MAY
The Maryland Municipal League representing maryland's cities and towns
JUNE 2019
BUILDING SOLID RELATIONS FOR LASTING SUCCESS
“WE AREN’T SELLING INSURANCE.
VisitWE’RE us during MML’s BUILDING 322 & 323 – Booths RELATIONSHIPS.”
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From Maryland’s Municipalities to Maryland’s Counties, from coast to mountains, our relationships are our legacy… and our future. Convention LGIT is committed to you.
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CONTENTS MAY
JUNE 2019
MAY/JUNE 2019
ON THE COVER Maryland's State Capitol and Dogwoods in Spring Bloom by Kenneth Tom
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4 MML Summer Conference Checklist 6 Summer Conference Program Update 7 It Happened Last Summer – A Follow Up to 2018 Keynote The Maryland Municipal League representing maryland's cities and towns
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Matt Thornhill’s Summer Conference Presentation: What Workers Want 2019 Achievement Award Winner – Population Over 10,000 2019 Achievement Award Winner – Population Under 3,000 Coffee with MML – Caleb Wolf, Operations Manager 2019 MML Lifetime Achievement Award Winner Member Moments Blockchain Technology and Municipalities by Paul Troncone 2019 Legislative Recap Upcoming Meetings & Events/Website of the Month
Vol. 49 | No. 7 | May/June 2019
Municipal Maryland THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION of MARYLAND MUNICIPAL LEAGUE Scott A. Hancock Publisher Patricia Foss-Bennie, CAE, IOM,CMP Editor-in-Chief Paula Chase Hyman Contributing Editor Thomas C. Reynolds Contributing Editor Bill Jorch Contributing Editor Justin Fiore Contributing Editor Sharon P. Easton Circulation Municipal Maryland (USPS 331-980), a publication for and about Maryland's cities and towns, is published six times a year (bi-monthly January/ February, March/April, May/June, July/August, September/October, November/December issues) by the Maryland Municipal League, 1212 West Street, Annapolis, Maryland 21401. The Maryland Municipal League is a non-profit, non-partisan association of Maryland's cities and towns. Information in Municipal Maryland does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Maryland Municipal League. Postmaster: Send address changes to Municipal Maryland, 1212 West Street, Annapolis, Maryland 21401 Second-class postage paid at Annapolis, Maryland 21401 For advertising rates contact: Patricia Foss-Bennie, Maryland Municipal League, 1212 West Street, Annapolis MD 21401 Telephone: 410-295-9100, Email to: pattyfb@mdmunicipal.org • Subscription rate: $40/year Design by: Paragraph2Media.com
Telephone: (410) 295-9100
Toll-Free: (800) 492-7121
Web: www.mdmunicipal.org
Email: mml@mdmunicipal.org
Municipal Maryland | MAY/JUNE 2019 | 3
Seeking Volunteers for MML Committees Are you interested in serving on one of MML’s committees in FY 2019? If so, visit mdmunicipal.org and click on the Volunteer Opportunities bar in the center of the home page and indicate which of the following committees interest you: • Conference Planning Committee • Engagement & Outreach Committee • Hometown Emergency Preparedness Committee (HEPAC) • Legislative Committee Volunteer forms will also be available at MML’s summer conference. Forms must be returned by June 22.
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WHERE ARE YOU????? Don’t be left out of the picture! Or the excitement, the fun, the recognition, the learning, the networking, the opportunity….Don’t be left out of the MML Summer Conference this year. Here’s what you need to do – ASAP! Checklist: ❒ Put July 23 – 26, 2019 MML Summer Conference on your calendar! ❒ Book your hotel today before the deadline of May 21 or you may not get MML’s discounted rates (or a room!) ❒ Go to www.mdmunicipal.org and complete the online registration form. ❒ Register your spouse/companion and your family for Jolly Roger, the social events and Tuesday Gala Boardwalk Dinner, Wednesday’s Delmarva Shorebirds game and more…details on MML’s website. ❒ Check out the program on the MML website and plan your schedule. Decide which Academy classes and SNAP Learning sessions you want to attend. ❒ Check your hotel location, where to park and what time you can check-in. ❒ Pack your bags!
Don’t be the one who everyone asks, “Where’s ?????” Plan to join us in June for the one big annual event for municipal leaders planned by municipal leaders! Municipal Maryland | MAY/JUNE 2019 | 5
UPD
2019 MML Summer Conference Preliminary Program AT SUNDAY, June 23, 2019 Noon – 1:00 pm 12:30 – 5:00 pm 1:00 – 5:30 pm 1:00 – 5:30 pm 1:30 – 2:30 pm 2:45 – 3:45 pm 2:45 – 4:00 pm 2:45 – 4:45 pm 4:15 – 5:30 pm 4:30 – 5:30 pm 4:30 – 5:30 pm 5:30 – 7:00 pm
Department Officers Briefing Coffee, Tea & Decaf Registration Planning /Board of Appeals Training Municipal/First Time Attendees Orientation Chapter Officers Briefing Workshop: Small Cells Moving Forward Workshop: Consensus & Team Building (C) Workshop: Municipal-County Collaboration A Town Hall with Senator Ben Cardin Board of Directors Meeting Welcome Reception
MONDAY, June 24, 2019 8:00 – 4:30 pm 8:00 – 9:45 am 8:30 – 9:30 am 8:30 – 9:45 am 8:30 – 9:45 am 9:00 – 9:45 am 10:00 – 11:30 am
Registration Coffee, Tea & Decaf Workshop: Ethics (C) Rehearsal for Parade of Flags Workshop: Financial Statements 101 Workshop: Village Movement/Aging in Place Opioid Overdose Response Training (pre-registration req’d) Opening General Session: ɣɣ Presentation of Colors ɣɣ Parade of Municipal Flags ɣɣ Achievement Awards ɣɣ Keynote Speaker: Dr. Bertice Berry -- Together We Can/Together YOU Can! 11:30 – 4:00 pm Exhibits Open 11:30 – 2:00 pm Lunch 12:00 – 1:30 pm Maryland Mayors Association Lunch MCCMA Lunch Municipal Attorneys Association Lunch 1:30 – 2:00 pm Snap Learning: Complete Count Census 1:30 – 2:45 pm Workshop: Utility Roundtable 1:30 – 2:30 pm Workshop: Active Shooter/Situational Awareness 1:30 – 3:30 pm Workshop: Effective Meetings (C) 2:30 – 3:30 pm Workshop: Data Security 3:00 – 4:15 pm Workshop: Future of Recycling and Zero Waste 3:30 – 4:00 pm Snap Learning: Community Emergency Response Teams 3:30 – 4:30 pm Young Elected Leaders Event 4:00 – 5:00 pm Prince George’s Elected Women Meeting 6:00 – 9:00 pm Eastern Shore Chapter Dinner* 6:30 – 9:00 pm Montgomery Chapter Dinner*
8:45 – 10:00 am 8:45 – 10:00 am 9:45 – 10:15 am 9:00 – 10:00 am 9:00 – 10:15 am
Workshop: Becoming a Smart City Workshop: Procurement Best Practices Snap Learning: Municipal Grants Making Public Works Department Meeting Business Meeting ɣɣ Banner City/Town Award Recognition ɣɣ Election: 2019-20 Board of Directors 9:30 – 10:30 am Continental Breakfast in Exhibits Halls 9:30 – 2:00 pm Exhibits Open Commerce Day 10:30 – 11:30 am General Session: ɣɣ Charles Marohn, President / Founder, Strong Towns – Curbside Chat 11:30 – 2:00 pm Lunch Noon – 1:30 pm MML Past Presidents Lunch Municipal Clerks Association Lunch 12:15 – 12:45 pm New Officials Meet and Greet 1:00 – 2:00 pm Exhibit Areas Open to Children 1:30 – 2:30 pm Workshop: Community Policing 1:30 – 3:00 pm Cabinet Secretaries Roundtable 2:00 – 2:30 pm Snap Learning: DGS Surplus Property 2:30 – 4:30 pm Workshop: Employment Issues (C) 3:00 – 4:30 pm Discussion Forums ɣɣ Large Cities ɣɣ Small Towns ɣɣ Tiny Towns 6:00 – 9:30 pm Children’s Party* 6:00 – 7:00 pm Cash Bar 7:00 – 9:00 pm Dinner* ɣɣ Remarks by Governor Hogan ɣɣ Awards ɣɣ Background Music: DJ Batman WEDNESDAY, June 26, 2019 8:30 – Noon 8:30 – 10:00 am 8:30 – 11:30 am 9:00 – 10:30 am 9:00 – 10:30 am 9:00 – 11:00 am 9:00 – 12:30 pm 10:00 – 11:00 am 10:30 – 11:00 am 11:00 – 12:30 pm
Registration Women in Government Service (WINGS) Breakfast* Coffee, Tea & Decaf Workshop: Planning, Protocols and Preparedness for Town Events Governor’s Smart Growth Subcabinet Meeting Workshop: Municipal Budgeting (C) Academy Graduate Class – Emotional Intelligence* Board of Directors Meeting Snap Learning: Capital Grants Program Workshop: Bridging the Gap - How Roles, Values and Perspectives Drive Effective Governance
TUESDAY, June 25, 2019 7:00 – 8:45 am 7:30 – 8:15 am 8:00 – 9:00 am 8:00 – 4:00 pm 8:00 – 4:30 pm 8:30 – 9:00 am 8:45 – 9:15 am
Prince George’s County Municipal Association Breakfast* Legislative/Resolutions Committee Meeting Municipal Police Executive Breakfast Coffee, Tea & Decaf Registration Credentials Desk Open Snap Learning: LED Lighting
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Academy for Excellence in Local Governance Sessions C = Academy Core E = Academy Elective G= Academy Graduates Only *Ticket required - must purchase (in addition to the registration fee) prior to conference.
"IT HAPPENED LAST SUMMER" This article is a follow up from MML Summer Conference 2018 Keynote Speaker Matt Thornhill’s presentation --- a sample of the kind of information you’ll hear firsthand at the 2019 MML Summer Conference
What Workers Want
To attract municipal workers, look at changing your workplace.
By Matt Thornhill, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Institute for Tomorrow and MML 2018 Summer Conference Tuesday Keynote Speaker
A top problem facing municipalities of all sizes these days is finding workers. For some, the solution is to stop searching for workers altogether and instead invest in changes to how they serve citizens to simply eliminate positions. Have you been inside an NYU library recently? Many have installed kiosks where people can check-in and check-out books and publications without a librarian nearby. Other government services are rolling out the use of chatbot, using artificial intelligence, to provide answers to questions as easily as asking Alexa, or saying “Hey Google.” As reported last year in Governing magazine, if you live in Mississippi, Amazon’s digital assistant Alexa has been programmed to help you out with a question about taxes, vehicle licensing or the phone number for a state agency. In Utah, teenagers can solicit help reviewing questions that might be on a driver’s test. In Los Angeles, residents can get detailed information about city-sponsored events. And Las Vegas’ digital assistant can answer queries about parks, upcoming elections and the status of building permits.
Governments often say they are making these investments under the guise of creating better experiences for citizens. But that’s not the whole truth. The rest of the story is that they’ve realized finding, recruiting, or keeping enough quality workers is too hard. So they’re trying new things to attract these new workers. Technology is certainly part of the solution, yet there are other steps to take first to solve the worker shortage. To start with, make sure your work culture is aligned with today’s modern workforce. It’s the least costly way to creating a winning workplace today.
Why Is There a Worker Problem? On one hand, it’s not your fault. On the other, it is. What’s not your fault is that you’re operating in an economy with 3.8% unemployment, which means the supply of available jobs essentially exceeds demand. Now the bad news: It’s going to be that way for the foreseeable future. The Bureau of Labor projects the size of the labor force for those ages 25-to-54 will remain essentially flat for the next ten years. A flat labor pool increases competition Municipal Maryland | MAY/JUNE 2019 | 7
for workers and could mean municipalities will have even fewer people from which to recruit new talent.
Out-of-Line: Your Workers or Your Culture?
What is your fault is your municipality’s workplace culture. If the departments in your government are not offering what workers want in terms of job tasks, responsibilities, work environment, work culture and benefits, you’re part of the problem. You have to get the basics right. It’s 2019, and the expectation of potential workers is that your organization operates that way. If not, you’re behind. The job and how you operate must appeal to today’s labor pool.
First, the backstory. Over the last ten years we’ve all experienced a new creature entering the modern municipal workforce. Called “millennials,” this worker is wired differently from prior generations of workers and has arrived on the scene seemingly only to disrupt it.
For example, modern workers expect to work in an organization with a clearly articulated and meaningful purpose. That’s good news for municipal job seekers, since everything you do is serving the community and the common good. It’s important that you promote your purpose to potential workers. That means less talk about what you do, where you do it, or even how you do it, and more information on why you do it. Modern workers of all ages also expect their workplace to be flexible, with rules that can bend to accommodate their needs. They expect their bosses to collaborate with them, too, involving them in decisions affecting them. These are areas where many government workplaces fall short. Wait, we know what you’re thinking: It’s those Millennials who did this! Not so fast. Let’s examine the root cause—and fault—here. 8 | MAY/JUNE 2019 | Municipal Maryland
Millennials (those from 18- to 35-years-old in 2018) apparently expect the culture at work to be like the outside, modern culture. It most cases, it isn’t. That’s because work cultures change more slowly and tend to lag modern culture. How many times over your career have you heard (or used) the expression, “We’ve always done it that way.” Change comes slowly in most existing organizations. New or start-up organizations, on the other hand, are not set in their ways so their work cultures are often more aligned with modern culture. That’s why younger workers are more interested in working for Internet start-ups than Fortune 500 companies. Yes, Millennials showed up with different expectations than prior generations, but that’s not the complete picture. Millennials only know what they’ve experienced in the real world, prior to getting a job. So, now, when they show up at a workplace operating like it’s the 1990s, they scratch their heads and wonder what’s wrong. But they are not alone. Workers of all generations today are
wondering why work cultures differ from modern culture. It doesn’t take a millennial to realize it’s 2019, not the 1990s. Even Gen Xers and Boomers know. Here’s an example of how work cultures are lagging: Today, people expect everything and everyone in their life to be open and transparent. The answer to any question is a click or two away and is instantly available. But at work, information is often treated on a “need to know” basis and unless you have a certain job title or function, you don’t need to know. Think about how that’s counter to modern culture. That’s the kind of misalignment that makes some workplaces less appealing not only to millennials, but modern workers of all ages.
Millennials expect the culture at work to be like the outside, modern culture. It most cases, it isn’t. Conduct an audit of your existing culture, especially to identify which rules to change.
That’s why this is an issue. Now let’s talk about what you as a leader should do.
Second, look before you leap. Conduct an audit of your existing culture, especially before changing all the rules. Identify where you’re misaligned. Maybe your dress code is fine. Before bringing in outside help on this you should first ask your workers what the issues are. Crowdsource it. They see it. They know. Let them tell you. You’re the one in the dark. Third, organize an internal group, ideally a broad cross-section, to come up with steps you can take to get your work culture more aligned with modern culture. Organize the action plan along a range from “must do” to “wish we could do” items. Start with easy first steps and work your way down the list. Oh, and be sure to tell everyone in the organization what you’re doing—remember, be open and transparent. In addition, think about how you interact with workers. Is it modern or old fashioned? For example, you should have a mobile-based tool so someone can apply for a job posting. (You are posting jobs online at sites like Indeed.com, right?) Are your job task training videos mobile-optimized? Do you even have videos? Remember, the generation after millennials only uses a mobile platform and doesn’t remember life before YouTube. Taking some of these small steps will get you on the right path toward having a work culture more in line with modern culture—and it’s the only way to get you ready for the robots. They’re coming, just not yet. Matt Thornhill of SIR’s Institute for Tomorrow tracks trends impacting municipalities and shares insights via articles, presentations, workshops and retreats. He can be reached at matt@institutefortomorrow.com.
What Can Leaders Do? First, open your eyes to the fact that you don’t need to “fix millennials,” but update your culture to be more aligned with today’s modern worker. You’re the one out of line. Don’t freak out, though. There are easy first steps like changing some rules that can go a long way toward updating your culture. Are workers allowed to have tattoos? More than half of millennials have them and typically hide them from employers. Don’t reduce the pool of potential employees with a rule like that. Piercings allowed? Strict dress code? Simple rule changes can impact culture immediately. Municipal Maryland | MAY/JUNE 2019 | 9
MML 2019 ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Together We Can – Community Resiliency
CITY OF LAUREL – LARGE CITY WINNER: POPULATION OVER 10,000 By Stephen E. Allen, Sr., Emergency Manager, City of Laurel
The City of Laurel’s Community Resiliency Program consists of training and preparing residents to support emergency actions within their individual families, their neighborhood and their workplace. The goal of the Community Resiliency Program is to increase the overall number of individuals, families and communities that engage in preparedness actions at home, work, business, school and places of worship. As a community, it is important for every citizen to take the simple steps necessary to prepare for emergencies and ensure that families, neighbors and friends are prepared for any disaster that may strike.
Why was the project or program needed?
Which private, non-profit, government entities did you partner with?
The City of Laurel Community Resiliency Program (CRP) is sponsored by the Mayor and City Council and the Office of the City Administrator in partnership with BoozAllen-Hamilton and a diverse group of faith-based groups that includes: First Baptist Church of Laurel, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, City of Zion Church and the Islamic Community Center. The City also partnered with Laurel College Center and its partner schools, Prince George Community College and Howard Community College, to pilot a Community College and Citizen Preparedness Program.
The Community Resiliency Program is needed to address the following challenges: •
Lack of (or insufficient) community-based response and recovery capabilities such as established community Points of Distribution (POD) sites where the public can pick up life-sustaining emergency relief supplies (e.g., water and food) following a disaster or having a Donation Management and Distribution Center to help manage volunteers and distribute emergency supplies.
•
Low numbers of trained emergency service worker volunteers, such as Volunteer Fire, Emergency Medical Service (EMS) and Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) to help serve the vulnerable populations (estimated at 5,023 based on 2010 Census) of elderly, children and individuals with access and functional needs during and after an emergency or disaster.
What did each partner contribute to the collaboration? • • • • •
First Baptist Church of Laurel – Laurel City Volunteer Donation and Distribution Center (VDDC) Holy Trinity Lutheran Church – Community Point of Distribution (POD) site City of Zion Church – Managing the Volunteer Reception and Training Center Islamic Community Center of Laurel – Community Point of Distribution (POD) site Booz Allen Cares Program –Employees volunteered to use facilitation and communication skills to guide workgroup conversations
What Costs were involved?
Project costs were largely donated services from each partner through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
Who benefits?
VDDC MOU Signing 10 | MAY/JUNE 2019 | Municipal Maryland
The Community Resiliency Program (CRP) benefits the whole community, specifically emergency management practitioners, government and non-government organizations. It benefits all residents including the community’s
most vulnerable populations such as elderly, children, individuals with disabilities and those with access and functional needs during and after an emergency or disaster.
Is the Program innovative in other ways?
The Community Resiliency Program (CRP) is innovative through its partnership with Laurel College Center and its partner schools, Prince George Community College and Howard Community College, to pilot a Community College and Citizen Preparedness Program.
Can you demonstrate tangible results?
There are established and signed Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) for the City of Laurel Volunteer Donation Center and Community Point of Distribution (POD) site.
Can other municipalities implement a similar program? Other municipalities can implement a similar program. In fact, the City has created a Community Partnership Initiative “Roadmap” to highlight the Community Resiliency Program (CRP) processes by Phases.
Summary
The CRP program involves training and preparing non-government and faith-based organizations’ staff and congregational members to support emergency actions within their families, neighborhood and workplaces. Additionally, through partnerships with the City of Laurel Municipal
Donation Management Training Center and the Laurel College Center, the program provides free training to local organizations’ staff, church members and municipal residents. Program activities include: • Volunteer donation management and reception center training • Volunteer training to provide disaster relief supplies to residents impacted by a disaster or emergency • Points of Distribution (POD) training to provide disaster relief supplies to local residents impacted in a disaster or emergency • Functional Assessment Service Team (FAST) training to assess access and functional needs among residents and prepare assistance for all who may need to stay in a general population shelter • Disaster-READY Church Volunteers and May Your Neighborhood (MYN) training designed to help assess needs and resources and build relationships within communities • A community-wide quarterly emergency preparedness breakfast and roundtable discussions to address individual preparedness. City of Laurel staff and Emergency Services’ personnel attend to address questions Together, as a whole community through partnerships and collaboration, we can meet and overcome preparedness challenges in our city and become a more Resilient Community! For more information: Stephen E. Allen, Sr., Emergency Manager City of Laurel 8103 Sandy Spring Road Laurel, MD 20707 sallen@laurel.md.us
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MML 2019 ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Together We Can – Shared Services Colmar Manor and Cottage City – Small Town Winner: Population Up to 3,000
By Mayor Sadara Barrow, Town of Colmar Manor and Natashia Davis, Commissioner-At-Large, Town of Cottage City
Two MML member towns took the 2019 theme “Together We Can” to heart and together, Colmar Manor and Cottage City really did! The two towns with populations of less than 3,000 share a one-mile stretch of Bladensburg Road. Although their residents share the shopping centers, a furniture store, restaurants, gas station, fire station, and auto services, it took years for the municipalities to discover the benefits of sharing. As a part of the Port Towns, they share Port Towns Day, Legislative Priorities Dinner, MML Main Street, and senior bus services. However, since 2017, they save thousands of dollars for the residents by sharing a Police Chief and Code Inspector. Both towns continue to look at ways to bring value to their residents by taking the theme, “Together We Can” to heart. Here’s how:
What did each partner contribute to the collaboration? Each town provided a Council/Commission member, staff person and attorney representation to a process/hire committee to develop the MOU and select candidates for the full body’s consideration in the original hire of a police chief. The same MOU was used as the hiring basis for of another chief and code inspector. Each town pays 50% of the salary and other related costs for the chief of police and code inspector.
Why was this project or program needed? Which private, non-profit governmental entities did you partner with? The Towns of Colmar Manor and Cottage City both have police departments and full-time police chiefs. Due to the size of the towns (combined population of approximately 2,900), full-time chiefs were not really warranted. Both realized by sharing a chief, residents could save thousands of dollars. Additionally, both towns had difficulty finding quality candidates for part-time code inspector positions, so shared services made sense again and saved taxpayer dollars in both towns.
What costs were involved? The costs of the process of preparing to share services were a few extra meetings for the process/hire committee and some attorney costs for meetings and document preparation.
Who benefits?
Since 2017, the towns of Colmar Manor and Cottage City have saved thousands of dollars for the residents by sharing a chief of police. With the cost of salaries for the chief and code inspector split between the towns, both towns could reduce the amount each taxpayer pays. With a full-time, rather than part-time, code inspector with benefits, the towns were able to attract and hire quality candidates. 12 | MAY/JUNE 2019 | Municipal Maryland
Is the program innovative in other ways? The shared code enforcement position implemented OneNote, a records management system technology for the two towns. OneNote offers an impressive number of features that creates spreadsheets, takes and organizes notes and includes images. This allows the officer to keep better records on each case. We believe additional sharing could increase taxpayers savings as well as provide additional and increased quality services.
Can you demonstrate tangible results?
Both town’s budgets reflect tangible results in lowered police department costs.
Can other municipalities implement a similar program? Both towns participated in the 2018 MML fall conference panel on collaborations and discussed the process’s challenges and successes and the outcome of sharing a police chief. Visit Colmar Manor and Cottage City’s booths at the 2019 MML Main Street during the Summer Conference, June 23-26, in Ocean City. Both towns are willing to share their experience in this endeavor and believe that other municipalities can learn from and implement similar programs. For more information: Sadara Barrow, Mayor Town of Colmar Manor Chief Elected Official 301-277-4920 sbarrow@colmarmanor.org
Natashia Davis, Commissioner-At-Large Town of Cottage City Chief Elected Offical 301-779-2161 Atlargecommissioner@ cottagecitymd.gov
Municipal Maryland | MAY/JUNE 2019 | 13
Coffee with MML Staff Caleb Wolf, Manager, Operations
Get to know MML’s new and longer-tenured staff a bit better in this feature that explores staff’s backgrounds, roles and unique passions with and why working for MML and its members is important to each of them. Municipal Maryland: How long have you worked for MML? Caleb: It will be four years this August. Municipal Maryland: Where did you work before? Caleb: After receiving my Master’s in Public Policy from the University of Maryland, I worked for the Community Health Resources Commission as a health policy analyst. My job was to measure and manage grant funding that addressed health disparities across Maryland. Prior to grad school, I spent seven years working with several nonprofits in youth and family services.
Caleb Wolf
Municipal Maryland: What are you currently working on? Caleb: My latest big project is capital outlay planning. I’m looking at what future capital projects we’ll need to do and figuring costs, assigning priorities and creating a long-range plan. Some examples are the need to repair the parking lot and repaint MML’s building. Municipal Maryland: Why did you come to work today? Caleb: Ultimately, I come to work every day because of the mission of MML, to strengthen and support municipal government. I believe in what our members do and being able to support them gives my job meaning. Municipal Maryland: What are your first impressions about MML and the cities and towns we serve? Caleb: We care about people. That’s what I think we all have in common. I really enjoy getting to know municipal officials from across the state, just normal people who’ve decided they want to make a difference in their community because they care. Local government really shows what is good about government. Municipal Maryland: What three things should MML members know about you? Caleb: One, I’m getting married this summer! Two, I’m a lifelong Marylander and would be happy to spend the rest of my life here. It’s a personal goal of mine to visit all 157 municipalities, but I have a long way to go. Three, I’m a single-digit handicap in golf, however, I realize that may not hold up after I get married. Municipal Maryland: What is your favorite line from a movie? Caleb: “Hope is a good thing -- maybe the best of things – and no good thing ever dies.” Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption.
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MML Lifetime Achievement Award
Mayor Tracy Gant, Edmonston Tracy R. Gant served her country in the U.S. Army for seven years and was honorably discharged as a Sergeant. Shortly after completing her military service, she embarked on what’s become a life-long commitment to serving her community and promoting local government’s potential to benefit its residents, including those with the greatest needs. In 1992, Tracy became the first African American to serve on the Edmonston Town Council. She was re-elected in 1994 and has served the town for the last 27 years. After a year as Vice Mayor, Tracy won her first term as Mayor of Edmonston in 2014. As such, she became the first African American and only the second woman to serve as the town’s mayor since Edmonston’s incorporation in 1924. She was re-elected in 2017. When not serving her community directly, Mayor Gant has made significant contributions to advancing the mission of the Maryland Municipal League (MML). During her first term as an Edmonston Council Member in 1992, Mayor Gant was selected to serve on the MML Convention Planning Committee (CPC). In subsequent years, she would serve as Vice Chair of the CPC for two terms and Chair for two additional terms. Tracy has served on the Communications (now Engagement and Outreach) Committee as both a member and Chair. She was appointed as an MML Board member At-Large from 2013-2015. She was elected by her peers as the president-elect of MML in June 2015. In 2016, Mayor Gant assumed the role of President of the Maryland Municipal League and she continues to serve as a member of the Board of Directors. Mayor Gant continues to be an active supporter and contributor to MML conferences, workshops, and training events. She will graduate from the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy Local Government Academy of Excellence in 2019. Under Mayor Gant’s leadership, the Town of Edmonston has been an MML “Banner City” for the past eight years. Mayor Gant has testified on behalf of MML-supported legislation and assisted with MML initiatives. One of Mayor Gant’s first initiatives as MML President involved developing the “Time- to-Talk” program supporting statewide efforts to build inclusive communities. The initiative led to a series of regional Timeto-Talk forums that provided Maryland municipalities with a variety of tools and resources for conducting difficult, but crucial, conversations in their own communities. If one quality defines Mayor Gant’s local government service, it is her commitment to raising the voices of the overlooked and underprivileged. She led the installation of five “Little Libraries” throughout Edmonston, helped to create the Town’s Community Garden and assisted with the planting of an edible forest. She has helped secure over $1.5 million in grants to transform and sustain Edmonston as an award-winning “green” community. Specific initiatives include investing in electric vehicles and solar energy for Town Hall, transforming roads into “green” streets, constructing rain gardens, and introducing an innovative pervious curb and gutter process in a demonstration pilot project. Mayor Gant’s sustainable environmental efforts have resulted in the Town’s
designation as a certified Sustainable Maryland community. In addition, Edmonston has received two national awards from America in Bloom recognizing the Town’s environmental efforts. She currently serves with former Governor Paris Glendening on the Smart Growth Technology committee for Maryland.
MAYOR TRACY GANT
In 2016, Mayor Gant introduced an “Adopt-a-Child” Christmas program for children living in Edmonston. Through her efforts, 21 children received a special Christmas that first year of the program which began with Mayor Gant connecting with a local elementary school inquiring about children from Edmonston who would benefit by a special Christmas. Funds were donated and gifts wrapped. Parents and children were invited to a reception where Santa, delivered by the local volunteer fire department, surprised delighted children with personalized gifts, assisted by Mayor Gant. In 2018, the program expanded to include 45 Edmonston children and included food baskets for each family, sponsored by Edmonston businesses, individuals, and churches. Mayor Gant’s concern for children extended to an anti-bullying initiative she launched in the fall of 2018 when she rallied a variety of program partners to conduct a “Hands across the Bridge” event in Edmonston. The event attracted law enforcement officials, mental health experts, educational leadership, families and government officials to discuss what it means to feel safe in and around school. In 2018, Mayor Gant was chosen by the National League of Cities University Leaders Lab to join six other mayors from across the nation to participate in NLC’s “Creating Inclusive Communities” program. She connected with national experts and seasoned local government leaders to develop strategies for tackling a critical community challenge. Mayor Gant presented the design of her “Creating an Inclusive Community” project – helping to bridge the gap with the diverse cultures living in Edmonston by encouraging participation and sharing information – at the National League of Cities annual conference in Los Angeles. Mayor Gant’s leadership continues to emphasize the value of partnerships, inclusivity and supporting unity. She is currently Vice President of the Prince George’s County Municipal Association, an active member of the Black Mayor’s Association and a member of the Maryland Municipal Mayor’s Association. Mayor Gant also serves on the Local Government Insurance Trust Board of Directors. She will receive the Maryland Lifetime Achievement Award on June 25, 2019, during MML’s summer conference in Ocean City.
Municipal Maryland | MAY/JUNE 2019 | 15
Member From the March Allegany/Garrett Chapter Meeting 1. Allegany/Garrett Chapter hosts guest speaker Anne Andrews from the Andrews Thornton law firm to talk with members about the opioid crisis. Seated are Mayor Edward Clemons, Jr. (Luke), Mayor Donald Sincell (Mountain Lake Park), Mayor Dan Colmer (Barton) and Clerk Vicki Insley (Oakland). 2. Guest speaker Noah Kroloff, Global Security/Innovative Strategies and Chapter members. 3. Anne Andrews, representing the Andrews Thornton law firm, answering a question relating to the opioid crisis from Luke resident Vicky Lewis.
Some Scenes from North Brentwood Day
Washington County Chapter Meeting
Hagerstown Mayor William Bruchey II speaks to the March Washington County Chapter at the Gourmet Goat restaurant in Hagerstown. Pictured on the left is Chapter President Sharon, Chirgott, Councilwoman, Funkstown. 16 | May/June 2019 | Municipal Maryland
Washington County Chapter President Sharon Chirgott, Councilwoman, Funkstown, welcomes members.
Moments Annapolis Hearings
North Brentwood Green Summit and Gwendolyn Britt Senior Center
Senator Augustine, Mount Rainier Mayor Malinda Miles Delegate Ivey, North Brentwood Mayor Petrella Robinson, Mount Rainier Councilmember Celina Benitez; Delegate Fennell and Delegate Ivey.
The Maryland Forest Service accepted entries for the 2019 Arbor Day Poster Contest. Lydia Secrist of Accident, Garrett County was awarded First Place. Her school will receive 15 trees for planting. The photo is of her poster.
NLC Capitol Leadership Meeting
MML President Bridget Donnell Newton participates in NLC Capitol Hill Leadership Meeting Municipal Maryland | May/June 2019 | 17
BLOCKCHAIN, CRYPTOCURRENCY, AND MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS Recently there is ever growing interest in a technology known as blockchain. The idea of a blockchain originated from a paper published in 2008 by Satoshi Nakamoto, an anonymous pseudonym. The paper resulted in a cryptocurrency now known as Bitcoin. Since then, numerous other cryptocurrencies and blockchain-based technologies have emerged.
purposes of a bank is to maintain a ledger of transactions. We trust banks to maintain the transaction ledger and to protect it from being modified. In a cryptocurrency, the blockchain serves this purpose. A blockchain is a list of transactions that have been linked together using cryptography. In order to add a new block (group of transactions) to the chain you must perform trillions of mathematical computations. Completing this task requires collaboration and the collective power of computers all over the world. In other words, it uses mathematical principles to make it difficult to add a transaction to the blockchain. Once a transaction is added to the blockchain it is extremely difficult to modify it later. Each block in the blockchain points to the block that preceded it. For example, suppose you have the following four transactions, each within their own block: 1. Alice pays Bob $10 2. Dave pays Charlie $25 3. Bob pays Alice $5 4. Charlie pays Bob $15
What is a Cryptocurrency? In the 2008 paper, Satoshi Nakamoto describes an anonymous decentralized currency system that does not require participants to trust banks, other participants, or even a government. This is in stark contrast to standard currency systems (i.e Dollar, Euro, etc) that require participants to trust and rely upon a government to issue and maintain the currency, and banks to perform transactions between participants. Nakamoto’s idea has become generally known as a cryptocurrency because it uses the principles of cryptography to maintain the security of the system. How do you create a currency system when no one is trusted? Nakamoto’s answer is the blockchain. One of the fundamental 18  |  MAY/JUNE 2019 |  Municipal Maryland
As a blockchain this could be represented as the following: As you can see, each block is linked (points back) to the previous block in the chain. Imagine that another participant, Eve, wants to change the transaction that occurred in Block 2 so that she gets the $25 rather than Charlie. First, Eve would modify Block 2 to state “Dave pays Eve $25�. Next Eve would recompute Block 2 which requires
also technically create their own cryptocurrency, this is likely inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution. A more likely application for blockchain technology within municipalities is maintaining the integrity of public records. As stated earlier, one of the primary benefits of a blockchain is that it makes modifying previous transactions (information) extremely difficult. In addition to financial transactions, blockchains could be used to permanently record information such as birth records, real estate transactions, tax records, identification cards, and other official government records. Several governments throughout the world have begun to explore this avenue. For example, the State of Illinois is piloting the use of blockchain technology for issuing birth certificates. For more on Illinois’ efforts visit https://illinoisblockchain.tech/.
trillions of mathematical computations to complete. Finally, Eve would need to recompute every block that came after Block 2. She would have to perform trillions of calculations to recompute Block 3, and then trillions more calculations to recompute Block 4. By that time there would also likely be additional blocks in the chain that Eve would need to recompute. It is simply infeasible for Eve to perform all of these mathematical calculations on her own since calculating even a single block requires the collective computing power of thousands of computers across the globe. If Eve cannot perform the necessary calculations she cannot modify the transactions on the blockchain, and thus it remains secure.
Blockchain and Municipal Governments From the perspective of a municipal government, blockchain likely has two relevant applications -- as a currency and for maintaining the integrity of data. Some governments, such as the State of Ohio and Seminole County in Florida, have chosen to accept cryptocurrencies as payment for fees, fines, and even taxes. While this makes those organizations forward leaning, it also exposes them to some risk. Cryptocurrencies are currently very volatile; the cryptocurrency you accepted to pay a fee today may be worthless tomorrow if the market collapses. For example, the value of a single Bitcoin in December of 2017 was $17,000. In March of 2019 that same Bitcoin was only worth $3,800. On the flip side, the market for a particular cryptocurrency could go up. No one really knows. Several companies have started to create new forms of cryptocurrency to compete with Bitcoin. While municipalities could
Blockchain technology uniquely solves certain problems, but it also creates others. One of the largest issues with the technology, especially Bitcoin, is electrical power consumption. Performing the trillions of mathematical calculations needed to add a block to the chain requires the work of a very large number of computers. Those computers require large amounts of electricity. By some estimates, the computers used to add new blocks to the Bitcoin blockchain consume as much energy as the entire country of Portugal! While blockchain is an exciting new technology, do not be blinded by hype. If you choose to implement it in your municipality take time to ensure it is solving an actual problem and that it is the most appropriate solution. Do not be afraid to implement other older, less attractive, technologies if they better solve your specific problems. About the Author: Paul Troncone is a cybersecurity consultant and a councilman for the Town of North Beach. He has over 15 years of experience in the cybersecurity and IT fields. He specializes in helping organizations cost effectively manage risk to their IT systems. Paul can be reached at mml@digadel.com. Sources: https://www.businessinsider.com/ florida-seminole-county-bitcoin-cash-taxes-bitpay-2018-5 https://www.computerworld.com/article/3322851/ohio-becomesthe-first-state-to-accept-bitcoin-for-tax-payments.html https://www.coindesk.com/ illinois-launches-blockchain-pilot-digitize-birth-certificates https://digiconomist.net/bitcoin-energy-consumption Municipal Maryland | MAY/JUNE 2019 | 19
A LOOK BACK AT THE 2019 GENERAL ASSEMBLY SESSION By MML Legislative Staff: Candace Donoho, Jim Peck, Bill Jorch, Justin Fiore This year’s legislative session was unlike any session experienced by veteran legislators, staff members, and lobbyists in years past. The significant legislator turnover, which exceeded 30% in both the House and Senate, coupled with new leadership in all four Senate standing committees and four of the six House standing committees required that new relationships be established with legislators and staff members. It also necessitated the development of new advocacy strategies to be used when addressing legislation introduced during the 2019 General Assembly session. To prepare for the legislative session, MML developed a new program for the 2018/2019 Chapter legislative dinners to introduce new legislators to municipal government and provide an overview of League services and resources for members of the General Assembly. Attendees were also supplied with information on the League’s 2019 legislative priority to preserve local land use authority when siting small cell infrastructure in Maryland (see related article). Once the legislative session began in January, League leadership and staff met individually with many of the newly-elected senators and delegates and newly appointed committee chairs and vice chairs to introduce the League’s legislative staff and familiarize legislators with MML’s legislative priority. 2019 was also marked by a legislative censure and reprimand for two House Delegates and the unexpected announcement by Maryland’s long-standing Senate President Thomas V. “Mike” Miller, Jr. that he had been diagnosed with an advanced form of cancer and would be receiving treatments throughout the 90-day session. The news regarding the Senate President was coupled with the continued decline in the health of House Speaker Michael E. Busch, who missed the final days of session and then tragically passed away on Sunday afternoon, April 7th, one day before scheduled adjournment of the 2019 General Assembly session. Despite the pall cast over Annapolis by the sudden passing of House Speaker Michael Busch, legislators knew that the Speaker would want work to go on as usual, resulting in the final passage of several bills in his honor. The following is a description of legislation tracked by MML, as directed by members of MML’s Legislative Committee, and the outcomes of each bill.
FISCAL YEAR 2020 STATE BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS •
Highway user revenues (HURs) were unaffected by action of the General Assembly this session. Based on MML’s 2018 priority legislation to largely reinstate municipal transportation monies for the next five fiscal years, municipal shares of HURs approved in the budget for fiscal year 2020 are anticipated
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to be $37.9 million, the highest level since before the last economic recession began in 2009. State Aid for Police Protection grants for municipal government police aid included in next year’s budget showed a slight uptick to over $13.2 million. Program Open Space (POS) grants for local projects were approved at just over $48 million for next year. This is 8.3% lower than POS funding for this current year when approved funding approached $52.4 million.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PASSED – HB 581 – Economic, Housing, and Community Development – Opportunity Zone Incentives. From the beginning of session, it was clear that the legislature intended to create an incentive package around federally designated opportunity zones, many of which are located within municipalities. The Governor requested that legislation be introduced in January designed to leverage investor funds in different ways. Ultimately, Senator Bill Ferguson took the lead and incorporated various aspects of each proposal into SB 581. The bill passed in the early hours of the final day of session. As enacted, SB 581: 1) Extends and provides more resources for the More Jobs for Marylanders Program; 2) Provides “value-based” enhancements to several tax credit programs for increased transparency (level 1, 5% boost) and community benefits (level 2, 10% boost). To be eligible for level 2 enhancements, a qualified business or fund must have the approval of their municipality if they reside in one; 3) Alters the Heritage Structure Rehabilitation Tax Credit Program and extends the benefit to certain opportunity zones; 4) Addresses vacant properties by authorizing local governments to provide a property tax credit against local real property taxes imposed on the eligible assessment of qualified opportunity zone business property if the property has been vacant for at least 12 months; 5) Expands rural development by extending some development programs limited to priority funding areas to all the opportunity zones located in Allegany, Garrett, Somerset, and Wicomico counties; and 6) Establishes a Qualified Workforce Housing Tax Credit and Fund to support workforce housing within opportunity zones. MML supported this legislation
ENVIRONMENT AND LAND USE Because an omnibus Forest Conservation Act (FCA) revision bill did not pass in the previous three legislative sessions, environmental advocates decided this year to instead break the legislation into three different bills, two of which passed.
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PASSED – SB 234/HB 272 – Natural Resources – State and Local Forest Conservation Funds. This legislation emphasizes that, before a developer may pay into a fee-in-lieu forestation program, all other means of mitigation must be exhausted. MML worked with advocates to remove language in the bill that would have mandated that a local government could not collect fee-in-lieu monies unless a local authority had “identified afforestation, reforestation, or conservation projects sufficient to provide the full mitigation acreage required for the underlying development project.” MML and other stakeholders argued that if this were left in the bill, monies would never be collected under a fee in lieu program, so the provision was struck from the bill prior to passage. MML supported this legislation with amendments
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PASSED – SB 729/HB 735 – Technical Study on Changes in Forest Cover and Tree Canopy in Maryland. This legislation, as originally introduced, would have established a task force to study a wide range of issues potentially impacting the preservation of forest land and tree canopy in Maryland. Despite significant work on the part of all the stakeholders to fine-tune the membership and scope of the task force, the General Assembly amended the bills to instead require a study be conducted by the Harry R. Hughes Center for AgroEcology to review changes in forest cover and tree canopy. A report of the findings of the study is to be submitted to the Governor and the General Assembly by December 1, 2019. MML supported this legislation with amendments
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FAILED – SB 203/HB 120 – Natural Resources – No Net Loss of Forestry – Definition. Several years ago, the Forest Conservation Act definition of forestry was amended to include “tree canopy” in a nod towards acknowledging the importance of urban trees. This legislation would have changed the definition of “no net loss of forest” from “40% of all land covered by tree canopy” to “40% of all land in Maryland covered by forest land.” Advocates were concerned that by including tree canopy in the definition of forest land, it skewed the actual amount of land covered by forests. Although the Senate bill passed the Senate, both bills languished in the House Environment and Transportation Committee without coming to a vote. MML took no position on this Legislation
required all local jurisdictions to include a housing element in their comprehensive master plans that would have addressed low income and moderate-income housing needs and the impact of gentrification. MML worked with the sponsors in both the House and Senate to remove a reference to gentrification and move the effective date of the legislation back to June 1, 2020 to give municipalities additional time to develop a housing element if such an element is not already included in their comprehensive master plans. The House bill passed the House, but both the House and Senate bills stalled in the Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee, before finally coming to a vote to pass both bills as amended in the House on the final day of session. MML supported this legislation with amendments FAILED – HB 472 – Constitutional Amendment – Environmental Rights. MML joined a cadre of stakeholders in opposition to this legislation, which would have amended the Maryland Constitution to give every person the right to intervene in an action by the State or a political subdivision of the State that allegedly violated their right to a clean and healthy environment. The bill would have upended the State’s existing environmental standing provision and potentially exposed municipalities to scores of lawsuits. Following the hearing in the House, the bill was voted unfavorably in the House Environment and Transportation Committee. MML opposed this legislation FAILED – Artificial Turf - Many municipalities prefer synthetic turf for its comparatively lower burden of maintenance than traditional grass fields. Over the life of an artificial playground or athletic field, local governments can experience significant savings, especially when the State assists with installation costs through Program Open
PASSED – SB 917/HB 1045 – Land Use – Comprehensive Plans – Housing Element. This legislation, as introduced, would have Municipal Maryland | MAY/JUNE 2019 | 21
Space funds and other programs. This year, the General Assembly considered two bills targeting artificial turf. •
HB 1118 – Use of Public Funds – Playground and Athletic Field Surfaces – Preference and Prohibitions. Currently, local governments have no restrictions against using State funds to pay for the installation of natural or synthetic playgrounds or athletic fields. The bill, sponsored by Delegate Solomon, would have prohibited local governments from using State funds to finance any portion of a project to build a new, or replace an existing playground or athletic field with a synthetic surface and created a preference for natural surface materials. Without any reliable scientific studies that show health concerns, the Maryland General Assembly decided against acting on this issue for the second year in a row. MML opposed this legislation
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HB 1142 – Environment – Hazardous Materials – Disposal of Synthetic Turf and Turf Infill. First-term Delegate Mary Lehman introduced a bill this session that would have required a local jurisdiction to dispose of synthetic turf and turf infill only in a hazardous waste facility or closed-loop recycling facility, prohibited incinerating synthetic turf and turf infill, and required the Department of the Environment to establish a system for tracking the chain of custody of synthetic turf and turf infill. MML determined that there are no closedloop recycling facilities in Maryland and only a handful in the United States. Further, there are no health studies that suggest synthetic turf should be treated as hazardous waste,
FISCAL AND BUDGET PASSED – SB 280/HB 166 – Labor and Employment – Payment of Wages – Minimum Wage (Fight for Fifteen). One of the bigger issues of the 2019 Maryland General Assembly, the Fight for Fifteen is officially state law after an override of the Governor’s veto took place mid-session. Under the new law, larger employers will follow the minimum wage schedule up to $15.00 per hour by January 1, 2025. For employers with less than 15 employees, the increases will be slightly lower until $15.00 per hour is reached by July 1, 2026. Over this time, if the State experiences a period of negative seasonally adjusted total employment, the Board of Public Works (BPW) is authorized to suspend an increase for one year. BPW can only do this once during the bill’s implementation. Legislators did not index the minimum wage to inflation. MML took no position on this legislation FAILED – HB 645 – Pensions – Local Pension Systems – Special Disability Retirement Allowance. As introduced by Delegate Lisanti, HB 645 mandated that local government pension systems provide a special disability retirement allowance for public safety officials who become totally physically incapacitated as a result of their work. Because this was a heavily amended version of the bill from the previous year, MML’s Legislative Committee chose to support the bill. This year’s version clarifies that the local government has the authority to determine whether the member is permanently physically incapacitated without willful negligence and lowers the mandated minimum benefit to 45% of the member’s average final compensation which can include offsets by any income from workers’ compensation, long-term disability, social security, and other government-sponsored disability benefits. After flying through the House, the bill stalled in the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee. MML supported this legislation FAILED – HB 716 – Maryland Data Privacy Act
including the need for chain of custody measures. After many discussions, the sponsor decided to withdraw the bill this year. MML opposed this legislation
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There is a subtitle of the State Government article in the Maryland code that pertains to local governments and a plethora of other entitles that are not traditionally thought of as part of state government. In this portion of the law these entities, including municipalities, are required to implement reasonable policies and procedures that protect against the unauthorized use of personal information during the collection, retention, and disposal of such data. This is the current law that affords municipalities the flexibility to put in place protections that fit their constituency while also providing the important service of shielding personal information. HB 716 as originally drafted, and passed by the House of Delegates, would have amended the above-mentioned subtitle, thereby subjecting municipalities and many other entities to new requirements. In an effort to increase the level of protections surrounding personal information, the bill would have mandated that each entity use very specific federal standards that are extremely burdensome, costly, and in many cases unnecessary for municipal governments to provide data privacy. It was clear that the financial impact of this bill would be immense, particularly with the need for capital upgrades and increased staffing.
After many discussions with the sponsoring agency, the Department of Information Technology (DoIT), MML learned that their intent was to primarily target the State agencies with the requirements of the bill. With that knowledge, MML along with many of the other entities that were potentially unintendedly captured in the bill, went to work to have municipalities exempted from the bill. Many versions of amendments were drafted before finally landing on a set that, although they exempted municipalities, were somewhat clumsily written. The Senate passed the bill with the amendments exempting municipalities and many other entities on the final day of the General Assembly session. However, the Senate-passed bill and House-passed bill were not identical. Neither chamber agreed to adopt the others’ version and, with no time left in the 90-day session, the bill ran out of time and ultimately failed. MML opposed this legislation
LEGAL PASSED – HB 515 – Municipalities – Municipal Infraction Proceedings – Designation of a Building Inspector or an Enforcement Officer to Testify. Using a strict reading of current law, some District Court judges were prohibiting municipal code enforcement officers from presenting the facts of cases in municipal infraction proceedings without a State’s Attorney or municipal attorney present. In response, the Town of Rising Sun asked
Delegate Hornberger to introduce legislation to provide clarity. With the passage of SB 515, municipalities will be able to send an ICC certified inspector or enforcement officer to a municipal infraction proceeding without an attorney, potentially saving a city or town attorney fees. MML supported this legislation PASSED – HB 655 – Real Property – Residential Rental Licensing – Common Ownership Community Fees. For those jurisdictions that issue rental licenses, the bill as introduced would have required the revocation of a rental license if a property owner had not paid his or her condominium or homeowners association fees. MML worked with leadership in the House Environment and Transportation Committee to remove the language that would have inserted a municipality into the collection of unpaid fees. The legislation as passed still requires that a person applying to a municipality for a new or renewed rental license to rent a residential dwelling unit certify in the rental licensing application that the dwelling unit is not more than 60 days in arrears for a common ownership community fee. MML supported this legislation with amendments FAILED – HB 1374 – Splash Pads – Lifeguards. Under current law, operators of splash pads are required to hire a lifeguard while the splash pad is in operation. Legislation was introduced to revoke this requirement. However, the bill, as introduced, only pertained to a county owned splash pad, so MML supported the bill with a request to also include municipalities in the bill. However, because the bill was introduced late, it never moved out of the Rules Committee where it remained until the end of session. MML supported this legislation with amendments FAILED – HB 776 – Vehicle Laws – Speed Monitoring Systems – Operation in School Zones. This bill would have required a municipality that operates a speed camera system to place a real-time speed monitoring device in each direction of a roadway and in close proximity to the boundary of a school zone. The bill would have also limited a speed monitoring contractor’s fees to 30% or less of
the gross revenue generated by the system. The bill was ultimately voted unfavorably in the House Environment and Transportation Committee. MML opposed this legislation Municipal Maryland | MAY/JUNE 2019 | 23
FAILED – HB 818/SB 629 – Access to Maryland Courts The Access to Maryland Courts Act, also known as the attorney’s fees or fee-shifting bill, has appeared in the last several General Assembly sessions in one form or another. This year’s bill would have granted courts the authority to award attorney’s fees to a prevailing plaintiff in a case claiming a constitutional violation by a government defendant. As drafted, the bill would have captured a multitude of cases leading to potentially drastic increases in legal costs to municipalities. Proponents of the bill argue that the goal of the bill is to make it easier for a plaintiff to acquire an attorney in cases where a judgement sought is injunctive relief or another form of no/low-monetary payout, by offering the possibility of attorney’s fees added onto the judgement of a prevailing plaintiff. These “little guy,” cases are the types that traditionally have been more difficult for a plaintiff to find a willing attorney to bring an action in court. However, the bill as written would have opened the potential for attorney’s fees to a much wider group of cases than just those that the bill was intended to impact. There are ways to amend the bill to provide some protections for local government defendants; including provisions such as an offer of judgement to promote settlement, narrowing the scope to individuals to remove corporate plaintiffs with large legal funds, and regular reporting of the accumulation of attorney’s fees in the lead up to a case to provide transparency to the process. None of these provisions were included in the bill and, like last year, neither bill received a vote in committee. MML opposed this legislation FAILED – SB 324/HB 553 – Political Subdivisions – Legal Notice Requirements – Posting on Websites. After a six-year hiatus, Senator Ron Young brought a legal notice bill back for consideration. Once an MML priority, SB 324 would have authorized a county or municipality to satisfy a requirement to publish legal notices in a newspaper of general circulation by posting the notices on the county’s or municipality’s website. To address concerns raised in the past, this bill also required municipalities that choose to publish notices on their website to offer a printed version via subscription and include an ad every year in the local paper identifying where legal notices can be found and how to subscribe to the print copies. The bill failed on a 5-6 vote in the Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee, and the House crossfiled bill was subsequently voted unfavorably as well. MML supported this legislation FAILED – SB 979/HB 413 – Personnel Files. There were several bills introduced this year that sought the release of government official personnel files. As introduced, HB 413 and its crossfile, SB 979, would have made formal job-related complaints and personnel records of any government employee available via the Maryland Public Information Act. The sponsor did indicate a willingness to limit the scope to law enforcement. That bill was voted unfavorably by the House Judiciary Committee and subsequently withdrawn in the Senate after opponents testified about the consequences of allowing any complaint (founded or not) made against an employee subject to the Public Information Act (PIA). In response to the tragic death of Mr. Anton Black, Delegate Acevero and Senator Carter introduced bills under the title “Anton’s Law,” 24 | MAY/JUNE 2019 | Municipal Maryland
HB 1011 and SB 1037 respectively, that would have allowed residents who filed a complaint to be provided with a copy of the investigatory file relating to the complaint and copies of any prior complaints filed against the officer in question. For similar reasons to HB 413/ SB 979, these bills also failed. Some aspects of Anton’s Law were modified and incorporated into Chairman Clippinger’s HB 1382 though committee amendments, which the Maryland Chiefs and
Sheriffs Associations viewed as a reasonable compromise. After passing through the House of Delegates 117-21, the bill never received a vote in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. MML opposed this legislation
TAXES & REVENUES PASSED – SB 533/HB 884 – Sales and Use Tax – Short-Term Rentals. In recent years, the hotel industry has sought to achieve parity with the Airbnb’s of the world through state legislation that would require the online platform to remit the State Sales and Use tax. In past years, the local hotel occupancy tax was included in proposed legislation. This year, it was not. MML and MACo staff advocated strongly for the inclusion of this tax and had a seat at the table when a workgroup convened in the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee. Ultimately, the sponsor moved the bill without the amendment, fearing that it would lead to the legislation’s downfall. There was, however, an understanding from several Senators that, in order for true parity to exist, the local hotel tax must be collected. This year’s discussions related to the mandatory payment of a hotel tax may have opened the door for future legislation. MML supported this legislation with amendments PASSED – HB 396 – Property Tax – Optional Installment Payment Schedule. On request of a municipal resident, Delegate Carr introduced HB 396, which authorizes the governing body of a county or municipal corporation to provide, by law, for a voluntary installment payment schedule for county, municipal corporation, or special taxing district property tax due on real property for residents that don’t escrow their property tax payments. The bill also authorizes municipalities to allow residents to pay their property taxes in advance. Before the hearing, MML and MACo suggested
amendments to clarify the cooperative relationship between counties and municipalities, ensuring that no jurisdiction has tax collection scheduling authority over the other. HB 396 was also amended to authorize the installment payments of taxes and fees that are generally collected at the same time as property taxes. The bill passed each chamber unanimously. MML supported this legislation with amendments PASSED – HB 1209 – Property Tax – Collection of Unpaid Taxes and Tax Sales. This legislation, as originally introduced, would have imposed significant restrictions on a county’s ability to refer properties to tax sale, an important tool used by both counties and municipalities to return foreclosed and abandoned properties to local tax rolls. The bill passed out of the House largely intact and was referred to the Senate Budget & Taxation Committee. Following outreach by affected stakeholders, including MML, the bill was significantly amended to only require the establishment of a State Tax Sale Ombudsman in the State Department of Assessments and
Taxation. The bill also authorizes a municipality or county to withhold from tax sale a property owned by a homeowner who meets certain criteria set forth in the bill and requires new notification to a property owner when a property is sent to tax sale. MML “watched” this legislation PASSED – SB 509 – Property Tax – In Rem Foreclosure – Vacant and Abandoned Property. Following three years of effort, legislation to establish procedures for counties and municipalities to authorize by law a process to initiate a judicial in rem foreclosure proceeding finally passed this session. The bill also allows a local government to sell a property after an in rem foreclosure process is completed. It should be noted that only real property that consists of a vacant lot or an improved property cited as vacant, unsafe, and unfit for human habitation due to a housing or building violation may be sold under this procedure. MML supported this legislation PASSED – HB 1281/SB 787 – Bikeways Network Program. The Bikeways Network Program is an existing program run by the Maryland Department of Transportation that promotes the proliferation of bicycle networks in the State through projects such as building new bike/pedestrian trails, creating a link between existing bike lanes, and enhancing last-mile connections to popular destinations. The program provides grant funding to assist in the develop-
ment and implementation of bike related projects. A municipality is eligible to apply for a grant through the program but must match the awarded funds. This bill, as passed, places a funding floor for the program at its current level of $3.8 million; so while there is no funding increase for the program there is now a baseline funding level below which it cannot fall. This is the pool of funds from which grants for bike projects can be awarded. In addition, there is a dedicated amount of funding allocated to MML and MACo to provide technical assistance to municipalities and counties with the drafting and submission of grant proposals. This will help MML act as a resource to the membership in the grant application process. MML supported this legislation PASSED – SB 478 – Vehicle Inventory Tax Bill. SB 478 as initially introduced would have required municipalities that tax car dealership inventory to cease taxation and pay three years back taxes to dealerships. The bill as passed with MML approved amendments authorizes municipalities to provide property tax credits for up to 100%, but not less than 50%, of a car dealership’s personal property inventory tax. The mandate to credit 100% of the tax was eliminated during the legislative process. The bill also requires municipalities, in the course of annexing properties in the future, to notify commercial property owners in an area to be annexed of (1) all personal property taxes and fees imposed by the municipality and (2) the date, time, and place of the required public hearing on the annexation. MML supported this legislation with amendments FAILED – HB 369 and HB 386 – Limitations on Municipal Admissions and Amusement Taxing Authority. Currently, municipalities are authorized to impose and set a rate for the admissions and amusement tax on certain types of businesses. These two bills would have restricted municipalities from imposing this tax, should they choose to do so, on drive-in movie theatres, roller-skating rinks, and agritourism businesses. Although exempting drive-in movie theatres and roller-skating rinks would not have a large fiscal impact on municipalities, agritourism is a growing industry the exemption of which could have a large fiscal impact. In either case, exempting any business from the admissions and amusement tax would preempt municipalities from exercising a taxing authority when there are few other options. Both bills failed to be brought up for a vote in the subcommittee. MML opposed this legislation
UTILITIES PASSED – HB 560 – Transportation – State Highway Administration – Traffic Calming. In response to a need to provide resources for local governments seeking to utilize traffic calming programs better suited to the specific needs of their communities, this legislation as introduced would have required the State Highway Administration (SHA) to develop statewide standards for traffic calming devices and to provide engineering services for local jurisdictions to assist in constructing and maintaining these devices. The sponsor worked with SHA in the House to narrow the fiscal impact on the State to eliminate the engineering services requirement in the bill. Municipal Maryland | MAY/JUNE 2019 | 25
The legislation as passed now requires SHA to compile traffic calming best practices and act as a clearinghouse to publish and keep updated information on constructing, siting, and maintaining traffic calming devices. MML supported this legislation with amendments INTERIM STUDY – HB 730/SB 660 – Electric Service Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) This bill would have repealed a prohibition on municipalities and counties from acting as aggregators of electrical service and established a process by which a local government could become a community choice aggregator. In other words, a municipality could negotiate an electric service portfolio on behalf of its constituents based on considerations such as pricing and renewable/alternative energy sources. Municipalities act as an aggregator of sorts when negotiating other types of service contracts. The idea of CCA was an MML priority in the mid-2000’s. During a subcommittee meeting, the bill was comprehensively discussed, but in the end the bill had substantial opposition and the committee voted to refer the issue to interim study. MML supported this legislation
FINAL THOUGHTS The 2019 legislative session was very successful for the League, despite unexpected health concerns on behalf of the Senate President, ethics issues for two members of the House, and the untimely death of Maryland’s Speaker of the House. MML established many new legislator relationships and found success in working with newly constituted General Assembly committees. In total, the MML Legislative Committee took positions on 50 bills with municipal impact. Of the 17 bills supported by the League, nine bills passed; of the 17 bills supported with amendments, ten of the bills passed; and of the 16 bills opposed by the League, for the first time in a very long time, all sixteen bills were voted unfavorably or otherwise did not achieve passage by the end of the session on April 8th. MML also had fifteen bills on our “watch” list, of which nine passed with amendments supported by MML. None of this would be possible without the hard work of MML’s legislative leadership. This year’s Committee, which consisted of a total of 34 members from across the State, was chaired by Cheverly Mayor Michael Callahan and Vice Chair Denton Mayor Abby McNinch. The Committee met a total of ten times, when members analyzed and debated over 200 bills to determine municipal impact. Committee members also participated in three conference calls during the 90-day legislative session to ensure that all were up-to-date on legislation as it moved through the process. Questions on this article or anything related to MML’s legislative process can be referred to a member of MML’s legislative staff.
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26 | MAY/JUNE 2019 | Municipal Maryland
2019 MML LEGISLATIVE PRIORITY LEGISLATION REFERRED TO INTERIM STUDY By: William Jorch, Manager, Government Relations and Research
An issue that first surfaced almost two years ago, the siting of small wireless facilities (small cells), will continue into the 2019 interim. Following months of preparation and the ensuing development of two vastly different bills, both the community coalition bill (HB1020/ SB 713) and the wireless industry bill (HB 654/SB 937) were referred to summer study by both the House and Senate Committees, thus ending the chance of passage of a statewide bill in 2019. Following the failure of a wireless industry supported bill to achieve passage during the 2018 General Assembly session, work continued into the 2018 interim. MML, along with the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo) and Baltimore City, reengaged with the wireless industry to discuss a possible path forward. Conversations revolved around several critical issues involved in the siting of small cell infrastructure, including local government’s vehement opposition to any sort of preemption over land use authority. Rather than using the same wireless industry supported bill as the basis for discussions during the upcoming legislative session, the local government coalition shifted the narrative by drafting their own bill that was favorable to governments. Once it was clear that a compromise between local governments and the wireless industry was not on the horizon, discussions between the sides became less fruitful and each moved forward with their own version of a statewide bill. Meanwhile, over the summer and into the fall of 2018, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was working on an Order pertaining to small wireless facilities. The Order, which was approved in September and went into effect in January 2019, has two main components: it shortens the application review time period to 60 days for a collocation on an existing structure and 90 days for a new pole; and reduces allowable fees a government can charge to only an amount that would recover costs. This last provision provides safe harbor fee amounts of $500 for each of
the first five applications, $100 for each application thereafter, and a $270 per facility per year. The Order further stipulates that if a government charges these fees or less, they would be deemed in compliance. However, if a government can justify a higher amount, it can charge a higher fee accordingly. The community coalition bill, which MML supported, was in most cases diametrically different from the wireless industry supported bill. At the core, the community coalition bill preserved the authority of governments and transparency of the deployment process, while the wireless industry bill focused on preempting government zoning regulations by mandating uniform processes and fees. Below are the most critical differences between the two bills: Once it was determined that two separate bills would be introduced, members of the local government stakeholder group met with leadership in both the House and Senate Committees that would hear these bills to make the case for the community coalition bill and against the wireless industry bill. Discussions continued with other members of these two committees both leading up to and following the long and contentious bill hearings. The hearings in the Senate and House committee both lasted over four hours and saw testimony from a variety of interested stakeholders which highlighted for legislators the complicated and far-reaching scope of this issue. In the end, when both committees voted to send the bills to summer study, this action ended the possibility of a statewide bill passing in 2019. Summer studies can take on many shapes and the scope of the upcoming study on small wireless facilities is yet to be known. However, one thing is clear - that it is critical for municipalities in the State to continue to create aesthetic design standards and ordinances in anticipation of a wireless company pursuing deployment in your community. If you are interested in seeing examples of these documents, please contact Bill Jorch; 410-295-9100, billj@mdmunicipal.org.
COMMUNITY COALITION (HB1020 / SB 713)
WIRELESS INDUSTRY (HB 654 / SB 937)
Conditional use (special exception) process that allows for full vetting of proposed site and public hearing if needed
Use by right process that automatically grants approval if certain criteria are met and exempts small cells from zoning maps
Governments grant permission to access right-of-way
Allows for almost unfettered access to right-of-way without approval
Allows for cost recovery if government can justify it
Places a hard cap on fees at a level that would be well below cost in many instances
Creates a fund to assist in the deployment of wireless service in underserved areas of the State
No provisions to address digital divide between urban and rural areas of the State.
Acknowledges the need to follow federal regulations without writing them into State law
Codifies certain provisions of FCC Order into Maryland law
Provides a judicial remedy if an application deadline passes without approval or denial
An application that extends beyond the FCC shot clocks without action is automatically approved
Municipal Maryland | MAY/JUNE 2019 | 27
FRIEND OF MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT
The following members of the Maryland General Assembly have earned the “Friend of Municipal Government” award to recognize their strong support of municipal government during the 2019 legislative session. These individuals advocated publicly on behalf of Maryland’s municipalities in committee hearings, voting sessions and/ or during General Assembly floor sessions. They also regularly reached out to MML staff when legislation with municipal impact was before them to ensure that municipal interests were protected.
SENATORS
DELEGATES
*Pamela G. Beidle – District 32 – Anne Arundel County
Christopher Adams – District 37B – Caroline, Dorchester, Talbot & Wicomico Counties
Joanne C. Benson – District 24 – Prince George’s County Mary Beth Carozza – District 38 – Somerset, Wicomico & Worcester Counties Robert Cassilly – District 34 – Harford County
Carl Anderton, Jr. – District 38B – Somerset, Wicomico & Worcester Counties Steven J. Arentz – District 36 – Caroline, Cecil, Kent & Queen Anne’s Counties
Adelaide Eckardt – District 37 – Caroline, Dorchester, Talbot & Wicomico Counties
Kumar P. Barve – District 17 – Montgomery County
Sarah K. Elfreth – District 30 – Anne Arundel County
Andrew Cassilly – District 35B – Harford & Cecil Counties
Brian J. Feldman – District 15 – Montgomery County
Lorig Charkoudian – District 20 – Montgomery County
Jason C. Gallion – District 35 – Harford & Cecil Counties
Debra Davis – District 28 – Charles County
Guy Guzzone – District 13 – Howard County
Jefferson L. Ghrist – District 36 – Caroline, Cecil, Kent & Queen Anne’s Counties
Stephen S. Hershey, Jr. – District 36 – Caroline, Cecil, Kent & Queen Anne’s Counties J. B. Jennings – District 7 – Baltimore & Harford Counties Cheryl Kagan – District 17 – Montgomery County Nancy J. King – District 39 – Montgomery County Cory V. McCray – District 45 – Baltimore City
Alfred C. Carr, Jr. – District 18 – Montgomery County
Dereck E. Davis – District 25 – Prince George’s County
Jim W. Gilchrist – District 17 – Montgomery County Anne Healey – District 22 – Prince George’s County Marvin E. Holmes, Jr. – District 23B – Prince George’s County Julian Ivey – District 47A – Prince George’s County
Paul G. Pinsky – District 22 – Prince George’s County
Jay A. Jacobs – District 36 – Caroline, Cecil, Kent & Queen Anne’s Counties
Edward R. Reilly – District 33 – Anne Arundel County
Anne R. Kaiser – District 14 – Montgomery County
James C. Rosapepe – District 21 – Anne Arundel & Prince George’s Counties
Carol L. Krimm – District 3A – Frederick County
Andrew A. Serafini – District 2 – Washington County
*Mary Ann Lisanti – District 34A – Harford County
Ronald N. Young – District 3 – Frederick County Bobby A. Zirkin – District 11 – Baltimore County
Brooke Lierman – District 46 – Baltimore City Sarah Love – District 16 – Montgomery County Johnny Mautz – District 37 – Dorchester, Caroline, Talbot & Wicomico Counties Charles J. Otto – District 38A – Somerset & Worcester Counties Julie Palakovich Carr – District 17 – Montgomery County Joseline A. Peña-Melnyk – District 21 – Anne Arundel & Prince George’s Counties Haven Shoemaker – District 5 – Carroll County Dana M. Stein – District 11 – Baltimore County William J. Wivell – District 2A – Washington County
*Lead sponsor of MML’s priority legislation to preserve municipal land use authority in the deployment process of small wireless facilities in Maryland. 28 | MAY/JUNE 2019 | Municipal Maryland
The Maryland Municipal League Invites Your Input … √ Is there a Maryland statute that needs to be changed to enable you, as a municipal official, to do your job better? √ Have you received citizen complaints that you could not address because you needed legislative authority? √ Are there outdated provisions in Maryland law that need to be modernized or streamlined? Each spring, MML solicits input from our membership to enable us to establish our legislative priority issues for the upcoming legislative session. Now is the time to submit ideas that could be improved with a legislative “fix” during the 2019 legislative session.
Please note that all Legislative Action Requests (LARs) must be approved by the governing body of the municipality, department or chapter prior to submission. A legislative request that is the same or substantially similar to a request that has been previously been considered and rejected by the Legislative Committee twice within a four-year period coinciding with the current General Assembly term shall be excluded from consideration by the Committee. The Legislative Committee shall limit recommended legislative proposals to the membership for consideration at the annual fall conference to no more than four non-prioritized issues and the membership is limited to adopting no more than four legislative priorities at the fall conference. A member municipality, chapter or department may submit up to 3 legislative requests each by completing a Legislative Action Request (LAR) and sending it to MML no later than Friday, July 26, 2019. To download the LAR form, visit mdmunicipal.org, click Legislative Advocacy and select 2020 Legislative Action Request and scan and email the form(s) to kevinc@mdmunicipal.org. Forms may also be mailed to MML at 1212 West St., Annapolis, MD 21401. Municipal Maryland | January/February 2019 | 29
MARYLAND MUNICIPAL LEAGUE • (410) 295-9100 SUMMER CONFERENCE June 23-26, 2019 • Ocean City Convention Center June 28 - July 1, 2020 • Ocean City Convention Center
FALL CONFERENCE
October 13-15, 2019 • Cambridge
NATIONAL LEAGUE OF CITIES • (202) 626-3105 CITY SUMMIT November 20-23, 2019 • San Antonio, Texas
meetings
events
UPCOMING
events & meetings
MEETINGS May 2019 1 - 2 8 8 9 10 14 15 16 16 20
Municipal Police Executive Association Annual Training, Ocean City Southern Maryland Chapter, Indian Head City/Town Administrators Department, Annapolis Municipal Attorneys Department, Grasonville Engagement and Outreach Committee, Annapolis Hometown Emergency Preparedness Ad Hoc Committee, Annapolis Allegany/Garrett Chapter, Oakland Montgomery Chapter, Gaithersburg Prince George’s Chapter, District Heights Washington Chapter
CONGRESSIONAL CITIES CONFERENCE
June 2019
March 10-13, 2019 • Washington, DC March 8-11, 2020 • Washington, DC
12 Executive Committee, Annapolis 13 Joint Carroll/Frederick Chapters, Mount Airy 23 Board of Directors, Ocean City 23 MML Orientation for First Time Attendees & Newly Elected Officials, Ocean City 24 Eastern Shore Chapter, Ocean City 24 Montgomery Chapter, Ocean City 24 City and Town Administrators Department, Ocean City 24 Municipal Attorneys Department, Ocean City 24 Municipal Clerks Department, Ocean City 25 Prince Georges Chapter, Ocean City 25 Joint Municipal Public Works/Municipal Parks and Recreation Departments, Ocean City 25 Municipal Police Executive Association, Ocean City
INTERNATIONAL CITY/COUNTY MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION • (202) 962-3540 ANNUAL CONFERENCE October 20-23, 2019 • Nashville, Tennessee September 27-30, 2020 • Toronto, Ontario, Canada October 3-6, 2021 • Portland, Oregon
July 2019
WEBSITE OF THE MONTH Maryland.gov - Procurement & Logistics https://dgs.maryland.gov/Pages/Procurement/index.aspx The Department’s procurement office provides professional and technical support services to State and local government agencies; conducts central procurement of architectural and engineering services, commodities, construction, energy, and facilities maintenance. The professional procurement staff performs specialized contracting, bid/proposal administration, and bid security for all State government users except the University System of Maryland.
30 | MAY/JUNE 2019 | Municipal Maryland
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Allegany/Garrett Chapter Cecil-Harford Chapter, Chesapeake City Washington Chapter, Williamsport
46TH ANNUAL MML GOLF TOURNAMENT JUNE 23rd
t a Gre es!! z Pri
The 46th Annual MML Golf Tournament at the Ocean City Golf Club is getting closer and we don’t want you to miss your chance to participate in this landmark event. Join us on June 23rd and help us show our appreciation of MML with your donation to the MML Education Fund. There are so many ways you can help support our cause.
REGISTER TO PLAY TODAY AT:
https://app.eventcaddy.com/events/46th-annual-mml-golf-tournament Or to pay by check use the registration form available at the MML Website
MML License Plates - Order Yours Today •
Maryland Municipal League license plates featuring MML’s logo in four colors (red, black, yellow and white) are available for a one-time fee of $35 per vehicle.
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All municipal officials, employees, and others affiliated with MML - and their family members - are eligible for MML license plates.
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MML license plates may be used on passenger cars, multipurpose vehicles (such as Jeeps, Blazers, motor homes, etc.) and trucks weighing up to 1 ton.
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Orders and payment for MML license plates should be sent to MML. You will receive your MML license plates directly from the Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA).
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MVA informed MML that handicapped license plates are not available on customized organization license plates.)
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Upon receipt of your MML license plates, you must return your old license plates to the MVA or you will incur a substantial fine imposed by MVA.
Name _________________________________________________________ Title & Municipality _____________________________________________ Address ______________________________________________________
PAYMENT METHOD ❒ Check enclosed payable to Maryland Municipal League ❒ MasterCard/Visa ❒ American Express
City _________________________ State _________ ZIP ______________
❒ Discover
Daytime Telephone Number ( _______ )_______________
______________________________________ EXPIRATION DATE
# of MML license plate sets ordered @ $35/set = TOTAL $ ___________ Return to: Maryland Municipal League 1212 West Street Annapolis, MD 21401
______________________________________ CARD NUMBER ______________________________________ PRINT NAME AS IT APPEARS ON CARD ______________________________________ CARD HOLDERS SIGNATURE
Municipal Maryland | MAY/JUNE 2019 | 31
The Maryland Municipal League Representing Maryland's Cities and Towns
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