President’s Message
What Was That ?
I have mixed feelings about the School Board and our education system locally. Does the School Board serve an important role? Of course, they do. They are responsible for the direction and the spending of over one half our tax dollars in the county. Plus, the education system oversees our children for over one third of those children’s daily activities from September till June. Both are tremendous responsibilities.
Yet I found the work of the School Board slightly disturbing when I attended their meetings because it seemed too scripted and lacking in diversity of thought that it made me wonder if their decisions were fully considered. It got to the point that I stopped attending School Board meetings because I became too jaded with the entire process.
The latest treatment of School Board member Maggie Domanowski just reinforces my feelings that the School Board could be claimed to be anti-democratic! Ms. Domanowski was censured by the Board because of her behavior in asking questions of Superintendent Myriam Rogers during a January 28 meeting about the system’s budget. On top of that censure, the Board members were reluctant to discuss the reasons for their censure at a following meeting of the body. According to the censure, Ms. Domanowski’s comments were deemed to be “rude and disrespectful’ to Ms. Rogers.
I watched that board meeting that resulted in the censure, after the fact, and I found nothing disrespectful or demeaning or aggressive in Ms. Domanowski’s behavior. I saw a woman who was probably tired and curious about the implications of some budget items, but I did not sense any disrespect, sarcasm or aggressiveness on the part of Ms. Domanowski. So why was she censured? Was it merely because she asked questions and wanted clarification on the system’s budget? Well, the School Board’s failure to explain the reasons behind its censure will deprive the public of ever being able to understand the Board’s action.
Following the Maggie Domanowski incident, there was another incident. This one involves a student from Towson High named Parker Jensen. Young Mr. Jensen is a senior at Towson who is patriotic and wants to join the Marines upon graduation. He noticed that some classrooms are missing United States flags, and that Maryland law requires that flags be displayed in all classrooms. He first attempted to discuss this situation with the vice principal at Towson, but he never received an explanation of why the flags were missing or if the school would rectify the situation. After feeling frustrated in his talks with the vice principal, he told a school official that he was leaving school one day to talk with a member of the school system at Greenwood about the missing flags. Whether he received the proper clearance to leave school that day is unclear, but when he arrived at Greenwood, he was told that no one had time to talk with him about the situation and someone called the police to escort the student off the premises. Following the incident, he was informed that he would be suspended for seven days by the school system. As was the case with Ms. Domanowski, no one is saying that student Jensen was argumentative or improper in his behavior. Yet he gets a suspension for simply asking why Towson High was not complying with State law concerning having a flag in each classroom. As a result, Jensen has hired an attorney, and a suit has been filed against Baltimore County Public Schools.
In light of these controversies, the last thing the School Board probably wanted was for there to be a controversy involving Superintendent Myriam Rogers, but that is exactly what they got. The Maryland Office of Inspector General found that Dr. Rogers appeared to have not complied with the residency requirement in her contract by establishing residency in Baltimore County within the deadline set in the contract. Board Chair Jane Lichter indicated that Dr. Rogers had asked for a verbal extension to the deadline and that “board leadership” approved the extension. I am not an authority on School Board rules and procedures, but if the contract contained a deadline in writing, why would the extension not be granted in writing as well? And why did Ms. Lichter say the extension was approved by board leadership and not the full school board. Now this issue is so minor in nature that it suggests to me that the whole matter is of no real concern and should be forgotten. But when you hold Maggie Domanowski and Parker Jensen to a certain standard, don’t you need to do the same for others? That is the real rub in these situations.
Eric Rockel
County Executive Klausmeier Unveils FY 26 Budget
County Executive Kathy Klausmeier released the FY 26 Budget on April 11th, and it reflected the fiscal realities that all state and local governments are facing in the coming year. The operating budget of $4.8 billion dollars will result in no property tax increase for the coming year and no significant program cuts as well. Yet some in the education sector observed that the budget did not fund the school system to the level of school administrators’ requests.
Again, reflecting the uncertainties at the federal and state levels, this budget provides for nearly a one half billion dollar “rainy day’ fund. Normally the county sets aside about 10% of the budget in the rainy-day fund, but this year that set aside was increased to 18%.
For comparison’s sake, the FY 25 budget totaled $5.06 billion, a 3.5% increase over FY 24, but this year saw an overall decrease in the operating budget. Klausmeier added that “our Fiscal Year 2026 Budget is a responsible path forward that builds on our progress and invests in our future…”.
Among the highlights of the budget, in education it was announced that more than $350 million in capital funding for school facilities had been proposed, including continued funding for a new Dulaney High and a like-new Towson High. Another $30 million in added funding, over maintenance of effort levels, for the school system in general, and the community college system would see more than $27 million in capital funding for various on-campus improvements.
In other matters, the budget has allocated $60 million for the construction of senior centers at Jacksonville and the North County, and over $36 million for the library system, including funding for a new library and recreation center in Randallstown.
In the area of public safety, the county executive plans for $28 million to replace fire safety equipment, and another $2 million for a volunteer medic unit program. There is also funding in the budget to replace the Essex Precinct Police Station., and more than $38 million has been set aside for road resurfacing and curb, gutter and sidewalk projects.
Further detail on the budget shows a variety of projects proposed for the greater Timonium area. There are large expenditures, such as over $25 million proposed for contracts related to the Texas Sewer Pumping Station, and over $8 million allocated for two water main replacement projects, one on Seminary Avenue and the other in the Yorkshire/Haverford area. There is also a water main replacement project along York Road, between Wight Avenue and Shawan Road, which is expected to cost $4 million. Finally, there are several maintenance projects for the buildings at Oregon Ridge and the Almshouse.
Governor Moore Places His Spin on the State’s Budget
In an article written for the April 13th edition of the Baltimore Sun, Governor Wes Moore tried to reframe the story on the State’s budget. “While the White House issued one of the largest tax hikes on Americans in history through their tariff policy, we made sure middle-class Marylanders got a tax break,” stated the governor in attempting to redirect the cause of Maryland’s budget woes. Certainly, the imposition of tariffs and the loss of jobs by some federal workers who live in Maryland will have an impact on the State’s budget going forward, but Governor Moore’s critics point out that when he came into office the State enjoyed a surplus and by the end of 2024, well before the announcement on tariffs, the State was looking at a $3 billion deficit.
Governor Moore points out that the keystone of our fiscal strategy is economic growth, and he aims to attract “industries of the future,” such as cyber and AI. Yet businesses in these fields could also look to establish in states like Virginia or the Carolinas where the tax policy is more friendly. For example, Maryland officials courted a quantum computing firm to build its quantum center in the state, but recent reports indicate that the firm will build its quantum center in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Governor Moore closed his article by proclaiming that “the challenges we face aren’t simple, and the solutions aren’t simple either. But by moving in partnership, we have met this moment. And together we will leave no one behind.” The public will judge the governor by whether his projections turn out to be true over the next year to eighteen months.
Assessing Baltimore County’s Quality of Life & Government Services
The UMBC Institute of Politics undertook an opinion poll to judge quality of life issues, local government services and local amenities within Baltimore County. A polling sample of 628 residents responded to this poll and given the fact that the poll was conducted in early April, just three months into the service of Kathy Klausmeier as county executive, it is fair to say that this poll rated the performance of John Olszewski, Jr. as much as it did Ms. Klausmeier.
As far as issues that respondents felt represented “major issues,” 68% felt that crime and public safety was of “major” importance, and 79% felt the same way about the cost of household energy bills. As far as the amount of local taxes and fees that they pay, 67% of those polled felt it was a major issue, and the same percentage felt the cost and availability of housing was a major issue. Only 49% of respondents felt that the condition of roads in the county constituted a major issue. While 58 % felt the quality of public schools represented a major issue, and only 25% were concerned about the availability and quality of public transportation.
Other issues that were considered of major importance in the polling, garnering at least a 50% response, included economic growth and development, at 51%, and poverty and homelessness, at 50%.
As far as the delivery of public services, there were several categories where citizens were “very satisfied or satisfied” with the government’s delivery. Those services included trash and recycling pickup, and responsiveness of emergency services, all of which garnered at least a 75% response as excellent or good. Policing and public safety, maintaining local infrastructure and parking enforcement received very satisfied rankings by slightly over one half of the poll participants. Surprisingly, both the courts and justice system and BCPS received low ratings, 38% and 36 % respectively.
Finally, as far as the rating of public amenities in the excellent or good categories, the libraries received 68%, parks and recreational spaces received 63% and arts, music and other cultural centers drew 44%.
Probably the biggest surprise of this poll was the low polling by Baltimore County Public Schools. Twenty-Two percent of respondents rated their experience with the system as very dissatisfying and thirty percent were dissatisfied. Conversely, only six percent were very satisfied.
Congratulations to BCPS Educators and Student
Raine Dawn Valentine, an art educator at Ridgely Middle School, received recognition from her peers when she received the National Art Education Association award as the best Middle Level Art Educator in the country.
On the local level, Hampton Elementary School principal, Scott Conway, has been nominated by BCPS staff, students, and families as one of three finalists for BCPS Principal of the Year.
Finally, Amelia “Bindi” Ray, a 5th grader at Riderwood Elementary School, has garnered the achievement of being the only BCPS student to successfully advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which will be held on May 27-29 at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Oxon Hill, MD. Young Ms. Ray is described as an outstanding student who loves reading and science, and she has a natural curiosity that has spurred her desire to learn.
This Year’s General Assembly Session, Controversial Until the Very End
The Maryland General Assembly completed the 445th session after dealing with a number of difficult issues. Delegate Dana Stein wrote that “this was the most challenging session I’ve ever experienced.” Legislators dealt with such issues as a $3.3 billion deficit in the State’s budget, and they needed to decide if the budget could be balanced by cutting spending or increasing taxes, or some combination of both. Legislators also needed to quell an angry public who saw their utility bills rise during the past winter, amid critics claims that Maryland’s green energy policies were wholly or partly responsible for the utility bill increases. Some analysts even chose to question the golden cow, Maryland’s education reform bill, The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, which is seen as increasing the cost of education without resulting in demonstrable increases in student achievement.
The governor and his supporters point out that the budget bill that was approved provides for a $1.6 billion cut in general fund spending, as well as certain special fund spending cuts of $298 million. They also state that $2.4 billion in cash resources are preserved in the Rainy-Day Fund and the General Fund as a backstop to protect the State from potential Federal actions that would reduce transfers of monies to the states or result in the layoff of federal workers who are domiciled in Maryland. In keeping with the governor’s promise to grow the state’s economy, the budget sets aside $139 million to grow private sector jobs, particularly in quantum computing and through investment in the infrastructure surrounding Tradepoint Atlantic, here in Dundalk.
Yet Republicans saw the budget solution in an entirely different light. Republicans pointed out that “Maryland Democrats passed approximately $1.7 billion in tax and fee increases,” including the following breakdown: $497 million in new sales taxes on business to business data and IT services, $367 million in capital gains tax increases and $344 million in income tax increases, both coming largely from the wealthiest of Marylanders, raising the vehicle sales tax (excise tax) from 6% to 6.5% and doubling the vehicle title fees for all auto owners, a new $5 fee on every tire purchase and a 25% increase on the tire recycling fee and a new tax on all vending machine purchases, in addition to raising the taxes and fees on a host of already existing areas.
The two sides also debated the impact on Maryland’s green energy policies, which many neutral observers believe are some of the most stringent in the nation. Less than one-half of the energy that Marylanders consumes is produced in-state, so the ability to regulate that energy is already reduced. The Next Generation Energy Act (HB 1035/SB 937) will provide some monetary relief to consumers in FY 2026 and prohibit the Public Service Commission from approving multiyear rate plans, which often set rate increases several years in advance, unless it can be proven that these multiyear deals are beneficial to ratepayers. The Renewable Energy Certainty Act (HB 1036/SB 931) puts restraints on local governments from blocking solar developments and establishes statewide standards for implementing solar. This law may impact a local proposal sponsored by Councilmen Kach and Marks, which sought to create a minimum distance between solar projects in any council district. State law, for example, guarantees that solar farms can be built on 5% of any county’s priority preservation area. Finally, the Energy Resources Adequacy and Planning Act (HB 1037/SB 909) establishes a new state office to focus on future energy needs, and it relegates regional power providers, like PJM, from being the sole authority to guide the State’s energy planning.
Republican tried to slow down Maryland’s rush to embrace green energy by offering amendments to existing laws that would place an “affordability” standard into the existing laws implementation, HB 1451, The Climate Solutions Affordability Act of 2025, but for the most part Democrats wanted nothing to do with this proposal and it never passed. One measure that did get a re-examination was the Advanced Clean Car II and Advanced Clean Truck Program, originally created in 2023. Under this legislation, at least 43% of all vehicles shipped by each manufacturer to Maryland auto dealers, beginning in the model year 2027, would need to be EVs. The following year the percentage increases to 51%. To provide some prospective on this existing law, last year Maryland dealers reported that only 10% of their sales were new EVs, an increase of 1% from the prior year. Manufacturers had already warned Maryland dealers that they would be receiving less cars and trucks in model year 2027 in order to avoid the penalties set up under this law. Delegate Stein had introduced a bill to suspend enforcement of this law for its first two years in order to avoid the problem, but before his bill could be voted on by the full legislature, Governor Moore issues an executive order to suspend the enforcement of this law.
One final topic to discuss concerning the legislative session was Governor Moore’s attempt to wrestle control of certain zoning and land use authority from the hands of counties and municipalities and place that control in the hands of the State. The process began last year when the legislature passed the Affordable Housing Act of 2024, which gave certain development projects that featured required percentages of affordable housing in their proposals density bonuses that the localities had no control over. Two measures were proposed this year that would have further eroded local zoning and development authority. The first, HB 080/SB 190- Land Use, Transit Oriented Development, would have eliminated all parking requirements associated with transit-oriented development projects, and the bill would have allowed by right any mixed use or transit-oriented development within a certain distance of a rail transit station regardless of what the local zoning allowed. The measure passed out of the House, and local Delegates Guyton and Stein voted for it in committee. They would point out that the bill that passed featured certain amendments intended to make it more palatable, but the fact remains that the bill would have eroded local authority. Fortunately, the bill did not pass the Senate and was not enacted into law. The second bill, entitled the Regional Housing Infrastructure Gap, HB 503/SB 430, would have required state agencies to tract the number of dwelling units in each subdivision and compare that number to the number of jobs that exist in the subdivision. If a gap existed between the jobs and the number of dwelling units, the State could compel local governments to approve housing projects to close that gap without regard to other issues that may have prevented the housing project from receiving approval. Fortunately, this bill did not pass out of either house. It remains to be seen if the Governor’s assault on local authority in zoning and land use will continue in the next legislative session.
Preliminary Map of New County Council Districts Released
The Baltimore County Redistricting Commission, a seven- member- group appointed by the Baltimore County Council, released a suggested map of the new nine district Council in the last week of April. The Commission is an outgrowth of the referendum measure that passed in November’s elections, wherein the voters approved the expansion of the County Council to a nine-member council starting with the 2026 election.
A link to the proposed map and supporting documents can be found at https://countycouncil.baltimorecountymd.gov/redistricting/2025-redistricting-commission/
The major impact of the Commission’s preliminary map is that all of the communities located west of I-83 within the GTCC boundary area would be re-assigned to the Council district that includes Pikesville. Those communities would no longer be in the same district as the communities on the east side of York Road.
There will be two in-person hearings on this preliminary map: one in Middle River and a second in Randallstown, on May 12th and May 19th, respectively. Persons who wish to comment can also send their feelings by email to CouncilmanicRedistricting@baltimorecountymd.gov.
Calendar of Events
- May 30 to June 1: International Gem & Jewelry Show, Exhibition Hall, MSF
- May 31 to June 1: LAX Splash, Track Infield, MSF
- June 7: Driving Competition, MD Motor Truck Association, Exhibition Hall, MSF
- June 14: Toy & Trade Card Expo, Exhibition Hall, MSF, 8AM to 5PM
- June 14: Stamp & Coin Show, Mosner Miller Bldg., MSF, 9AM to 4PM
- June 14: Wine & Food Festival, Track Infield, Noon to 5 PM
- June 15: Maryland Toy Expo, Exhibition Hall, MSF, 8AM to 5PM
GTCC General Meeting, May 14th at 7 PM in the Vista Room, Maryland State Fair
Our Agenda will include: An update on public safety from Officer Bull, Precinct 7
A review of what happened in Annapolis from Senator Chris West, and the chief of staff for Delegate Guyton, Corey Johns, and Delegate Nino Mangione
A review of the Baltimore County Budget with Councilman Wade Kach
An update on other news impacting the Timonium Area
Please Join Us, all residents are welcome!