It may be worse than we thought

     As I was winding down my term as a commissioner, I was approached by people from the region and state, as well as locally, who had concerns about what they had been hearing about the new, five-member board of commissioners.
     I tried to be as positive as possible. It was my hope that only two of the five were so extreme in their ideologies as to cause long-term problems for the people who live here; at worse, I thought, they would be an embarrassment.
     Well, the embarrassment part has already manifested itself, and the deeper concerns expressed by others seems more likely that I had hoped. These five have already shown that they are way too long on political rhetoric, and way too short on considered thought and listening to good advice.
     Anyone who ignores the conservative advice of Ted Zaleski, the budget director, on how much bond issue to request is showing off for the masses, not thinking for the long term. Zaleski advised against seeking only $11 million in capability, and suggested keeping options open for up to $20 million -- still a small number when you start taking bids for critical capital costs, which can pop up unexpectedly.
     But our uber-conservative commissioners, eager to demonstrate how fiscally responsible they are, ignored one of about six people in the building -- not counting paid consultants -- and proudly called for the lower number. The point is, just because you reserve the larger allowance does not mean you have to spend it. And you save nothing by passing up on the currently low, low repayment rates. If you need to go back and get more later, it will cost the taxpayers more to pay off the bonds.
     But false conservatism thrives on short memories and simplistic examples.
     Then we have the State of the County appearance with the Chamber of Commerce, during which the five merely dusted off their campaign speeches, with some revisions.
During their campaigns, their position was that the county's situation was in dire straits, the economy in a shambles, the future grim.  But after just over a month in office, they proudly asserted that the county is healthy, wealthy and wise.
     If you listen for substance, you will not hear any. They have no cost-savings ideas of any significance -- penny and nickle remedies for million dollar challenges brought about by those they call irresponsible and intrusive liberals in Annapolis and Washington. Their strategy is to resist the state and federal mandates. The only way they can do that is to make a show of refusing grants to help pay for certain programs. And the problem is that it saves the local taxpayers nothing; the money has already been assessed and paid by Carroll County taxpayers.
     What the commissioners are doing is refusing, on a misguided definition of principle, to go back and accept your share. They hope you'll notice the gesture, but not the consequences. They think they won't share blame for deficiencies in the services in schools, emergency services, road improvements, recreation programs and senior citizen services.
     Ah, yes, they are thrifty with money you have already spent, but for which you will not get as much return as your neighbors.
     Some of the concerns at the regional level were that we would slide back into the Fortress Carroll mentality of the local government prior to 2002; attempts to erect walls that would keep "those people" out and let "folks like us" come and build their sprawling developments.
    Richard Rothschild has used the term "code words" so many times it's beginning to sound like a late-night television commercial for cheap used cars:  Lots of noise, red, white and blue balloons, few facts.
     He was an ambassador for isolationists in the eyes of of those who got to know him better at the recent Maryland Association of Counties mid-winter conference in a Cambridge resort. His diatribes against sustainability, planning, environmental regulations and government in general may play well to devotees of Rush Limbaugh and Fox News, but it does not impress serious, thoughtful and professional public servants -- elected and paid staff -- who understand the real challenges of a culture that wants more than it is willing to pay for.
     Then there is the illusion created by lack of reporting. How long will the local press continue to ignore the push-back that is already surfacing; comments from members of the planning commission were all but overlooked in the reporting of the "work session" between the commissioners and the planning board, but Commissioner Doug Howard gets away with a "Gee, we had a good dialog" kind of quote attributed to him.
     Watch the video of the meeting, and you might have a different take on how members of the legally appointed planning commission charged with developing the master plan view the "dialog" -- not to mention the abuses of the process by the commissioners.