A bill to repeal Harford County’s development impact fee lost a co-sponsor and was defeated in a 6 to 1 vote of the Harford County Council on November 3 (Tuesday). Councilman Chad Shrodes was a co-sponsor of the repeal effort, but asked for his name to be removed from the bill just prior to the council vote, leaving fellow sponsor Dion Guthrie as the sole supporter of the failed bill.
In a related move, a bill to reduce the amount of the impact fee was introduced by every member of the Harford County Council, except Guthrie. Guthrie told The Dagger he didn’t plan to support the bill, which he said would cut the impact fee on a single family home from just over $8,200 to $6,000, lower the fee on a townhouse to $4,200 and on all other structures to $1,200. Guthrie called the bill a “waste of paperwork”. Guthrie said a hearing on the new legislation was scheduled for December 1, 2009. A copy of the bill was not immediately available.
Good reporting, Cindy.
I am very disappointed by the Council, as it was not published on the Agenda. This isn’t even a 50% cut in the impact fee.
Any word on the commission that was chartered at the Council meeting?
Council President and members all had high dollar developer fundraisers to cash in on this Bill so they had to do something as a pay back even if it was just a 30% cut..not bad in exchange for a $300 ticket.
Bill, apparently you were either not at the community meeting for this or you were asleep if you did attend. There were no representatives there for Ryland, Gemcraft, Ryan etc. They are not affected whatsoever by the impact fee. They simply roll the fee into the construction loan and then pass it on to the consumer. The people that are affected by this are your family who has to write this check out of their personal checking account. Those are the stories that were told at the meeting, many of those people wished to build on their family farms that are in preservation programs which is the opposite of development. That is my story and I gladly stood up and told it in the meeting. I don’t know why so many people are under the misunderstanding that the impact fee repeal was for the developers. If they were hurt by it they would have been there. You didn’t see the developers that are going to put 300+ houses on Red Pump to overcrowd the schools there at the meeting, the people paying the impact fee is going to allow that to happen for them. Then we will be right back where we started. Add to that all the houses to be built on APG that are exempt from the impact fee but will be using the HCPS system.
The County Council unanimously sponsored and approved a resolution to establish a Bipartisan Commission on School Construction (BCSC) to address the following:
a.Capital facility requirements;
b.Effectiveness of the impact fee and other existing funding sources;
c.Potential new and innovative funding sources; and
d.An action plan to collectively address financial needs;
There will be 7 members – 2 school board members, 2 county council members, 2 members from the General Assembly and the County Exec, or his designee. The group will meet in public sometime after Dec. 15 and is supposed to provide a report leading to an action plan sometime before the 2011 General Assembly session.
The full text of the resolution can be viewed here: http://www.harfordcountymd.gov/WebLink7/DocView.aspx?id=511370
Victory and defeat, like beauty, are in the “eyes of the beholder”…..
In the battle of Lexington, the Minute men were forced to leave the field by the British.
The great victory was in the “Shot heard Round The World”. It galvanized the Patriots.
In the battle of Bunker Hill, as the Americans, out of shot and powder, were leaving the field, an aid to the British General Clinton said “It appears Sir that we have won the day” The General remarked “I am afraid that if we win another battle such as this one we shall lose the war”. The Victory was in the fact that the British had 800 wounded and 257 dead, lost lots of officers. Fully 1/3 of their attacking force was destroyed. The American Colonials proved they could hold their own in a big fight.
General George Washington, in the Battle of Long Island, was able to save the entire Continental Army by escaping through Brooklyn as the Old Maryland Line held the British advance. That army that George saved came back latter to beat Cornwallis at the Battle of Yorktown and win the war eight years latter…..
When a Marine General was asked about the successful withdrawal of a U.S. Marine Division at the battle of the Chosan Reservoir in the Korean war, he remarked “U.S. Marines never retreat, they advance to the rear.”
So as I said, Victory and defeat, like beauty, are in the “eyes of the beholder”…..
Look at how well we did on November 7th 2009:
We came within 4 votes of defeating the mighty Democratic party. The were better funded, had greater numbers, and had a seasoned battle hardened organization. They who heretofore did not give us the chance of a snowball in Hell to make such a stand had to have been shocked. The Tea Party came within 4 votes of defeating the Bill.
We turned 39 Democrats to vote our way. By the way, take the time to thank them….we still need their support.
We forced them to shoot down the abortion portion of the bill.
We learned we can organize and show our power 9/12.
We showed we can rally on short notice 11/5.
We now are battle hardened and seasoned troops….We know how to adjust our tactics and organize effective rallies, pickets, e-mail, – fax, – letter, and phone campaigns.
The war is still on….we have not lost….
The Senate is next and there we have only 100 Senators to worry about. So muster your troops, pick out your Senators and give them Hell.
Use every thing we have, everything we have learned. Recruit “those who stand by and watch” recruit the young, the old, recruit everyone.
The final showdown will come when the House and the Senate vote for this Bill. Then and only then can we be defeated and I for one do not to intend to lose…..So, If you think you can or if you think you can not you are probably right.
DO YOU THINK YOU CAN??? THEN DO IT.
God Bless America
Tony Passaro
Bel Air Tea Party
443-350-0520
apassaro@crosslink.net