(3/2020) The Frederick County Council had some lengthy and important discussions in February. There was the issue of establishing an emergency climate change task force, the issue of increasing the property recordation tax, the issue of binding arbitration for firefighters as required by the charter amendment Question D, as well as some interesting opportunities in transportation and senior housing.

First, the Council heard a lot of testimony on a proposed resolution that would declare a climate emergency in Frederick County and a work group that would make recommendations based on that emergency. I heard the urgency of the pleas by multiple residents who fear for the future of the climate and I do not deny their passion. I do think that we have an obligation to look at things rationally and from a Frederick County perspective and do not believe that it is in the best interest of the county to view every action that is taken through the lens of a climate emergency. I do not claim to have expertise in climate science, but I do know that Frederick County is a small player in this global effort. Meaningful change on this front will not come from Frederick County alone, and we should not move in the short term to hamper our citizens or our economic competitiveness as a county. Ultimately, the resolution did not pass but will likely be back in some form.

The County Executive and several members of the County Council have proposed a bill that would raise the recordation tax from $6 to $7 per $500 of assessed value. Personally, I am opposed to fee and tax increases at all levels. If the average home value is $300,000, then the average person will pay an additional $600 at the time of recordation. Much of this increased revenue will be proposed to be dedicated to agricultural preservation which is a valuable goal. However, it has been noted that because of state and local law changes, development pressures have eased on farmland, making it difficult or impossible to develop agricultural land. Additionally, this is another tax / fee that runs counter to the goal of housing affordability. We keep adding fees and taxes on housing and then wondering why housing costs and rents continue to rise. This bill and discussion will continue into March, so if you have thoughts please share them with the County Council.

We heard testimony and voted to pass a binding arbitration bill that would allow firefighters to submit their budgetary demands to binding arbitration. This bill will allow the firefighters a seat at the table to negotiate on important issues such as working conditions and pay. If an agreement cannot be reached, both parties can submit to binding arbitration and the decision of the arbitrator would then be automatically included in the County Executive’s budget. There is a taxpayer protection built in; in the event that the arbitrator’s decision would wreak havoc on the county budget, the County Council still retains its power to trim the Executive’s budget.

Finally, two other items of note include the Transportation Priorities letter and affordable housing efforts. The Transportation Priorities letter to the Maryland Department of Transportation sets forth important goals including expansion of Route 15 through Frederick, widening 194 to Walkersville High School, and even sidewalks through Libertytown. We voted unanimously to forward the letter to the state with our prioritized list. These projects would still have to be funded by the state, but we set the goals and continue to work with our state Delegation on funding.

Additionally, the Board of Education is surplusing some property that was given to them through the development process in Frederick City near Dearbought and Tuscarora Elementary School. By law the Board of Education must offer the property to the County first to see if it can be made use of. The County Council voted unanimously to take possession of these two properties with the broad goal of offering additional affordable senior housing. These will be infill projects in Frederick City and will have to be fleshed out in the future.