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Thursday, September 12, 2013
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Glenarden’s honest approach Glenarden owes the Internal Revenue Service $100,000 because officials failed to file correct paperwork regarding city contractors for two years. Of course, it’s not something the city is proud of, but officials — present and past — are being open and honest about the problem, which says a lot. Too often, government leaders discover a mistake and hope the error goes unnoticed by the public, stonewalling the media on any potentially negative topic. Glenarden officials did the opposite. The mayor and council discussed in a public meeting the fact that for fiscal 2011 and 2012, high turnover among city staff caused OFFICIALS significant administrative TURNED IRS problems and many contracPENALTY INTO tors were never given 1099s OPPORTUNITY — a federal form used to track money given to contractors. TO IMPROVE As a result, the city incurred CITY SYSTEM about $150,000 in fines. Even the mayor who was in charge during the oversight, Gail Parker Carter, was open to discussing with The Gazette the turnover problems that led to the penalties under her watch. Officials are now trying to get the correct paperwork filed, which has lessened the penalty amount to $95,000 so far, and they hope to knock the total down to about $15,000, if not less. Granted, having a city with an annual budget of about $3 million incur a six-figure penalty due to poor oversight is never acceptable. Even with the amount reduced, any taxpayer money wasted on administrative errors is unacceptable. Mayor Dennis Smith, City Treasurer Chris Wood and City Manager William Reaves are working to reduce the penalty and create a system that will prevent the problem from occurring in the future. They must also remember to look at why so much turnover occurred in hopes of better retaining city employees going forward. Smith, who was elected mayor in July, could have easily blamed the former mayor and simply forked over taxpayers’ money. Instead, he’s trying to save the money and fix the problem. Their efforts are commendable, as is their openness about the challenge the city is facing.
The price of transit
One step forward, one step back. First, the step forward: Gov. Martin O’Malley announced last month that $400 million of state money, funded through the controversial fuel-tax increase, would go toward the Purple Line. The funding shows the state is serious about the $2.2 billion rail link, important not only to Prince George’s County but to the region. Jobs in Bethesda will be connected to apartments in New Carrollton. Neighborhood businesses along the line will have new customers. A long-desired direct transit link to Silver Spring and Connecticut Avenue will be a reality. Construction could begin in 2015, and the first trains could run by 2020. Rural Marylanders have raised objections that millions collected statewide through the fuel tax is heading toward transit. The state needs miles and miles of highways so its residents can move efficiently. The Maryland Department of Transportation says that when all is said and done, the gas tax revenue will be split about evenly between transit and road projects. The critics will say that less than 10 percent of Marylanders use any of the transit systems across the state. It’s a disconnect, and one that lands in the lap of elected and appointed leaders to defend. Funding for the Purple Line is definitely a step forward for Prince George’s County. Now the step backward: Water is seeping into Metrorail’s Red Line. As first reported by WRC NBC4, repairs could mean a section of the subway will be closed. Metro’s engineers say it could be months, or years, before they develop a repair plan for the seepage. A section of the line could be shut down for months. Such repairs are going to be a fact of life for the Metro, which is showing its age. In three years, the system will mark the 40th anniversary of opening its first Red Line stations. And though other cities have older subway systems that seem to run better, few have the issues Metro faces. The system serves a world capital, two states, and a half-dozen other jurisdictions, not to mention a fickle federal government. It has no secure funding source (fares cover about 55 percent of the day-to-day expenses). None of that constitutes an excuse, but it certainly adds complexity to the problems of providing reliable transportation for as many as 800,000 people per day. The news of the seepage — a step back — comes just as the region is embracing the notion of the long-sought Purple Line could be a reality — a step forward. Reliable funding sources that can expand transit and maintain it are crucial for the entire region.
The Gazette Douglas S. Hayes, Associate Publisher
LETTERS TOT HE EDITOR
A tale of two school systems Are you at peace with the idea that students should need to bundle up in winter or carry an umbrella when it rains, simply to visit the restroom? You may stop reading now. Are you not annoyed that the terrain previously utilized by children during recess has evolved into a trailer park sometimes surrounded by 8-foot-high chain-link fence? This op-ed is not for you. You will sometimes hear them referred to as “modular classrooms.” Euphemistically, educators call them “temporaries” or “temps.” This, however, is a misnomer. Seldom are they “temporary.”
They have, instead, become semipermanent monuments to our societal indifference to the educational environment endured by children. We must forget, for a moment, that the climate in our permanent structures is sometimes so unbearable — leaking ceilings, mildew, sweltering in the summer, frigid in the winter — that, occasionally, teachers come to prefer life in the trailer park hidden behind the schoolhouse. That will be another story. More than a decade has passed since The Bridge to Excellence Act, inspired by the recommendations of the Thornton Commission, adopted the precepts of “adequacy and equity” for Maryland’s
Ken Sain, Sports Editor Dan Gross, Photo Editor Jessica Loder, Web Editor
Kenneth B. Haines is the president of the Prince George’s County Educators’ Association.
Maryland’s miniature primary When House Speaker Tip O’Neill famously observed that “All politics is local,” he meant that voters’ moods are shaped by what’s happening in their neighborhoods and daily lives, not Senate floor speeches or foreign policy debates. It’s the status of their household incomes, kids’ test scores, home values, IRAs and local crime rates that make them either content or contentious. Even in supposedly cosmopolitan Montgomery County, voters rank traffic congestion, not war and peace, as their chief concern. But voters’ quality of life, and corresponding moods, are directly impacted by national and global events that can become election game MY MARYLAND changers. For inBLAIR LEE stance, the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorism attacks largely shaped the 2002 and 2004 national elections just as the 2007 economic collapse helped elect Barack Obama. A host of such game changers may directly affect Maryland’s 2014 statewide elections. They include: Syria (will Obama alienate his liberal base?), the ObamaCare rollout (chaos or calm?), the economy (recovery or stagflation?), the debt ceiling showdown (can Obama and Congress look any worse?), and surprise disasters both natural and manmade. These election-year game changers will either occur, or not, and how the players respond will determine their political fates. But here’s a Maryland 2014 election game changer that’s already taken place and is certain to affect the outcome. I’m talking about the 2011 state law switching Maryland’s 2014 primary election day from early September to the last Tuesday in June (June 24, 2014). It’s a huge game changer, but first here’s the background: Up until 1966, Maryland’s primary elections were in May. But too many incumbents were getting ambushed (defeated) by challengers for two reasons. First, the state General Assembly and most local legislatures were in session nearly up until the primary election so the in-
cumbents didn’t have time to campaign. Second, if the incumbents cast unpopular votes (taxes, etc.) angry voters didn’t have sufficient time to cool off or forget. So the incumbents moved Maryland’s primary election to the second Tuesday in September, giving them time to mend fences while making their challengers campaign in the dog days of July and August. Then, in 2006, the Democrats (who run the state) faced a dilemma. Defeating Republican governor Bob Ehrlich was their top priority, but a bloody primary between Martin O’Malley and Doug Duncan wouldn’t leave enough healing time between the September primary and the November general election. So the Dems tried moving the primary to June 2006 but pulled back in the face of a certain Ehrlich veto. Then, luckily for the Dems, Duncan dropped out and the bloodbath was averted. Now, facing their first contentious governor’s primary in 20 years, the Dems got lucky again. A 2009 federal law requiring sufficient time for sending absentee ballots to military and overseas voters gave the Dems cover to move the primary to June 24, 2014. The resulting time compression (from a five-month campaign to a two-month campaign) will have huge consequences as follows:
Voter turnout Maryland’s primary election turnout already stinks. The Sept. 14, 2010, turnout was 24 percent, the lowest on record (despite early voting). On June 24, 2014, when school is out and folks are on vacations, is anyone going to show up? This year, New Jersey’s June 4 primary had a 9 percent turnout, down from 2009’s June turnout of 11 percent. Meanwhile, this year’s Virginia June 11 primary, limited to legislative seats, had a 3.1 percent turnout. Back in June 2009, when the governors were on the Virginia ballots, turnout was 6.3 percent. So, look for a record-breaking, dismal June 24 turnout in Maryland giving amplified power to the organized vote of labor unions, political machines and special interest groups. But even these folks must mobilize months earlier than usual.
13501 Virginia Manor Road, Laurel, MD 20707 | Phone: 240-473-7500 | Fax: 240-473-7501 | Email: princegeorges@gazette.net More letters appear online at www.gazette.net/opinion
Vanessa Harrington, Editor Glen C. Cullen, Senior Editor Copy/Design Meredith Hooker,Managing Editor Internet Nathan Oravec, A&E Editor
public schools. We have come far in this decade. That the conditions described in the first two sentences occur most frequently in schools populated by children confronting socio-economic challenges suggests that we still have far to go. Will our community rise to the challenge of funding appropriate additions to the educational infrastructure? Or, will some future union president hear a principal say, as I recently did, “Now, let’s visit the other school outside?”
Dennis Wilston, Corporate Advertising Director Doug Baum, Corporate Classifieds Director Mona Bass, Inside Classifieds Director
Jean Casey, Director of Marketing and Circulation Anna Joyce, Creative Director, Special Pubs/Internet Ellen Pankake, Director of Creative Services
Money State law bars state elected officials from raising money during the 90-day legislative session (January to April). But campaigns and advertising buys can’t wait, so the candidates must have most of their cash in hand by the end of this year — a huge advantage to those who have raised and hoarded funds.
Media Maryland’s primary campaigns have shrunken from a three-act play to a oneact play. How will the press corps respond? After focusing on the legislative session until mid-April, catching their breath, and then turning to the campaigns, the races will be almost over. Time compression will make this the briefest, least-reported and poorestattended primary in Maryland history. And that’s just the headliner governor’s race; the down ballot races for state and local seats will be non-events drawing zero coverage. Also, moving up the primary election day meant moving up the filing deadline (when tickets and campaigns must be finalized) from July to Feb. 25. Look for some gubernatorial candidates to be frantically searching for running mates on Feb. 24. The two Democratic gubernatorial front-runners reacted to this time compression very differently. Anthony Brown launched an early campaign depending on fellow incumbents and their organizations. Doug Gansler is playing a solo waiting game depending on his financial advantage to wage a TV blitz. Maryland’s 2014 miniature primary gives even greater influence than usual to candidates with money, name recognition (incumbents), special interest support and favorable media treatment. It’s “politics as usual,” crammed into a two-minute drill. Blair Lee is chairman of the board of Lee Development Group in Silver Spring and a regular commentator for WBAL radio. His past columns are available at www.gazette.net/blairlee. His email address is blairleeiv@gmail.com.
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