Baltimore County Council

Teachers say it’s crunch time. 

The General Assembly session ends in less than one week. In two weeks, Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski presents his budget to the county council. 

Teachers and their supporters rallied outside the Historic Courthouse in Towson Monday night, calling on the state and the county to come through with money for schools.

As several dozen people congregated at the courthouse, most wearing red, a sign of support for teachers, they were joined by Olszewski, who is a former teacher.

From a possible tax increase to new high schools, a lot is in play as Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski prepares to present his first budget to the County Council in about two weeks. 

Olszewski is receiving high marks for how he’s handled his first four months in office. But this era of good feeling could be tested once Olszewski lays out his budget.

Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski is remaining mum about whether he will call for tax hikes to deal with a projected $81 million shortfall. But others in county government are making the case that now may be the time to do so.

Let’s start with the county’s income tax rate.

Currently it’s at just over 2.8 percent. A report by the county council’s spending affordability committee lays out the possibility of raising that to 3.2 percent, which is the highest allowed under state law.

Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski is telling his department heads not to expect any more money in the next fiscal year than they got this year. That’s because the county has a projected $81 million shortfall this coming year.

Meanwhile, constituents are giving the county executive a long list of things they say they need.

The social security office in Baltimore County is up and running during the partial government shutdown, but U.S. Senator Ben Cardin said the county is still feeling the effects of the stalemate going on the Washington, D.C. 

Cardin met with the county council Monday, and discussed the shutdown, as well as how Baltimore City’s problem with crime is becoming the county’s problem as well.

The Baltimore County Council Monday night unanimously chose First District Councilman Tom Quirk to be its chairman for the coming year. Quirk, who is the chairman of the council’s spending and affordability committee and represents the Catonsville area, takes over as the county finds itself staring down what Quirk has called a budget crisis.

Baltimore County Executive Don Mohler will step aside on Monday, December 3, to make way for county executive-elect Johnny Olszewski Junior. WYPR reporter John Lee talked with Morning Edition host Nathan Sterner about his interview with Mohler, in which they discussed what is perhaps the biggest challenge that awaits Olszewski as he takes office.  

The executive and legislative branches of the Baltimore County government currently are in the hands of Democrats. But county Republicans are hoping to gain control of the government come election day. WYPR's John Lee talked with Morning Edition host Nathan Sterner about the GOP strategy.

The Baltimore County Council was warned Tuesday that it risks losing police and corrections officers and firefighters to nearby counties if it doesn’t give them a tax break. 

The council is weighing whether it’s worth the millions the county would lose in tax money.

Baltimore County Republican Councilman Wade Kach has been accused of grandstanding and fiscal recklessness by fellow council members and administration officials. Kach who is running for his second term, scoffs at the accusations.

The Baltimore County Council is considering tightening up the laws on pet owners to protect animals from extreme weather. 

But council members were warned Tuesday that what they were considering might actually do pets harm.

There were calls last night to change the way Baltimore County government conducts itself. 

On the same night the county council considered changes to the county charter, protesters demanded an audit, as well as more access to lawmakers and transparency.

  The Baltimore County Council is deciding whether to ask voters to force the county executive to cough up information when council members demand it. It’s part of a proposed change to the county’s charter.

Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz announced his running mate Thursday in his campaign to become Maryland’s next governor. 

Kamenetz begins his sprint in a crowded Democratic field when members of his own party are challenging Kamenetz over how he’s handling the county’s finances.

A Baltimore County Councilman is accusing County Executive Kevin Kamenetz of making fiscal decisions that are unsustainable.

Last fall, Kamenetz said he’d have to think about building a new Dulaney High School. Last week, he decided to do it. Councilman Tom Quirk is concerned the outgoing county executive is making promises the county won’t be able to keep.

Some people who live near Baltimore County’s animal shelter in Baldwin  say the sound of barking dogs is blasting into their neighborhood and dumping on their quality of life. The County Council is considering legislation that would spell out how many barks and yelps could land the pound in the doghouse.

The Baltimore County Council elected its first African-American chairman last night. The new chairman, Julian Jones, said he wished the day would come when there would be no more “firsts.”

The developer tells the Council "We will not let you down."

The controversial plan to use tax money to help finance the Towson Row project is scheduled for a vote at Monday night's Baltimore County Council meeting. But the councilman who represents Towson plans to call for a postponement of that vote.

What to do with the big hole in the ground in Towson? A developer says he’s ready to move ahead with the delayed $350 million Towson Row project that would go on that property. But the developer and the County Council got blowback Tuesday from people who oppose plans to use taxpayers money to help get the project off the ground.

Baltimore County is the first jurisdiction in the state to restrict when farmers can use air cannons. The County Council last night voted unanimously to make it illegal to use the noise makers from 10 p.m. to sunrise.

Barring any surprises, the field is set for next year’s Baltimore County Executive’s race. Second District Democratic Councilwoman Vicki Almond formally entered the race last night, in what is expected to be a multi-million dollar battle for the Democratic nomination.

There are concerns that legislation is being rushed through the Baltimore County Council. A commission that is studying the county charter is expected to recommend that bills before Council have more time for debate. WYPR’s John Lee joins Nathan Sterner to talk about the work of the Charter Review Commission.

Baltimore County is close to landing an Amazon distribution center, to be located at Sparrows Point in eastern Baltimore County.

The three Republicans on the Baltimore County Council want to deputize county corrections officers to enforce federal immigration laws. And they say they're planning to introduce legislation to do that.

This is the latest in the ongoing debate in the county on how to deal with people living in the country illegally.

Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz’s proposed $3.15 billion operating budget for the next fiscal year does not contain a tax increase. But it does include a two percent pay raise for county workers and plans for a new middle school in Perry Hall. 

When Glenn Elseroad drives you around his 500 acre farm in Western Baltimore County, the first thing he shows you are the 7,000 trees he’s planted. Then there are the cover crops planted in the winter.