More Wins than Losses in Kamenetz's First Session

Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz entered his first General Assembly session with a meager agenda and walked away with everything on his list of priorities and even a few bills he wanted that weren't on his original list.

"I view this session as a great win for Baltimore County," Kamenetz said.

Kamenetz also said his first session was a positive learning experience.

"Obviously it's a different experience than it would have been on the County Council because there are no committees on the council and there are only seven of us," said Kamenetz, who was a 16-year veteran of the council before being elected county executive in November. "By that very nature you have a good sense of the budget from day one and how all the little slices form a pie. In the General Assembly, it's heavily committee oriented."

Kamenetz said he was particularly pleased with the relationships developed with county legislators during his first session. Of course, it's easy to be happy when you get most if not all of what you asked for—even if your list of priorities was short.

The county executive started the session with a limited agenda—a reflection, he said, of trying economic times.

Included in his agenda were. The first was a request for $6.5 million in state money to add to nearly $13 million in county funds for the expansion of . The other request sought $2 million for infrastructure improvements along Liberty Road near Northwest Hospital.

Both were wins.

Baltimore County stands to take home nearly $39 million in school construction money.

The first $25 million of the allocation was approved by the Board of Public Works in February.

An additional $7 million is expected to come from the House version of an alcohol sales and use tax increase that is expected to generate an additional $87 million annually. Baltimore County arguably pays more in taxes on alcohol based on 2010 wholesale figures from the state comptroller.

Many county delegates had said they would oppose the Senate version because Baltimore County would not receive any money. The House compromise, hammered out on Saturday night, did little to change the minds of many county delegates.

Only five of the county's 21 delegates voted in favor of the House version, which ultimately passed with less than two hours remaining before the midnight deadline.

Del. Eric Bromwell, a Democrat who represents the 8th District, was not impressed with the deal that cut Baltimore County into the first year of alcohol tax money.

"So what?" Bromwell said. "What is this going to cost the businesses in the county that are already struggling? I think it was rammed through. There was no testimony from opponents of the bill. I think it's the worst piece of legislation I've seen in nine years."

County Delegates vote on House Bill 1213 Source: House of Delegates

"Obviously, as I indicated before, we would like more," Kamenetz said. "We're happy to have something."

Additionally, the county expects the state will award $6.5 million for the project when the Board of Public Works makes final decisions on school construction and renovation spending in May.

Kamenetz called the Hampton Elementary expansion his "number-one priority heading into the session."

"Having gone through some ups and downs this session, we do have assurances that we're going to receive the entire $6.5 million, and that will enable us to start the construction process on Hampton Elementary right away so we can work toward having extra seats there in the fall of 2012," Kamenetz said.

The county executive added that the county will continue to seek money for three projects the county is forward funding—the Dundalk-Sollers Point, Milford Mill and .

"If we get some of our money back, that will be the trifecta for school projects and we'll be very pleased," Kamenetz said.

The General Assembly added the $2 million for the Liberty Road project—something not included in Gov. Martin O'Malley's proposed budget.

Kamenetz also managed to move through the legislature, and legislation that allows the county to discontinue posting properties in tax sales while recouping costs of mailings and legal fees.

In the end, county legislators for $2.1 million in new liquor and business license fees to $1.2 million. All but $350,000 will come from increased license fees for businesses.

Kamenetz said the increases were needed to allow the county to cover the costs of inspections.

Also in the win column for the new county executive was the defeat of a bill sponsored by Sen. Bobby Zirkin that would have created a hybrid elected-appointed school board.

Kamenetz opposed the bill and instead backed a bill creating a summer study of the issue with an eye on coming back with a bill possibly in 2012.

If legislators do not come up with some sort of legislation by 2012, Zirkin has promised to reintroduce his hybrid school board bill. Sen. J.B. Jennings, a Republican, and Ed Kasemeyer, a Democrat, voted for the summer study this year but said they would vote for the hybrid bill next year if it returns.

The two votes would be enough to give Zirkin's bill the backing of the Senate delegation.

The county can chalk up another win—not for what the General Assembly did, but rather for what it did not do.

Kamenetz and the county will not have to figure out how to pay for teacher pension costs. The state was expected to pass down a portion—perhaps as much as $40 million—to Baltimore County. But it did not.

State Aid to County Continues to Take a Hit

But not everything was rosy for Kamenetz.

The county executive sought to have legislators approve a change in how the county handles parking tickets by moving appeals from the District Court to the county's new Office of Administrative Law.

Kamenetz said the change would prevent the county from losing money on tickets when judges strike parking fines but impose court costs that go to the state.

Ultimately, the county withdrew the bill because administrative law hearings are held only in Towson while there are three district court locations around the county.

In addition, the county saw state aid continue to diminish.

, paid for by gasoline taxes, went mostly to balance the budget. Of the $134.2 million remaining, Baltimore City received $124.3 million. Baltimore County was slated to get about $1.3 million.

Legislators added an additional $5 million to be shared by the 23 counties. The additional money comes from various motor vehicle-related fees, including increased fees for vanity license plates.

The state also passed down about $8 million in costs to the county. About $4.8 million of those are related to the costs of operating the state assessment's office in the county.

The state also passed on $9 million in heath care costs for school system employees.

The county will also have to pay $2.5 million to the state—its share of administrative costs for retirees.

All of this comes at the same time that the state portion of education funding—about $539 million—was nearly $11 million less than what was expected under the state's Thornton funding formula.

"I obviously was not so pleased at the state's efforts to pass on costs to the local counties," Kamenetz said, adding that he was not whining "about the state's efforts to balance its budget."

Of the state aid that the county receives, 80 percent goes to education, and education makes up about half of the total county budget annually.

Rougher Budget Waters Ahead

Kamenetz will now have to roll those fees into his budget, which he is scheduled to present to the council on Wednesday morning.

Legislators have told the county executive they would like to see him find the money to restore nearly 200 teaching positions that are expected to be eliminated under the schools system's proposed budget.

Kamenetz said last week it is unlikely he will be able to find the to save the positions in light of reductions in state aid.

The county executive has been mum on exactly how he will handle the additional costs as well as a projected $40 million shortfall between projected and actual revenues in the current budget.

The County Council's Spending Affordability Committee has limited the for 2012 to $1.63 billion—about a $36 million increase over the current year.

The committee did pass a one-time rule that allows Kamenetz to exempt costs passed down from the state from the spending cap. Kamenetz would not say if he planned to exempt any portion of those costs in his budget but hinted that he might ask the committee later this year to extend the rule.

Kamenetz said he is concerned about the near future and predicted even more difficult budgets ahead.

"This is probably our most challenging fiscal year in my 16 and a half years in local government, and I fully anticipate that next year will be as bleak or worse than this year for Baltimore County," Kamenetz said.

"We're going to have to do better with less," he said, adding that his budget this week "will talk about some of the changes we've made and continue to make."

Income tax revenues for the coming year "are very flat and our property tax revenues are declining. That's a significant impact on local government," Kamenetz said.

Kamenetz added that the state budget for the coming year anticipates a growth of 5 percent in income tax collections.

"If that revenue does not appear then they are going to do what they have done in the past and cut our aid in the middle of the fiscal year," he said. "That's what they've done the past two years."

He added: "We're at the bottom of the food chain. Whatever bills they pass on to us or whatever revenues they decrease and pass on to us, we have to absorb that. We can't pass that cost on below us. We have to manage it."

Some of those previous changes include consolidating four departments into other agencies and . He declined to offer specifics but hinted that consolidation may continue to rule the county budget for at least the immediate future.

Other General Assembly actions:

• The General Assembly failed to pass an increase to the . Many legislators believe the issue could come back up this fall when legislators reconvene in special session to address congressional redistricting.
• The Senate approved a bill legalizing giving supporters hope for passage since the Senate was considered the more difficult chamber for the bill to navigate. But those hopes were dashed for another year when the House sent the bill back to committee because it lacked the votes needed for passage.
• The legislature passed a bill that provides for a summer study of the medical marijuana issue. Del. Dan Morhaim, a Democrat who represents the 11th District and the only physician in the House of Delegates, sponsored the House version of the bill, which also provides a criminal defense for patients who are arrested with less than one ounce of the drug.
• A bill prohibiting the rs while operating a motor vehicle was passed. The bill, sponsored by Del. Jim Malone, closed a loophole in a bill last year that banned sending text messages while driving but allowed drivers to read incoming messages. Another Malone-sponsored bill, which would have made texting while driving a primary offense, failed.
• The General Assembly approved granting a to businesses that suffer a loss due to fire. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Kathy Klausmeier, is meant to help the Charles Village Pub while it rebuilds from a its Towson location.
• The Baltimore County Schools System operations became a little more transparent after legislators passed a bill requiring that all payments of $25,000 or more be reported on its website. The measure does not include payments to employees.