The Frederick County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) is considering a proposal to rebate $100 to county property owners later this year as an “economic enhancement tax rebate.” I’m not one to complain about a tax cut, so I hope it happens. Some critics have derided the $6.7 million credit as a gimmick that...
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The primary election ballot on April 3 will have lots of names but only a couple of real contests. Eight Democrats are challenging U.S. Senator Ben Cardin for the nomination, and nine Republicans are competing for their party’s nod to challenge him. But the odds of Cardin losing are pretty slim. Dozens of Republicans...
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The 2012 election cycle is just getting underway, and most of the focus will be on the presidential and congressional elections. Although 2012 is an off year for state and county offices, there is one important local issue that will be on the November ballot — whether to adopt charter government for Frederick County....
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As expected, there are differing views on the government’s role, and there will always be tensions on where to allocate taxpayers’ and residents’ funds, be it that some programs or activities benefit a smaller group of people. The Frederick County Commissioners are reviewing all discretionary county programs that require county funding. This review is...
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The Frederick County Board of Education (BOE) has begun consideration of the capital budget for fiscal years 2013 – 2018, which begins next July. The Superintendent’s Recommended Educational Facilities Master Plan was released in late August and will be the basis for public hearings in September. There is nowhere near enough money in the...
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One of the more complex problems facing local government is that matching infrastructure needs to growth. Nowhere is that challenge more stark than in creating adequate school capacity to meet the requirements of residential development. There are a number of tools that are supposed to help accomplish this goal. Builders of new homes pay...
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The new Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) has been in office only three months but has already begun reshaping county government to reflect its members perspectives and campaign themes. Recovering from an unfortunate early effort to repeal portions of the county ethics law that garnered little support, the BOCC has begun to make its...
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The New Year brings both a sense of renewed possibility and a bit of angst. At the federal level, the White House and Congress appear to be on a path that will yield an improving economy and may even begin to address the structural challenges that threaten our long-term prosperity. But those challenges remain...
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It should not come as a shock to anyone that all 10 of the candidates for Frederick County Commissioner have expressed their opposition to the Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline (PATH) project that is planned to traverse southern Frederick County. PATH is a joint project of Allegheny Power and American Electric Power with a price tag...
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