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October 18, 1999
Hagerstown, Maryland
The Board of County Commissioners of Washington County, Maryland, met with
the Washington County Delegation to the General Assembly at 10:00 a.m. at
the Frostburg University Center to present their legislative requests for
the 2000 session. President, Gregory I. Snook and the following County
Commissioners were present: Paul L. Swartz, Bertrand L. Iseminger, John L.
Schnebly, and William J. Wivell. Members of Washington Countys Delegation
to the General Assembly in attendance included Senator Donald Munson and
Senator Alex Mooney, and Delegates Robert McKee, Sue Hecht, Christopher
Shank, Louise Snodgrass, and Joseph Bartlett.
The Commissioners presented the following items for the 2000 legislative
agenda: 1) Terms of the Gaming Commission - change the effective date of
appointments to the Gaming Commission by offsetting the terms by three or
six months or by eliminating the date upon which the term is to begin; 2)
Funding of school health care providers to provide assistance to the County
in meeting State mandates for school health programs; 3) Reimbursement of
State firefighting expenses - exempt state lands from those for which a
county must reimburse the Department of Natural Resources for 50% of the
salaries of the State firefighters; 4) Authority to reimburse Commissioners
for expenses incurred in the course of their duties, such as mileage and
other travel expenses; 5) Compensation for election judges - the Election
Board has asked that the fees for chief election judges be increased from
$100 to $125 per day and that the fees for other election judges be
increased from $80 to $100 per day; 6) Sales tax - authorize Washington
County to charge a sales tax of 1% to be added to the 5% statewide sales tax
with proceeds from the additional percentage to be dedicated to the
reduction of the water and sewer debt; and 7) Library funding - to seek
funding from the State for the proposed branch library in Clear Spring as
part of a comprehensive plan to finance libraries in the County. The
Commissioners discussed each item with the Delegation. The Delegate
advised the Commissioners that some of the items they discussed would
require State-wide legislation and, as such, should be submitted through the
Maryland Association of Counties (MACo).
Gary Rohrer, Director of Public Works, gave a presentation that he had
participated in with MACo before the Governors Commission on Transportation
Investment on September 13, 1999. The topic pertained to County Highway
System Preservation issues and the enormous general fund contributions from
all counties to subsidize their highway maintenance operations. Mr. Rohrer
gave examples of typical impacts on urban and rural counties and their
inability to keep pace with the needs of local industries in moving goods
and people, particularly in rural areas. He urged the delegates to (1) work
for the removal of the burden of mass transit funding and subsidies from the
Highway Trust fund, (2) support the use of these funds for highway projects
only, and (3) support funding of County highway system preservation projects
regardless of their location. Gary Rohrer, Director of Public Works, made a
presentation on the costs of transportation improvements to the County and
changes which could be made to more equitably distribute the State Highway
Revenue funds to the counties.
At this time, Commissioner Wivell presented a proposal he developed on ways
in which the County can reduce fiscal spending.
Motion made by Commissioner Schnebly, seconded by Iseminger, to adjourn at
11:45 a.m. Unanimously approved.
County Administrator
County Attorney
, Clerk