As charter due date draws near, discourse rages on

As it stands now, Charles County will see the final draft of a charter government presented to the commissioners in about one month.

Ahead of the deadline, Commissioner Gilbert “BJ” Bowling (D) held a town hall at the Hughesville firehouse on June 20 to address mainly questions related to the charter and to offer his input.

A change from the commissioner form of government to charter form will be on the ballots of Charles County voters in November's general election.

Bowling’s stance had not changed from previous months, calling fellow commissioners “disingenuous to voters” for pushing the charter, when he believed that change could be made now.

He referenced a rising situation in Wicomico County this week where a referendum will be placed on the ballot to possibly get rid of the county executive’s office.

“At the end of the day, that’s a whole lot of centralized power,” Bowling said about a potential county executive that would be likely under the new charter form of government.

Upon being asked what he believes the catalyst for changing the form of government was, Bowling replied, “Power.”

He raised concerns about taxpayer money going to charter media campaigns, saying that he believes that money should go to public works, parks or education.

Bowling also sent a public message to the chair of the charter board, saying, “Anytime Greg Waring wants to debate, let’s do it.”

“I don’t view it as debate,” Waring told Southern Maryland News in a phone call. “I think it’s unfortunate that he and I have been positioned as opposing forces on this. I took exception to the early politicization of the board.”

While the charter process was initially supposed to wrap up and be submitted to the commissioners in June, that self-imposed goal will likely be missed.

“The charter board is currently scheduled to present the proposed charter to the board of commissioners on July 23. This is well in advance of the 18 months allowed under the Maryland Constitution for the charter board to finalize the charter,” Danielle Mitchell, Assistant Deputy County Attorney, told Southern Maryland News in an email.

The commissioners will take their six-week summer break after the July 23 session and not reconvene again until Sept. 10.

“We looked back at the 2014 charter board and they also presented it to the commissioners in late July,” Waring said.

A 26-page working draft is available for public viewing on the Charles County Charter Board's webpage.

The July 23 date allows the board to meet all of its legal requirements within the timeframe mandated to have the charter question on the Nov. 5 ballot, according to Mitchell. That includes presenting a finalized version of the charter no later than 90 days before the election.