(4/2019) Over the past month , the County Council has been actively engaged in law enforcement issues, government transparency, and the Frederick County charter review process.

We had an informative presentation from our Sheriff’s Department. I am pleased to report the Sheriff’s Department in Frederick is doing a wonderful job of keeping Frederick citizens safe and minding our tax dollars. My hat is off to all of the public servants in Frederick County who put themselves in dangerous situations to protect and serve our communities. Opioid abuse, which is claiming an average of one death per week in Frederick County, has challenged law enforcement in unexpected ways. Sheriff Jenkins is continuing his efforts to combat this crisis through multiple channels including bringing resources together on March 28 from 4-8 PM at the Frederick Fairgrounds to educate and support those in the community confronting this issue.

Moving on to another topic, this County Council has already been presented with the responsibility of approving an appointment to the Board of Education, and I believe it is an opportunity where we can improve. I strongly believe in government transparency and transparency is especially important when replacing an elected official.

The Board of Education is normally elected by the citizens of Frederick County. However, when a vacancy occurs, (which just happened as one member was elected to another position), the County Executive is required to nominate a replacement and the County Council must vote to confirm or reject that nominee.

In my opinion, this should be as public a process as possible. I think that the public should know who has applied for the position and there should be a way for the public to register their opinions on the potential candidates. I think that, like in an election, the nominated candidate should appear before the Council and answer questions about their educational beliefs publicly. I am working on legislation on both the state and the local level that will provide additional transparency for this situation.

Finally, on the charter review process, this is only the second term with a County Council and County Executive as separate branches of government. Previously, the County Commissioners were responsible for passing the laws and running the agencies that carried out those laws. The Department heads reported directly to the County Commissioners, rather than to a single County Executive. I was in favor of moving to a charter government. I thought that like our founding fathers, having a separation of powers between those that pass the laws and those that enforce the laws would be beneficial to Frederick. I am among the many people who have looked at the issue that agree that some changes to the charter would be beneficial.

One of the provisions of the charter government requires a review commission of 7 members (at least one from each Council District) to be appointed that will analyze the charter to see how it is serving the citizens and make recommendations on how to improve the charter. Ultimately, those recommendations will have to be approved by the County Council and by the voters in the form of a referendum.

The County Council is still finalizing the criteria and process for serving on the Charter Review Commission. But if you are interested, please send a resume and letter of interest to me directly, so I can forward it to the Council Staff for review. You can email me directly at pdacey@FrederickCountyMD.gov.