Baltimore County voters on Tuesday declared their support for expanding the County Council, protecting the inspector general from political meddling, and putting some guardrails on how long members can serve on the county’s influential planning board.
With nearly all Election Day precincts reporting, voters backed a ballot measure to expand the council by a 3-2 margin and one to shield the inspector general by a 4-1 margin. All other ballot measures were drawing at least 70% of the vote.
Approval of the charter amendment to expand the council from seven to nine members could change the ways that the county functions, with the possibility of more diversity for the all-male, nearly all-white council and new political boundaries for the county’s more than 800,000 residents.
The council now includes only one person of color, Julian Jones, who is Black. Only five women have served on the council since the government created the body in 1956. The council has never included a representative of the Latino, Asian, Nepalese or Arab American communities, which are all growing constituencies in the county.
With the approval of Question A, nine council seats will be up for election in the 2026 election. The council still needs to finalize maps for the new districts, and councilmen have promised a public process for that. The measure also means Baltimore County taxpayers will pay $1.4 million more for the two new members, plus millions more for office space, renovation, and increases in salaries and pension bumps. Even so, those increases are only a fraction of a percent of the county’s budget.
Question B, which establishes the Office of the Inspector General in the county charter, also passed easily. The measure came about because Jones and County Executive Johnny Olszewski, Jr. attempted to restrict the current inspector general’s power a few years ago when her investigations yielded evidence of wrongdoing that ensnared a former county official.
After a public outcry about attempts to curb Inspector General Kelly Madigan’s power, Olszewski assembled a commission to discuss the matter. It recommended codifying the position in the charter, which is considered a best practice in the industry. Madigan urged voters to support the measure so she could have unfettered access to information — sometimes privileged — and conduct complete investigations.
Question C, which would mandate that no member of the Baltimore County Planning Board serve more than three terms, stemmed from council members believing certain board members had taken advantage of their positions to rezone properties that were not in their districts. Anyone can request that a property be rezoned during the comprehensive process that occurs every four years, but council members usually control this process, and some of the Planning Board members were not checking in with the council to make sure their requests fit with the overall plan for the districts.
Council members appoint half the board, and the county executive appoints the other half. Olszewski’s representatives tended to favor development, and some had been on the board for several terms when he reappointed them. Now, the council will need to confirm all members, instead of just the chair and vice chair.
The other ballot initiatives primarily concerned borrowing money. Question D would allow for the borrowing of $5 million for refuse disposal projects to help protect the environment by modernizing landfills.
Question E would authorize the county community college to borrow up to $18.5 million to modernize and grow. Question F is for borrowing $55.4 million for public works projects, including but not limited to, streets and highways, bridges, and storm drainage systems. Question G focuses on borrowing $8 million for park creation and acquisition.
Question H would allow the county to borrow $331.1 million to build, modernize, and acquire buildings for schools. Baltimore County has redrawn boundaries multiple times to accommodate new students and reduce overcrowding, and parents are frustrated about having to move from schools their children have grown comfortable in.
Voters also easily approved $6 million to keep farms in preservation easements and protect Baltimore County’s rural character and its water supply (Question I); $4 million for streetscape improvements (Question J); $20 million to improve stormwater and waterways (Question K); and $130.5 million for public operational buildings that include libraries, senior centers, police stations and jails.
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