,000 have been raised to cover the loan if the movie is not made, Ernst said in a telephone interview last week.

Berkeley County Commission opposes bill MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - The Berkeley County Commission Thursday went on record opposing a bill in the West Virginia Legislature that would affect how local governments compensate their injured workers Commission Attorney Norwood Bentley III said the bill would eliminate the immunity local governments now have from being sued by their employees injured on the job on top of any workers' compensation claim....

Maryland counties and municipalities are set to receive a one-time $13.2 million infusion to help maintain and repair battered roads, under spending plans recently approved by the House and Senate. State budgets approved by both chambers set aside the money for fiscal 2012 to help offset a series of funding cuts in recent years that have drastically slashed state aid dedicated for county and city road projects. The $13 million injection amounts to a minor victory for the state's local governments that in recent years have been forced to tap emergency funds, revert to a series of “patchwork” fixes or shelve road projects altogether, said Michael Bennett, president of the Maryland Municipal League.

Pennsy lawmakers want planners to key on water Two Pennsylvania lawmakers are pushing a revolutionary proposition this month - that the real limit on residential development is not how much land is available, but how much water is underneath it. The two aren't talking about regulating local development matters, but they do want local governments to start thinking about the issue. The push to get local governments to take a closer look at how development affects water resources comes from state Sen. James Gerlach, R-Chester, and Rep. David Steil, R-Bucks, co-authors of a bill to allow different towns sharing the same watershed to write a single plan to protect water resources.

Boonsboro High CAC talks to school board Members of Boonsboro High School's Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) continued their presentations to local governments Tuesday night by visiting the Washington County Board of Education. The group is trying to get local governments, including the school board, Washington County Commissioners and municipal elected officials, to approve a resolution for a Council of Governments. The Council of Governments, or COG, would improve communication among local government bodies concerning important issues such as growth, members said.

The I-81 Corridor Coalition will hold its spring conference March 24 to 26 at the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center in Hagerstown. Approximately 150 people are expected to attend.  Founded in 2007, the coalition is a partnership of local, regional and state organizations that are all interested in transportation planning. The coalition includes local governments, metropolitan planning organizations and state transportation departments, as well as private sector and nonprofit organizations.

Sometimes, communities go in search of salvation. They sense the future is slipping away and they take desperate steps in an attempt to avoid irrelevance. Sometimes, salvation is a new facility; sometimes, a new industry or community redesign. Here, in the Cumberland Valley, we are not strangers to this form of enthusiasm. These periodic enthusiasms are fine as long as a broad perspective is maintained. Here is a cautionary tale from almost 100 years ago. Some 40 men look out of the grainy black-and-white photograph with an earnest hunger.

A brochure describing a section of the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail says the pathway is a braided network of trails, open space and natural areas winding through a corridor “linked by land, water and history.” The Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail is the only one of 11 in the federal system that includes “Heritage” in its name, said Donald E. Briggs, the trail's superintendent and its only full-time employee. Briggs, 60, has been a National Park Service employee for 26 years, including 12 as trail superintendent.

Washington County Government offices: In observance of Christmas, county government will be closed today and Tuesday. County government offices also will be closed on New Year's Eve, Monday, Dec. 31, and New Year's Day, Tuesday, Jan. 1. Transit: All service will be halted  at 4 p.m. today and will remain closed Christmas Day. All service is to stop at 7 p.m. on New Year's Eve and will remain closed Tuesday, Jan. 1....

Viewpoints on the Washington County Board of Education having taxing authority were among the issues discussed Wednesday morning at a school board candidate forum at the Academy Theater in downtown Hagerstown. All five candidates attended the forum, which was co-sponsored by the Hagerstown-Washington County Chamber of Commerce; the Landlords & Property Owners Association of Washington County, Maryland; the Home Builders Association of Washington County; and the Pen-Mar Regional Association of Realtors.

The Franklin County (Pa.) Commissioners recently adopted a new comprehensive plan for the county with a strategy for proper growth and conservation. “This project began in late 2010 and was a collaborative process involving numerous meetings and interviews to gather input from all segments of the community, including local governments, school districts, business and community leaders, and the general public,” Planning Director Phil Tarquino said in a news release. The latest revision to the comprehensive plan is called “Franklin County Forward.” The plan calls for an information resource center within the Franklin County Planning Department.

Both the developer of a recycling center in Waynesboro's South End and opponents to the project are anxiously awaiting local government decisions on how the project can proceed. Waynesboro's zoning hearing board is expected to make a key decision about Redemption Recycling's fence on Thursday. The borough council might vote on conditional use permits Aug. 15. If approved, Shon Duty wants to open Redemption Recycling at 206 Madison Ave. for two purposes. It would not only be a stand-alone business, but also a testing facility and showcase for the hardware and software he sells for salvage yards.

Maryland has been blessed with the Chesapeake Bay, and few of us, even here in Western Maryland, haven't enjoyed some aspect of its presence, its history and its bounty. Therefore, we willingly acknowledge our responsibility to help maintain its well-being. The Bay's waters might not lap our soils, but we realize that our waters will eventually become part of the Bay. For the most part, we believe that our citizens have taken this responsibility seriously, be it through tree plantings, stream buffers or farmland nutrient management.

It's somewhat difficult to be critical of PlanMaryland because the top-down, growth-containment plan sounds so plausible on the surface. To wildly simplify a complex program, PlanMaryland works with local jurisdictions to identify areas targeted for high, medium, low or no growth, both now and in the future. It also protects historic and environmentally sensitive sites. The state will then steer the local governments in the agreed-upon direction, using cash as a rudder. Roads and schools, sewers and waterlines will be eligible for state funding, only if they fall into areas that have been identified as growth districts.

America has never had a Cleopatra or a Catherine, great or otherwise. Men have been its leaders. But making a difference in the world around you doesn't necessarily mean holding a position of power, said a panel of Washington County residents with a history of public service. It's about women having a seat at the table. First, however, you have to "Get Your Foot in the Door," they said, which was the topic of a forum held Saturday morning at Hagerstown Community College.