Town hall dives into charter ahead of the June due date

A charter form of government remains on the mind in Charles as the June deadline for the submission of the draft to the county commissioners rapidly approaches.

Commissioner Ralph E. Patterson II (D) held a town hall with members of the charter board in attendance to answer any questions on May 20 at Selby’s Grab and Go in St. Charles.

“I just want to make sure the county knows what’s going on,” Patterson said. “[Charter] is not going to solve all of life’s problems … but it is a form of government I think is going to be representative of all the people.”

The switch from code home rule form of government to charter form will be put before voters in November’s general election.

Patterson handed over the microphone to Greg Waring, the chairman of the charter board, to delve into what the current draft of the charter details.

Waring opened by saying that the members of the charter board are volunteers, not county employees.

“I’ve done over 50 meetings on the charter. Why? A charter is a constitution. A charter is written by the residents,” Waring said.

Waring detailed three separate things that are current “pain points” in government that the charter will try to address: access to the government, little opportunity in Charles for enrichment, and economic development and value for tax dollars.

“We still have to elect good people,” Waring said.

A vote had been held recently that confirmed the charter will not establish a police department, meaning the sheriff’s office would remain the sole countywide law enforcement agency, Waring explained.

The charter doubles down on attendance requirements for elected officials, saying that they can only miss four meetings before a public hearing is triggered where the official will have to explain the absences, Waring said.

Derrick Terry, a Charles resident, asked Waring and Patterson if they knew why it seemed that Commissioner Gilbert “BJ” Bowling (D) and Commissioner Amanda Stewart (D) schedule town halls on the same days that the charter board holds meetings, as both were scheduled to be on May 23.

“I’ve asked why. I don’t get much of an answer,” Waring said.

“I don’t know why my colleagues are doing that. I find it disheartening,” Patterson said.

“Thursdays are the day we set aside for town halls,” Bowling said to Southern Maryland News on Tuesday when asked about the claim. “Tuesdays and Wednesdays are usually reserved for commissioner meetings and public hearings. People like to go out on Fridays. Thursdays are the day we’ve found with the highest attendance.”

Patterson said there is a spread of “fear and demagoguery” about things that have not fully come to fruition yet.

Christopher Alberts, a local teacher, asked Waring if there was a cost estimate on the transition to charter government if passed.

Waring said he was expecting somewhere in the range of $2 million, pending a fiscal note from county government staff.

Trying to underscore the power of the “unified voice” a county executive could bring to the area under a charter, Waring used the example of the new FBI building in Greenbelt, saying Angela Alsobrooks, the Prince George’s County executive and Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, played a notable role in representing her county’s interests.

Needing all five commissioners to agree versus having the one county executive providing representation in matters like the FBI building is more difficult, Waring explained.