time citizen legislators preserved in Howard County along with a discussion of whether the county council should grow to match population growth
moncler saldi uomo Keeping Howard County Council members part moncleroutlet-i time legislators is a goal most county leaders take for granted, but some worry that that if the county’s population continues to swell the size of the moncler donna five members’ districts, the job may become more of a full moncler outlet trebaseleghe time commitment. moncler saldi uomo
moncler outlet The county’s moncler bambino saldi Charter Review Commission piumini moncler saldi discussed the best size for the council in a still growing county at moncler outlet online uomo a meeting Wednesday in Ellicott City, moncler outlet online shop along with other potential changes to the charter, which by law must be reviewed once every eight years. The results could end up on the ballot next year. moncler outlet
outlet moncler “The idea is we moncler saldi want to make sure the position is attractive to those who have other careers,” said County Councilwoman Courtney Watson, a Democrat, after speaking to the commission at a meeting in the George Howard Building on Wednesday morning. “In Howard County, standards piumini moncler uomo are high. We want to make sure we can provide the level of constituent service that people expect.” outlet moncler
moncler uomo Her district, covering Ellicott City and Elkridge, is the largest in the county, with about 62,000 people. The former school board member has said her office gets about 700 constituent emails each week. moncler uomo
moncler outlet online uomo That’s why she wants the commission to discuss whether the council, which has remained the same size piumini moncler scontatissimi as when it was formed in 1969, should grow, perhaps to seven members. The county’s population has grown nearly five fold since that year, and is now about 287,000 moncler uomo people. That means districts that once held roughly 12,000 people each now include, ideally, around 57,000. moncler outlet online uomo
piumini moncler scontatissimi “My one overriding concern is preserving the role of the moncler saldi part time citizen legislator,” Watson told the commission members, including former County Executive Edward Cochran, outlet moncler who served from 1974 to 1978 and is Watson’s father. “To me, that is the most important thing.” piumini moncler scontatissimi
piumini moncler uomo In private life, Watson is an insurance company executive. Three of the five council members hold private jobs in addition to their council posts. piumini moncler uomo
moncler outlet online shop The commission also agreed to discuss whether the minimum number of signatures required to petition a government action to referendum should change from the 5,000 qualified voters established with the original charter. The charter calls for 5,000 or 5 percent of registered voters, whichever is less. If moncler bambino outlet the minimum requirement were 5 percent, a petition drive would now need nearly 9,000 valid signatures to succeed. In 1970, it took only 1,189 voters’ signatures to get a referendum. moncler outlet online shop
piumini moncler outlet The idea of switching to 5 percent was recommended by the last charter commission in 2004, but it did not attract the four County Council votes needed to place it on the ballot. piumini moncler outlet
moncler saldi outlet The 2004 commission rejected the idea of enlarging the council, a move that one current commission member, former 14 year piumini moncler councilman Charles C. Feaga, a Republican from West Friendship, has said he feels should wait until the next review in 2019. moncler saldi outlet
moncler donna Watson said expanding the council is not the only way to solve the growing constituent workload, but it moncler outlet is worth discussing, Each council member now has one full time special assistant for help. moncler donna
moncler bambino saldi Commission member Michael Davis, a Columbia lawyer, asked if an expanded council should mean expansion to seven smaller individual districts or election of two at large council members. The district system began in the mid 1980s. moncler bambino saldi
piumini moncler saldi Watson said there are pros and cons to each idea. piumini moncler saldi
moncler saldi “There is a little bit of push and pull of parochialism” in the current district system, she said, and two countywide members would give voters another avenue of contact. Smaller districts, on the other hand, would also allow more direct contact with residents. Later, she agreed that adding a second full time special assistant for each council member might also work. moncler saldi
moncler outlet trebaseleghe Feaga, a farmer, countered that he feels the district system works well and is not too parochial, especially because many council members are contemplating runs for higher, countywide offices. His worry, he said, is domination of the county by Democrats, who now hold a 4 1 edge on the council. Having two at large members would “destroy districting,” he said, and create two political “kingpins.” At large members would likely win moncler saldi uomo seats based on the heavily Democratic votes in Columbia, he said. moncler outlet trebaseleghe
moncler bambino outlet “I like Columbia. I do all my shopping there,” Feaga said to chuckles. “You’d go piumini moncler outlet back to electing five council members from Columbia,” he said. He also brushed off Watson’s comparison with the seven member county wide elected school moncler outlet serravalle board. None of the current board members, who run without any political affiliation, live in Columbia. moncler bambino outlet
piumini moncler “That’s apples and oranges,” Feaga said. “Columbia votes Democratic. God bless ’em, that’s their right.” piumini moncler
moncler outlet serravalle Steve Hunt, a commission member from North Laurel, agreed that at large moncler saldi outlet members might be elected by voters in Columbia moncler outlet serravalle.
