Cecil Times

Cecil County Council Backs Most of County Exec’s Budget; Rejects Cuts to Cops, Schools, EMS– But Some Sewer Fees Uncertain

Nancy Schwerzler — Fri, 17 May 2013 20:32:50 +0000

The Cecil County Council voted late Thursday afternoon to support most of County Executive Tari Moore’s Fiscal 2014 budget proposal, repeatedly rejecting proposals by Councilors Diana Broomell (R-4) and Michael Dunn to (R-3) to slash money for county public schools, public safety and infrastructure projects. The votes showed the intentions of the majority of the Council on a wide range of budget issues but are not yet final or binding. The Council must adopt a county budget in a formal legislative session on Tuesday 5/21/13, and some of the amendments voted down on Thursday could be presented again. But on most points, the intent of the majority was clear and few if any changes are expected. But there was still one major issue left open: how to ease the impact of a proposed huge boost in “major facility fees” for sewage services—the charges assessed to new business customers seeking to hook-up to the county’s sewage treatment plants. The fees are currently set at $10,000 per unit (some businesses require many ‘units’ to meet their needs) but Moore proposed boosting the fee to $16,100. Pending a solution on how to phase-in the big increases, the Council indicated it would not endorse [...]

BULLETIN: Cecil County Council Votes to Endorse Most of County Exec’s Budget; Majority Rejects Cuts to Cops, Schools, EMS

Nancy Schwerzler — Thu, 16 May 2013 23:28:13 +0000

The Cecil County Council voted late Thursday afternoon in Elkton to support most of County Executive Tari Moore’s Fiscal 2014 budget proposal, repeatedly rejecting proposals by Councilors Diana Broomell (R-4) and Michael Dunn to (R-3) to slash money for county public schools, public safety and public works projects. The votes showed the intentions of the majority of the Council on a wide range of budget issues but are not yet final or binding. The Council must adopt a county budget in a formal legislative session on Tuesday 5/21/13, and some of the amendments voted down on Thursday could be presented again. But on most points, the intent of the majority was clear and few if any changes are expected. Most tallies came on a 3-2 vote, with Council President Robert Hodge (R-5), Vice President Alan McCarthy (R-1) and Councilor Joyce Bowlsbey (R-2) voting together to oppose the spending cuts endorsed by Broomell and Dunn. Hodge brought a list of possible cuts to the meeting as possible lesser reduction alternatives but he didn’t offer most of them when the Broomell-Dunn proposals were defeated. The key decisions made by the Council Thursday were: –Endorsement of the hiring of five additional Sheriff’s deputies, [...]

Cecil County Council: Prayer, Politics, Politeness; Paging Dr. Phil?

Nancy Schwerzler — Wed, 15 May 2013 20:26:59 +0000

The Cecil County Council could have used an intervention in Elkton Tuesday—perhaps by Dr. Phil rather than the Almighty—when they argued about praying before meetings and how polite they should be to one another during meetings. Ultimately, a 3-2 majority decided on a moment of silence rather than spoken prayers before meetings and by another 3-2 vote decreed that Councilors should refrain from personal attacks on each other during debates. But not before Councilor Diana Broomell (R-4) made personal attacks on Council President Robert Hodge (R-5), Councilor Joyce Bowlsbey (R-2) and County Executive Tari Moore. Broomell also took offense when Councilor Alan McCarthy (R-1) referred to her as a “lady.” At issue is a handbook of policies and procedures for the new County Council, which the panel has been laboring over since shortly after the Council came into existence under Charter government last December. After multiple drafts and meetings to discuss the outlines, the Council was trying to put the finishing touches on the document. Broomell had previously proposed inserting language to have Council members lead a spoken prayer to open the panel’s formal evening legislative meetings, held twice a month. The Council debated the issue in detail a week [...]