Due to the craziness of the evening, your Lady Yokels joined the meeting seven minutes late. There was a nice gentlemen from Middletown giving some public comment. Apparently, Kirby contacted the Middletown city manager and constructed some budget amendment that has everyone believing that he wants to cut funding from the new library. After three years of sitting through Kirby’s amendments we are very sympathetic to anyone who has to try and parse them out.
#TRUTH
After M.C. suggests that Kirby go back and look at his 39th amendment (and my God people are we going to have to sit through HOURS of his amendments again!!!), which he does. He then insists that this amendment only applies to 2019. And look people he’s just trying to look out for the taxpayer!
There is a First Reading on the Frederick County Sustainability Commission that you can read about here.
Then we have three Third Readings to get through. First off is Billy’s bill concerning the Senior/Retired Military tax credit. You know, the one that Tony had to practically re-write for him. Well, Jerry, M.C., and Jessica want an income cap added to this bill. Because not every retired military person is in need of a tax break! Added to that is the fact that every other tax credit has an income cap, but for some reason this one sailed through without one. Probably because there were so many other problems with it! Anyhoo, Billy predictably says that Jerry doesn’t like veterans and old people. To which Jerry replies, “I knew you were going to say something like that!”
And not in a good way Billy!
Jerry wants the cap to be $80,000, but the bill passes with Bud being the deciding vote, 4-3.
Next up is Tony’s off-track gambling bill. Tony thinks allowing this will help tourism and that horse gambling is different from different kinds of gambling. M.C. is the only one who disagrees and this bill passes 6-1.
The last third reader is the Veteran’s Advisory Council bill and that passes with little fanfare, 7-0.
Now, there are three public hearings. We kind of space out on some of these issues, so you can go ahead and look at these slides regarding the FY 2018 Installment Purchase Application Farm/Land Preservation Program:
The top ten applications were approved 7-0.
Next we have a public hearing on the City of Frederick Enterprise Zone on the Golden Mile. The city is the main entity affected by this, but the county plays a part and must also vote for it. The Golden Mile qualifies for this tax program because of the poverty and vacant buildings in that area Anyone who lives here wants to see that strip do well again. Especially since they are going to lose Toys R Us soon. Well, there’s lots of questions from the peanut gallery, but nothing too bad or out of the ordinary. Until Billy…. He ‘finds it interesting” that those who voted against his tax credit bill are for giving ‘Wall Street corporations” tax welfare. But get this people, Billy is also for this credit. Jerry points out that these bills are “different animals altogether” and Jessica points out these are small businesses not Wall Street corporations. Billy tries again to make his point to which Jessica snaps and tells him to keep on with his talking points, maybe one day it will work out for ya!
Passes 7-0.
The last hearing, before the break, concerns a Petition to Alter County Roads in the Frederick City Watershed. The City of Frederick is trying to alter roads and put up gates in an effort to stop all the illegal dumping that goes on back there. We couldn’t watch the rest of this, so we’ll have to check back on it tomorrow.
Meeting reconvenes at 7:00 for a bunch of public hearings. We predict a big crowd in the house tonight!
You may have seen multiple posts from different sources like Stand Up Frederick and Steve McKay 4 Frederick County about tomorrow night’s County Council meeting. If you haven’t check them out. We are going to share this one.
From Oakdale Tomorrow:
ACTION ALERT ON MITIGATION BILL:
Please attend the TUESDAY MAY 1st hearing at 7 pm at Winchester Hall wearing your Oakdale Tomorrow shirts or any green shirt. If you plan to attend please leave a comment below so we can keep track. We need numbers.
If you cannot attend, please email comments to the County Council prior to that date at: Councilmembers@FrederickCountyMD.gov. Please also copy their Chief of Staff, Ragen Cherney, at RCherney@FrederickCountyMD.gov so he can add all comments to the record and copy jspiegel@frederickcountymd.gov, CE Gardner’s Education Liaison.
WHAT DO YOU SAY? Ask the County Council members to support the Mitigation Fee bill because every kid deserves a seat in school and it’s not their job to subsidize developers but rather to make sure that residential growth takes place at the pace of schools, roads, etc. Tell them you want principled leadership that isn’t influenced by special interests. Tell them this is not a party issue but a common sense one. Tell them that for the 15 developments still affected by this fee, they need to pay what it actually costs the county to build a seat for a child, not some imaginary cost of what they or we think it should be. Tell them that despite others’ best efforts to drag this out, play games, spin this as a “job killer” issue, you’re not stupid and you REFUSE TO BE APATHETIC. That if you can manage your job, your kids, your life, they can get this ONE THING RIGHT. And don’t forget to tell them they you’ll remember how they voted when it’s your turn to vote this November.
If you can make it to Winchester Hall tomorrow night at 7, please do. If not, please send an email to let the council know your thoughts on making sure our schools don’t continue on to be overcrowded. The developer will be self advocating. Let’s make sure we do too!
Oh gentle readers, do we have a bunch to catch y’all up on! We are very sorry to tell you that the #HATESLATE, which continues to insist that they are not a slate, has slated together to form a new Facebook page! Take a look at this diverse artwork they chose for their cover photo:
And the slogan!!! Lord, you can’t make this stuff up!
Next, let’s look at the first post on this newly formed page:
Uhhh, the first thing we have to say is that pointing out that you are fear-mongering is not a personal attack. It is a fact that everyone needs to know about. Secondly, what is the message exactly? We hear lots of complaints and Chicken Little proclamations, but not one solid proposal on how to fix all that they say is wrong with the school system. Unless, of course, this meme that Seth posted is actually under consideration:
Thirdly, there have been PLENTY of people in the community, ourselves included, who have specifically pointed out (USING ACTUAL FACTS) how wrong the #HATESLATE is!
If you missed our two most recent posts about their claims, go ahead and read them here and here. Also, new blogger “The Rank Stranger” took the time to go through their claims and made two excellent posts (WITH DATA), here and here.
It is amazing the low opinion the #HATESLATE has of the kids within our school system.
And, because you are running for the Board of EDUCATION, you should have a basic understanding of how the English language works! That is not an unreasonable expectation! Therefore, we enlisted a teacher friend to show ya’ll your mistakes:
Grammarly is an excellent resource folks!
Anyone in the mood for a pre-Mother’s Day fundraiser?
Let’s get a close up of that MAGA themed Kel Tec shotgun, shall we?
Do we have to point out all the negative connotations this decorating of the weapon entails? How are we to make America great again? By shooting everyone up? For freedom? We hope that Kirby realizes that his position as County Executive doesn’t entail writing gun legislation.
And last, but certainly not least, we have yet another county council man delinquent on his county taxes! How is this possible?! Mr. Frederick County First:
Owes over $3000!!!!
It’s almost May, so the countdown to June 26 is quickly approaching! Make good decisions for the future of both our school board and our county government. #Localelectionsmatter!
It seems as though Billy’s only function is to cause strife on the council. You would think as a lame-duck council member he would just sit back and enjoy the rest of his ride. Or, at the very least, stay as quiet as a dormouse as to not give the likes of us more things to write about! But alas! Woe unto us all that we must continue down this path.
The first bill to be discussed is the nice cooperative Donald/Delauter bill concerning the Senior Tax Credit. For every amendment that Jerry put forth, Kirby seconded! Staff wants an effective date for next year, to which Billy says that bills already have an effective date (60 days if not noted in the legislation), everyone ignores him and adds the July 2019 date. Goes back to a public hearing. Bud commends them both on their cooperation.
There’s much hoopla from both Tony and Billy over M.C.’s bill to make sure that future housing developments keep any amenities they offer within their borders. There was a development that built a pool outside the approved zoning area and wound up building on Ag land! Billy thinks it’s exclusionary. And Tony wants to know what would happen if an HOA wants to buy land outside of the community to build a pool. He also doesn’t understand why we are making legislation because this happened one time. COUGH, COUGH, WOODCHIPPING BILL?!
Next we are onto some changes to council rules. Read all about them here. Billy doesn’t write any of his down and keeps arguing about giving people a 20 minute limit to present at public hearings and wants to allow public comment to be allowed at workshops. Bud tells him that, just like everyone else, he needs to write his suggestions down! How many times has he been told to write his ideas down? Your Yokel Girls are thinking of starting a Sign-Up Genius to have y’all take turns at public comment to tell Billy what we all think of him.
Charter amendments are last. You can peruse them here. Tony lets his 120 day bill extension die after listening to Jessica and M.C.’s concerns. So miracles still happen. Some language is changed on the others. Kirby, who seems to have all kinds of problems with how things work around here, doesn’t put forth any amendments. And is, in fact, super quiet tonight. Perhaps he’s brooding over the lack of love in the comment sections on the two articles about him in the paper today. (Read the articles here and here.)
We can’t say enough terrible things about Billy due to his abhorrent behavior during this entire meeting! Just about the worst we’ve ever seen, and you know that must mean something coming from the likes of us! Let’s get right down to it.
The council recognizes the achievements of the Frederick High basketball team, which is nice to see! Shannon Moore is on site to present some changes that need to be made to the sustainability commission. We are waiting for Kirby to trigger when it comes to the discussion of changes that need to be made to the ethics law, but instead Billy takes up the cause! County Attorney Linda Thall explains that when the state makes changes to the ethics law, the county must follow suit. Such changes have to do with former lobbyists and what they can and cannot do if hired by the county,not using your political office to secure campaign donations, and increases to fines shall a candidate fail to adhere to a reporting deadline. Well, Billy has thoughts! He demands Ms. Thall tell him how we can realistically “upgrade” the ethics law if we don’t change the Public Information Act (PIA)! He is explained to that the PIA is a state law and the county cannot change a state law. But, but, Billy then claims there are no fines if the government doesn’t comply. Well, that is also not true. Billy knows all kinds of “citizens” who aren’t receiving the information they requested in a timely fashion. Oh we bet he does!
Bud then introduces a bill regarding county council staff compensation. Billy wants to know why only 10 people are listed. Bud tells him that is because that is what is allowed by their current budget. Now hold on to your hats folks because you are not going to believe what comes out of Billy’s mouth next! Billy wants to hire an independent consultant to evaluate the council’s productiveness. Because hey folks, Billy just wants to leave the council in a better place than it is now!
You’ve killed Smokey, Billy!
We’ll wait for you to pick yourself up from the floor first before we continue.
Now. M.C. tells Billy that all the information he wants on the council is already available, and she doesn’t see the sense in paying someone to tell them what they already know. Jessica, M.C., and Jerry hall have issues with this bill because of the proposed at-will employee provision. So, we’ll have to keep an eye on this one as it travels down the legislative road!
This is the section of the meeting where things get really, really bad. Lori Depies, Finance Director of Frederick County, is present to ask the council to reconsider Billy’s very bad bill that passed last week. Bill 18-03, Elderly Individual & Retired Military Tax Credit has lots and lots and lots of problems!!! Who could have guessed that Billy would write such a horrible piece of legislation? And that Tony, Bud, and Kirby would just go right along with it?
Who could have guessed?
There’s so much wrong with this bill, we can’t even start to list it all. The most egregious and talked about point is there was no effective date listed. There also was no application deadline, procedures on how to apply, renewal requirements, just all around very poorly executed. Ms. Depies makes the point over and over that it would be impossible for this bill to take effect this year because: a. they have no procedures in place to implement this tax credit that quickly and b. the budget is already in place for this year and this would cause a $1.7 million hit.
Billy has statements. Even though the finance department was never invited to participate in this bill, they did send a fiscal note that Jessica brought up last week, that Billy of course paid no attention to. Nevertheless, he very rudely asks Ms. Depies two times if she ever reached out to him personally. As though it is the responsibility of the finance department to contact a legislator when they are working on a piece of legislation! Ms. Depies informs him, that per council procedures county staff has to be invited to the table to give input to the council. Something Billy certainly did not do! Billy then wants to know if they legally have to do this. Ms. Depies tells him she cannot give him a legal opinion to which he shouts: “It’s just your opinion then!” “No”, the unflappable Ms. Depies replies, “It is my expert opinion as the Finance Director”.
But, seriously folks, is this where we are now as a county? Every idiot’s opinion should hold equal weight with those that actually have experience and expertise? Shall we be kept awake during surgery in order to give our doctors our opinion on how to operate? Is this where we are headed?
Jessica says that these concerns are exactly why she didn’t vote for the bill in the first place! Billy interrupts her by saying, “Why didn’t you write amendments?” Jessica tells him that first of all, it isn’t my job to write your legislation, and secondly during the workshop it was very clear that you were not open to any changes! Jerry points out that not having an effective date on the bill is reason enough to reconsider the whole darn thing. Tony wants us all to know he was on a skid-loader when he got the message that this bill was going to be reconsidered, so he’s working at a disadvantage here. But, that doesn’t stop him from asking a ton of questions.
Billy tries one more time to save his very bad bill. He just wants it to go through and then add a replacement bill later, which makes no sense. The lawyer says that this doesn’t address the problem that the Finance Director just made about the procedures and the budget shortfall. Billy then says that Bud was beaten into submission to bring this up tonight. However, when voting time comes EVERYONE but Billy agrees this bill should be reconsidered.
Billy is the sole no vote to go into closed session.
Now it’s time for the public hearing portion of the evening.
Another bad Billy bill is back for public hearing. You know the one from last week that Tony did the work for? Ray Barnes is the only public speaker and he reiterates the administration’s position that they are against this bill because there are many other non-profits who do good work for the community and the county executive doesn’t want everyone applying for a tax break. Well, Billy just says that he will put forth a bill for any organization that contacts him. Genius at work!
We can barely stand to write about this wood-chipping bill any longer. Ray Barnes says the administration is still against it because they don’t feel that a wood-waste facility belongs in the General Commercial (GC) zone. But the star of this evenings testimony is Mr. Bussard, proprietor of said wood-waste business. Jessica asks him if this bill addresses his issues, his response? “Will it get the county off my butt?” Now, that’s the kind of testimony your Yokel gals like to hear! He admits to not understanding the legalize of the bill and admits that he actually gets along great with the county. At least with those that work behind the wheel. He also informs us that: 1. He’s never received a fine and 2. He’s looking to move his business anyway. Kirby then feels the need to apologize for the county. He’s so very sorry that the county followed their zoning laws and actually investigated a business that WAS violating said laws. He called it “the most ridiculous thing he has ever witnessed.” Well, hearing him use those words was kind of the most ridiculous thing we ever had to witness, so I guess we are all even now! Billy ends out the discussion by saying that county workers are generally good people, but they have some kind of block here.
Guess who that’s directed at!
In good news, Jerry and Kirby have come together to combine their Senior tax credit bills! Jerry made no secret of the agreement:
For some reason we couldn’t find any similar announcement on Kirby’s page. Wonder why.
Tonight’s discussion ends with M.C.’s new bill about amenities that are just for HOA members being required to be located within a development. Looks like there will be some more discussion on this one before it’s all ironed out.
Don’t forget, gentle readers, Billy believes he should represent our interests in Annapolis. Can you imagine the state-wide embarrassment this would bring us? Local elections matter y’all!
On Monday, April 16th the council will hold a hearing on the BOE budget. If you care about public education, and you know you do, show up or email the council to give them your thoughts!
We are not even sure if anyone is able to stay sober right now. Therefore, if you are already drunk due to the national news, just carry on with your selected beverage of choice. Grab your agenda and follow along.
There are no minutes to vote on tonight, so you can spare your liver right away because Billy won’t have the option to abstain.
First up are 3 bill updates. And oh dear, one has to do with ethics. Remember how Kirby gets triggered whenever the “E” word comes up? If you see #NeverKirbyforCountyExecutive get all twitchy, slam back a pitcher of Trigger!
The council then goes into closed session, a motion that Silly Billy will surely vote against. They return at 7:00 for a variety of public hearings.
This is his campaign sign!!! So many thoughts…First of all, are we building a wall? Starting a trade war with Washington or Montgomery counties? When does Frederick County not come first in the Frederick County Council?! Zeus give us strength this election season. And, vote for Steve McKay in the primary if you are a Republican District 2 voter.
The next hearing is the wood chipping bill, and boy are we tired of hearing about this! Tony added some amendments last time, actually took some of the planning commission and county executive’s suggestions into consideration! Still, why are we making legislation that benefits one business? If “anyone” talks about Jan shutting down all the businesses ( YOKEL FACT: This business was never shut down or even fined!) set up a row of Pink Faced Liar shots!
We next have to sit through two hearings on the same issue. Tis an election year and Kirby needs to grandstand over all his failed bills and budget writing attempts. We know who has the better bill, so sit back and set up your moonshine still, because man you’re gonna need it this year.
We round up the evening with M.C.’s bill about locating amenities within the boundaries of a particular community. If When Billy says something condescending (we know the nerve of that fella) take dainty sips of your Raspberry Stupid.
Let’s see here, Billy was on the BOCC for four years, has been on the council for over three, and still cannot figure out what he’s doing up there! We really need to add an impeachment clause to the county charter. Seven years is way too long to let incompetence reign. Let’s get down to the nitty gritty of tonight’s meeting:
Billy votes FOR the agenda, which kinda goes against his whole philosophy of voting AGAINST it. Did he have a change of heart or just forgot? We’ll let you be the judge.
Dr. Alban is recognized for receiving the 2018 Tom Cookerly Exceptional School Superintendent Leadership Award. This award recognizes those who do a lot for the neediest kids in their school system. Even though poverty does tend to be concentrated at some FCPS schools, our county has a dedicated coordinator at every school to help families in need! Way to go FCPS and Dr. Alban!
Our favorite public commenter, Melanie Cox, is in the house to voice the League of Women Voters’ support of the Adequate Public Facilities bill which will have a public hearing on May 1st.
Billy is back in form abstaining on the budget adjustments and minutes, while everyone else says aye or yes, depending on their knowledge of Robert’s Rules.
All vote yes for the appointment of Kevin Fox to the Department of Fire Services.
Four bills have their third reading.
Bill 18-01, which will increase the mandated general fund, is passed 7-0. Jerry makes the comment that this bill will keep us on a strong financial path.
Then it’s time for the first of Billy’s two bills this evening. Billy first has to be prompted to make a motion on this bill because going through this at least a bazillion times hasn’t been enough for him to learn how things work. Jerry, Jessica, and M.C. all have concerns about this bill because it requires people to live in their residence for 40 years, only lasts for 5 years, and has no income requirement! M.C. makes the point that the existing bill is better. Tony is okay if it only affects 30 people which prompts Billy to make the following declaration : “Any tax credit is a good one!” The bill goes along party lines, then it is Bud’s turn. After a loooong pause he votes Aye. So, Billy’s poorly written tax credit passes.
Next up is Billy’s second bill, which had to be re-written by Tony because it is sooo poorly wrongly worded. In Billy’s original bill the Fire Department is exempted from ANY and ALL FEES. When Jessica points this out and asks if this means water and sewer, landfill, etc. Billy so rudely says that she is the ONLY one who would interpret those words that way. Jessica then retorts that the fiscal note that they ALL received points out this fact! Clearly, she is not the only one. Jerry doesn’t like it because it gives the fire departments an unfair advantage in getting customers into their Fire Hall and he isn’t comfortable “picking the winners and losers!” Isn’t that usually Billy and Kirby’s phrase?! Tony and Kirby both declare their love for the free market, Tony even admits that he may be a hypocrite here, but hey tis the way of the party lately. When our guy does it, it’s okay! Well, the language is the problem, because guess what? Billy only meant for this to apply to fees for new construction and renovations for the fire halls! WHO KNEW? Literally no one but Billy!
As a legislator you better know how to write legislation!! And this guy wants us to send him to Annapolis?!
This portion of the evening features an amusing exchange between Billy and Jerry. Jerry is comparing different wedding venues and Billy demands to know the last time Jerry was in the market for a wedding venue. Billy tells Jerry that if he doesn’t know what he’s talking about he should just remain quiet. Jerry retorts with a “that’s never stopped you before!” Billy says that’s because he usually knows what he’s talking about. That elicits a laugh from both Jerry and your Lady Yokels!!!
It is amazing the lack of introspection this guy possesses!!
Kirby jumps in to tell us he eloped, but likes the free market, but whatevs. Billy lectures us about how all bills have unintended consequences and we will have to fix it in the future. He adds: It’s the way the world works! Thanks Billy, but we aren’t taking any philosophical advice from the likes of you!
Since an amendment was added, which Tony wrote, the bill goes back to public hearing.
Tony adds four amendments to his woodchipping bill, taking recommendations from the planning commission and the county executive. Therefore that has to go back to public hearing as well.
Three public hearings are up at 7:00 this evening. We’ll let you know how that all turns out when we get the chance!
The last legislative meeting of the county council was put on hold due to weather. Will Spring ever arrive, Yokels?! There’s lots on the agenda this evening including the recognition of Dr. Alban’s leadership award! We know that some wanna be school board members will balk at this, but the rest of us will celebrate!
Lots of third readings as well as public hearings. A couple of Billy’s really bad bills haven’t made their way back on the docket, which is just fine with us! This election has really put a lot of demands on our time and we haven’t been able to come up with a proper drinking game. We will leave you with this Bingo card, for it truly is timeless:
Tonight’s meeting is a two-parter! First we begin at 4:30 with a variety of fun items to keep you on your toes. There are five bills to be voted on tonight, many of them originating from our pal Billy Shreve. The original agenda had six bills on, but we’ll let this story from the FNP explain why one of Billy’s very bad vendetta bills was removed from consideration.
We reconvene at 7:00 to listen to three public hearings. Two of which have to do with changes to the Senior Tax Credit. Use the below bingo card as your game this evening. Make up your own runs or follow the traditional bingo. Guard your liver though, none of these local characters are worth the destruction of a major organ.
frederick local yokel 