From Joan Ryder:
Harford County Executive David R. Craig answered my request for information on August 13th 2012. His response was also published in the August 17th issue of the AEGIS. I very much appreciate the County Executive taking the time away from his other duties to answer my request. Although it was a brief response it said a lot, and was even more informative in what was omitted. I do feel obligated to add some clarity to his response.
First I never claimed that my committee was fiscally responsible. Although I consider myself to be fiscally responsible, that responsibility extends exclusively to my personal finances. My committee is for fiscal responsibility. The purpose of the committee is to observe Harford County’s activities and to determine whether they are fiscally responsible. Although the language may be confusing to some people, there is a very large difference between an entity, that is for fiscal responsibility, like my committee and one which should be fiscally responsible, like Harford County. I hope that no one else was confused by the nuances.
Second, the County Council has a well defined role in Harford County government. While they enact the budget and other pieces of legislation, directly related to taxing, funding s and expenditures for the county, most of those actions are taken at the request of the County Executive. They exercise fiscal responsibility through their legislative actions, not through any management functions. The basis for fiscal responsibility though is squarely vested in the County administration, under control of the County Executive. If the County Executive does not demonstrate sufficient fiscal responsibility, the County Council, while not completely powerless, cannot readily affect a change.
Third. The County Executive’s description of my committee as covert capitalist has a catchy ring. That derisive description sounds very much like a former speaker of the House of Representatives describing the TEA party movement as Astroturf. She may still be wondering why she is no longer Speaker of the House. Some people never learn life’s lessons. My committee is not comprised of covert capitalists. Each member has been fully vetted. I can state unequivocally that we are all unabashed capitalists. We believe fully in the free enterprise system and entrepreneurial spirit that made this country and the county the great places that they are. A place where people recognized that there hard work and ingenuity would be rewarded with success. The place where people did not wait for a government incentive to move in and get started. The place where people paid their taxes and with others built government, not the other way around.
Fourth. I acknowledge the many fine actions taken by the County Council I do not fully agree with all of them all of the time, and I appreciate the opportunity to let them know when I do not. I was most pleased with the County Council acted on its own, without any request by the County Executive, to reduce the real and consequently the personal tax rates and the homestead tax credit a few years ago. Their actions served as a model for the County Executive to follow the next year, They are limited however to a great extent in how open and transparent they can be, based on the information that they are provided. Hopefully, my committee and all similar groups who desire to participate more actively in the function of their government will be able to bring about even more openness and transparency.
Finally, as I said I acknowledge the actions of the members of County Council on behalf of Harford County’s residents. I do not believe that any of them will claim that they built the economy of the county. The County Council actions may have contributed to Harford County’s economy, but other than paying their own taxes, it did nothing to generate the funds for the grants, loans and tax credits distributed by the Office of Economic Development. The reality is that Harford County’s economy is based on entrepreneurs who do not seek a handout. The bakery’s, the feed stores, the hardware stores, car dealers, and real estate agents and all the property owners and wage earners and entrepreneurs, who don’t get a handout. Who make a product or provide a service, or build something and hope to make a profit or a wage. Who pay real income taxes, real property taxes and personal property taxes? Who pay wages and social security taxes who pay unemployment taxes, in addition to paying fees purchasing licenses, and certificates and permits to operate, who pay utility bills, who provide health insurance and donate to charity. And who at the end of the day hope that they have enough money left over to take care or their own families. And then worry that they may not have enough strength and, and enough energy to go back the next day for another round of the same. These are the people who built and sustain Harford County’s economy and its government. Any person who would think otherwise would believe that these people didn’t do it themselves, and could not seriously endorse Mitt Romney for president.
The County Executive did not answer my questions, or even suggest a process for obtaining the information I asked for. It is surprising that he would spend so many millions of tax dollars on Information Technology and not understand its purpose is to provide information at an accelerated pace, not hide it away. I will now be pursuing the information through the Freedom of Information Act.
Finally in light of Mr. Chris Street’s statement in his defense of the Economic Development Advisory Boards activities, and the provisions of the recently enacted bill 12-19, I am requesting an interpretation from the State’s Attorney on the propriety and legality of nongovernment personnel controlling county funds, the bonding and indemnity issues associated with that practice and whether the Economic Development Advisory Board has exceed its authority for having done so and what if any punitive measures are required. I will also address these issues with my Councilman.
Editor’s Note: A copy of Craig’s letter to Ryder is provided below.
My respect for the Executive just went up! Joan Ryder is a joke!
Dear Joan – it’s too early to start campaigning.
Tell that to David Craig…….
Joan all we can say of your tome is that you are…” A sophisticated rhetorician, inebriated with the exuberance of his own verbosity and gifted with an egotistical imagination that can at all times command an interminable and inconsistent series of arguments to malign an opponent and to glorify himself.” Benjamin Disreali
Sheesh, PTBL, that would be the first time I ever heard you support David Craig. Are you finally beginning to see the light?
“There’s small choice in rotten apples.” The Taming of the Shrew. Act i. Sc. 1.
PTBL, there may be hope for you yet.
Maybe if Joan was selling some real estate, she would have less time for this nonsense! Maybe she could use her truck (the one with her face on it) to make deliveries for the local produce companies!
Wow…troubling that some seem more offended that a private citizen is willing to be public with an obvious lack of accountability here than the lack of accountability itself is sort of warped. At least she’s willing to take the issue on – I want to know where the money goes and why and I sure would think others should feel the same way – it’s our money.
The less they want to tell us the more it appears that they are hiding something. Maybe they are and maybe they aren’t, but the issue here is not Joan Ryder or the committee. The issue is whether we, as citizens and voters, have a right to know.
I voted for David Craig. And might do so again. But he needs to get his head out.
“Sunlight is the best disinfectant.”
? William O Douglas
Well Joan, though what you are trying to do is a worthy thing, your public and high profile way of going about it is a clear indicator that you are trying to score political points. (as was pointed out to you in the comments of the last posting here)
Don’t get all holier than thou when you get done the same way.
To be honest…don’t care what a person’s motivation is if this lady has guts enough good for her – they (governments) count on that; a populace that largely sits on it’s hands and accepts almost anything in a malaise/sense of defeat. As they say “you can’t fight city hall”, but sometimes you can and even if you don’t win I congratulate anybody that at least tries. She’s got a valid point. I’d like an accounting; sure would like to know what are criteria; if there are any beyond buying drinks or sucking up to have public monies pour forth for your benefit.
I agree. But did she start out with a private inquiry for this information? Was it ignored? My guess is “no.”
She started with a public inquiry, for the specific reason of having a high profile and scoring political points. Nobody should be surprised when she doesn’t get a useful response and it treated the same way in return.
I find it hard to believe she has no sense of how to conduct herself in a professional manner (which a private inquiry would have been) when dealing with public officials. Throwing them to the dogs in the media is not going to get a bouquet of flowers.
Noble, well said.
This is the lady who is so petty and nasty that she was the only person to vote against the Republican Central Comm sending a donation to the Council President’s memorial fund. She really needs to get some help.
Seriously?
Joan, I would like to thank you and your committee for taking the time to keep us informed. When I read some of the comments I just shake my head. I can’t wait to hear the states attorneys’ response. As a Harford County native I know that our local government has grown too big, spends too much and passes to many regulations that destroy business. Now they are starting to pick winners and losers. Hopefully one day our citizens will wake up and demand better from our elected officials. It should be that all people and businesses are treated equal. In Harford County if you’re not in the click, forget it. Also just like to say that the farm fair has drastically gone down hill. They need you back!
Richard Schafer
And apparently the only defense to any of this is “everyone does it and if we don’t we’ll lose” and isn’t that the use of steroid defense? What is the right thing to do should not be divorced from public policy.
Richard, you hit the nail right on the head. You and Joan Tyler are on the right track and are very intellectual,logical and rational about this. I can’t stand these personal attacks that some people bring on rather than sticking to the issues.
A well thought out letter with good points and an action plan. A sharp contrast to the brief response and name calling by the county exec. Thank you Joan,
You can tell how many Campaign for Liberty and McGrady shills read the dagger by simply looking at the thumbs up and thumbs down on each comment
@ Monster and PTBL- You would never go against David. He has helped you and your little clan of Jesse Bane supporters in getting a raise for your mini clan. David Craig feels as if he is accountable to no one. He is right because people keeping voting Ol Davey Boy back into office. He has done 10 times more personal favors for developers and friends then he has done good for this county. Three birds of a feather flock together- Obama, O’Malley, O’Craig!
Well Richard let me give you a little lesson on Civics 101. You said, “David Craig feels as if he is accountable to no one. He is right because people keeping voting Ol Davey Boy back into office.” That is what is known as a democracy. The people vote, and the person with the most votes – you ready, wins.
I like that. “The person with the most votes wins.” PTBL, you are quite right and you should expect to hear that often in the future, especially in November.
ALEX: I may not like the people who win elections, but I respect the process – if fair and legal.
I guess that means if ACORN isn’t involved.
You mean the Koch brothers.
Dickleberger, not only are you a jackass, you are a dumb jackass. Give facts not your accusations.
Seems like more than a few people are interested in this topic. Some decided that the messenger was more important than the message. Dismissive comments are always a risk, that’s expected and fair for people to express their own opinion. Some thought a vote on a contribution was enough to invalidate a request for public disclosure, that’s expected, and fair. I would hope though that as residents of Harford County we have not become so inured by our individual circumstances and the world around us that we are not saddened by the untimely loss of friends, relatives and other residents, whether we know them or not. I would also hope that we have not become so sophisticated that we seek to measure the value of others by the size of either their contributions or their body parts or any other meaningless metric. A few thought the intent was worthy, but the chosen venue was inappropriate. That’s expected and fair. Using a public forum to challenge public officials or change public policy has been practiced for years, decades and centuries. It is a tradition carried by the original colonists from Europe. The Liberty Tree was used in our own revolutionary times to post messages to the king. So that practice is not unprecedented.
At the end of the day though this is not about the messenger, and although the message is very important, it is not the most significant piece of this debate. The most important question was succinctly posed by Comptroller Franchot in and unrelated posting on the DAGGER PRESS. To paraphrase Comptroller Franchot’s remarks: This is about the type of government we want, and the kind of County we wish to leave to our kids. One controlled by outside interests from backrooms or whether we take a stand for a government that is open, forthright and honest with its residents. The entire article is worth reading, and presents an interesting image of the man. The essence of the question he posed is more than relevant in Harford County today.
And we still do not have the information requested. That’s not unexpected, but it still ain’t fair.
So if several hundred concerned citizens wanted this information, the County would have to spend countless hours and money to supply it?
If one citizen wanted this information AND was legally entitled to it the County has to supply it. That’s the law and it is a good law.
Anyway, what is the big deal? What is being hidden? I’m a conservative Republican and I smell something rotten here. When any government tells a citizen that “it is none of your business” you can pretty well believe there is something going on that is not right.
I don’t for one moment believe the County would have to spend countless hours and money to produce it. What is being sought is information that should be readily available anyway if the activity is being managed properly.
Craig better understand that for me at least this is a watershed event. Whether I continue to support him or not depends on how this unfolds. If he doesn’t care then neither do I.
Here’s a comment. How does a 10 month employee merit a 22% raise to $116,000 and it does not even make the Dagger press as news? How does the supervision of 9 aides command this salary? Are the aides not supervised by their councilman? What a waste of taxpayer dollars.
So they hired more aides and then gave the supervisor a 22% raise because she had so many more people to supervise?! Typical bureaucratic logic. How can you put an end to this nonsense, seriously?
Stupid is as stupid does!
It is the GOP way: Complain about too much government but pad the payroll.
If you are referring to the Director of Administration position, it is being held for Billie.
PTBL, once again you are saying things that are not true. Just a mouthy liberal.
We ill see Monster.
will