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HomeMy WebLinkAbout951208December 8, 1995 Hagerstown, Maryland MEETING WITH THE WASHINGTON COUNTY DELEGATION TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY - LEGISLATIVE REQUESTS FOR 1996 The Special Meeting of the Board of County Commissioners of Washington County was called to order at 9:00 a.m. in the Chesapeake Room of the Howard Johnson's by the President, Gregory I. Snook, with the following members present: Vice President John S. Shank, and Commissioners Ronald L. Bowers, R. Lee Downey, and James R. outlined the legislative requests from various agencies and departments and provided additional information (attached). Washington County Gaming Commission Commissioner Snook highlighted the major changes requested by the Gaming Commission. He stated that they would like legislation to allow members of the Gaming Commission to serve two consecutive two-year terms before leaving office instead of one full two-year term. Commissioner Snook reviewed the request from the Commission that a person who qualifies for a "for profit" tip jar license may retain 500 of the gross proceeds from each tip jar game instead of the $35 they now retain and to prohibit the operation of tip jars whose gross proceeds exceed $250 as defined by the manufacturer of the game. The Delegation members discussed the changes and asked that the language be made more specific to show that it applies only to "for profit" agencies. Commissioner Snook reviewed Item 16 which increases fines for criminal violations from $1,000 to $5,000 for the first offense, a fine not exceeding $10,000 for a subsequent offense and a possible recommendation for suspension of the liquor license for not less than 15 days. Kathy Sterling, Gaming Commission Coordinator, stated that it has been determined that the Gaming Commission is permitted to make the recommendation to have a liquor license suspended. The Gaming Commission is also asking that Section 2 and Section 4 be repealed. The Delegation members discussed the repeal of Section 4 which is the sunset provision and, although they would not agree to repeal it completely, they did agree to include legislation to extend it until 1999. The Commissioners indicated that they agreed to the recommendation that private clubs be required to donate 100 of their proceeds the first year, 15% the second year, and 20o the third year, to local non-profit groups with one-half of these proceeds going to the Gaming Commission for distribution and one-half to the charities chosen by the private club. The Delegation asked that this request be made more specific regarding whether "net" or "gross" profits are being requested. Delegate Poole asked the Commissioners to consider reducing the number of filings from four times per year. Senator Munson said that he feels the distributions to charities should be made 3 or 4 times per year and not semi-annually. The Commissioners agreed that distributions will be more frequent in the future. Richard Douglas, County Attorney, provided an update on the status of the lawsuit against the Gaming Commission. Ms. Sterling agreed to provide information to the Delegation members on a monthly basis. Title 8 of the Public Local Laws of Washington County - Electrical Apparatus and Wiring Commissioner Snook reviewed the request to change Title 8 of the Public Local Laws to include increasing the passing grade on the examination for electricians to seventy-five percent from seventy percent, to be consistent with what the State of Maryland is requesting, and to increase the fee for reactivation of licenses. Suupervisors of Elections The Supervisors of Elections are requesting pay changes in Article 33, Section 2- 7 (f) (6) (i) to increase the Chief judge's from $75 to $100 per day for each election day plus a mileage allowance, and to increase judges' pay from $65 to $80 per day for each election day. Washington County Housing Authority Commissioner Snook reviewed requests from the Washington County Housing Authority for the Delegation's continued support of various programs which they implement. DECEMBER 8, 1995 PAGE TWO School Board Accountability Commissioner Snook indicated that Casper Taylor, Speaker of the House of Delegates, has indicated that he will be introducing State-wide legislation to make school boards more financially accountable. The Commissioners stated that they have not seen this legislation from Delegate Taylor but they do support legislation requiring more accountability. Washington County Fire & Rescue Proposed amendments were reviewed to change billing procedures for HAZMAT incidents as requested by Washington County Emergency Services. Delegate Stup stated that chances are slim that this bill will make it out of the Environmental Matters Committee because of the opposition from the business community. Washington County Regional Airport The Commissioners requested the Delegation's support for programs and funding which are currently in place for the Washington County Regional Airport. Reimbursement for Fairplay Fire Company The Commissioners requested the reimbursement of $250,000 which was paid to the Fairplay Volunteer Fire Company from the public facilities bonds as contained in House Bill 833 from the 1995 General Assembly legislative session. Washington County Planning Commission Commissioner Snook reviewed the Planning Commission's request that the Forest Conservation Act be amended to exempt all property which is zoned Commercial or Industrial. They also requested enabling legislation to allow the County to piggyback onto the State's sales tax with a County sales tax of up to 1%. The Commissioners stated that this is only a planning tool to be implemented if the tax cut package approved by State and/or Federal governments would make it necessary for the County to raise additional revenues. The Commissioners stated that they feel this would be more equitable than raising real estate taxes because the consumers would be taxed and not only property owners. Chamber of Commerce The Chamber of Commerce submitted a letter stating its support of the Planning Commission's request to amend the Forest Conservation Act to exempt all properties zoned commercial or industrial. Water & Sewer Department Commissioner Snook outlined the request made by the Water & Sewer Department for changes in the Code of Public Local laws relating to payment and financing of allocation/connection fees and provided background information on the request. Purchasing Department The Purchasing Agent requested that Section 1-106(a) of the Code of Public Local Laws be revised to include television as a means of advertising bids and revising Section 7-204(d)(2) regarding advertising bids for roads or bridges. The Commissioners asked that this be expanded to include all electronic media and not just television. Commissioner Snook stated that he received a letter regarding hunting on property on Robinwood Drive and the request that hunting be prohibited in the same 1,000 foot area as the drug-free school zone. Senator Munson stated that he is going to try to have Washington County exempted from the emission testing requirements and, if this doesn't work in the General Assembly, he asked the Commissioners to consider bringing a suit against the State of Maryland. Senator Munson also stated that he appreciates the fact that the County is struggling through difficult financial circumstances. Commissioner Snook opened the meeting for any public comment at this time. Van Conway, Legislative Representative for the Volunteer Fire & Rescue Association, asked that games used by the fire companies at their carnivals be included in the current Gaming law and that the $250 licensing fees be waived for volunteer fire and rescue companies. Carolyn Shaw, representing The Potomac Edison Company, objected to the request to change billing procedures for HAZMAT incidents and stated that she feels this is a double fee because the HAZMAT team is funded by the County government.