Local leaders want voters to decide on home rule

Kelsey Volkmann, The Examiner
May 23, 2006

Community and municipal leaders voiced their support Monday for a November referendum on whether Carroll County commissioners should be able to pass local legislation without the approval of the General Assembly.

Ross Dangel, spokesman for the Freedom Area Citizens’ Council, which covers the Eldersburg area,sent an e-mail Monday to the commissioners and their chief of staff, Steve Powell, asking that they hold a public hearing to gauge opinions on the idea, most recently floated during a commissioners meeting two weeks ago by Dangel and Del. Susan Krebs, R-Carroll County.

“There is no downside risk to the commissioners putting code home rule on the ballot and clearly there is no conflict, considering you are all up for re-election,” Dangel wrote. “The only real risk is doing nothing and not giving voters the opportunity to have a vote on it, which is ironically exactly what your detractors would have you do.”

Under code home rule, commissioners would pass legislation on local issues without legislative approval, while the General Assembly would retain taxing power.

The mayors of Sykesville and Westminster said that while their councils have not officially taken positions on home rule, they personally support having the measure put to referendum. Code home rule government “would keep local laws and issues locally without them having to go to Annapolis,” said Sykesville Mayor Jonathan Herman.

“I believe that code home rule is a good idea, and perhaps the opportunity is now to get it on the ballot,” said Westminster Mayor Thomas Ferguson.

Jim Johnson, president of the community organization, Finksburg Planning and Citizens’ Council, is also a code government proponent. “It’s good management practice for decisions to be made at the lowest possible level,” he said. “The larger the county grows, maybe the more applicable it is.”