The Baltimore County Council is planning on making just one cut to County Executive Johnny Olszewski’s $5 billion budget, and it’s an indication that the council remains split over whether voters should decide if the body should expand from seven to nine members.
At a budget hearing Thursday, the council decided on a 5-2 vote to slice in half the $1.2 million Olszewski had requested to plan for two new members.
Deborah Shindle, the county’s property management chief, told the council that adding two new offices to the current space “could be a challenge so we need to look at that holistically.”
She added, “It could involve as you add walls and offices, HVAC, electric, all of those functions.”
County voters would have to approve any additional members to the County Council but they may never get a chance to weigh in.
The council can put the question on the November ballot but it currently doesn’t have enough support. It would take at least five votes for the council to advance the question to the voters.
Republican Councilman Todd Crandell has consistently opposed the legislation, saying that the council currently works well. Fellow Republican Wade Kach is inclined to oppose it but is keeping an open mind, according to a spokesman.
Republican David Marks, who once supported the idea, told WYPR in March that he was undecided. He confirmed on Monday that that was still the case.
In a March statement Marks said, “Baltimore County’s recent population loss has caused me to reevaluate my earlier support for this proposal. I also have yet to see bipartisan support, as I have regularly asked from the promoters of this change.”
Democrat Julian Jones said he is undecided as well.
There is also a petition drive to circumvent the council and put the expansion question on the ballot.
Linda Dorsey-Walker, chair of VOTE4MORE, an organization that wants the council to be expanded by four seats, said they have collected around 9,000 signatures. She said 10,000 valid signatures are needed by late July to get the question on the ballot.
Dorsey-Walker said she is optimistic they will get the signatures they need.
“We were able to very successfully get quite a number of names over the last few weeks during the election process and on election day,” Dorsey-Walker said.
She and others say council expansion is needed because of how much the population has grown since the county charter establishing seven seats went into effect in 1956.
“For us to have 123,000 constituents per district as we currently do is just a ridiculously high number,” Dorsey-Walker said.
The County Council is scheduled to approve Olszewski’s budget on Thursday. The council can only cut the executive’s budget. It cannot add to it or move money around.
