Council Continues to Honor 'Gentleman's Agreement' on Fund-raising Events

Come September, Baltimore County's seven council members will voluntarily turn off the fund-raising spigot for 12 months.

Council members, five of whom are freshmen, were sent a memo outlining the council's policy against holding fund-raising events, planning future events or even accepting unsolicited donations during the quadrennial comprehensive zoning map process.

Council Chairman John A. Olszewski Sr. said he plans to speak with each of the members later this summer to remind them of the process and a 2007 resolution passed by the council.

"I don't think we'll need to pass another resolution," Olszewski said. "There's no sunset on this one."

Unless there are changes to the current policy, each council member will be expected to forgo raising any money or planning future events or accepting donations from Sept. 1, 2011 to Sept. 16, 2012, according to the memo.

The so-called gentleman's agreement (if it can be called that now that there are two women on the council) actually began in 1994 at the request of then Councilman Kevin Kamenetz.

Kamenetz, in previous interviews, said he was concerned about the appearance of taking money during a period when the council is making decisions on how various properties in the county will be zoned for the next four years.

The General Assembly abides by a similar prohibition. State legislators are legally prohibited from raising money, planning events or accepting donations during their 90-day sessions or during special sessions.

In the case of the council members, the resolution and memo do not carry the force of law. If a member decides to not abide by the agreement they will likely only face the ire of their colleagues and questions from reporters.

In 2003, then-Councilman Vince Gardina canceled a $25 per person event after I asked questions about the event and the agreement.

Four years ago there was some debate among members of the council about whether such an agreement was needed.

At the time, Olszewski told me that if "$500 is going to buy influence, you shouldn't even be a councilman."

Olszewski did ultimately vote for the resolution in 2007 — something he reminded me of today.

"It's was a tongue in cheek statement," Olszewski said of his previous comment. He added that while he doubts the donations influence decisions he believes the rule makes everything clear to the public.

"It takes the perception that there are other considerations out of it," Olszewski said.