Commissioners Host Forum on Proposed 'Second Amendment Preservation Resolution'

"... the Constitution will not enforce itself, so it’s time for local officials to take a stand in defense of our freedoms." -- Commissioner Richard Rothschild

The Board of Carroll County Commissioners will host a public forum tonight, Wednesday, May 22, to explain the proposed Second Amendment Preservation Resolution and get citizen input.  “The Second Amendment is not ambiguous,” said Commissioner Richard Rothschild in a statement, “and the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. However, the Constitution will not enforce itself, so it’s time for local officials to take a stand in defense of our freedoms." Do you believe it is important for Carroll County's Commissioners to pass the proposed Second Amendment Preservation Resolution? Tell us in comments.  According to a news release, the board is taking a stand in defense of second amendment gun rights. In an open …

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Delegate Ready Sponsors Bill to Fight Mileage Tracking by State Government

Delegate Justin Ready presented a bill that would prohibit state and local governments from installing tracking devices on cars for the purpose of imposing a mileage tax.

Elected officials in Carroll County are working to pass House Bill 682, legislation that would prohibit the state from establishing a vehicle-per-mileage tax through the use of GPS tracking devices on vehicles. Delegate Justin Ready (R- Carroll) recently presented House Bill 682 before the House Ways and Means Committee. “It is hard to believe that the state would even be contemplating using VMT to tax Marylanders, but it is very likely that without the legislation that I have put forward, the Department of Transportation will put it be put in place by 2020," Ready said in a release. "Two states are already piloting this program, but they are looking at it in lieu of gas taxes. Maryland wants to have it in addition to gas taxes." For …

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Attorney General to Carroll County: Email Addresses Can't Be Unilaterally Redacted

Carroll County Commissioner Doug Howard said he still believes it is best to withhold email addresses when it comes to public information act requests.

The State's Attorney General's Office returned its opinion to the Board of Carroll County Commissioners concluding that email addresses should not be unilaterally redacted from Public Information Act (PIA) requests. In a December 2011 board of Carroll County commissioners meeting, the board unanimously voted to redact email addresses from PIA requests, citing security concerns. During the 2011 meeting, Commissioner Richard Rothschild said the deputy legal counsel for Gov. Martin O'Malley did not believe that releasing email addresses was in the public interest because it would have "a chilling effect on communications." Rothschild added that emails are often tied to individual security information and should be kept private. As a result, …

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Commissioners Say There Could be Budget Implications if Schools Aren't Closed

What do you think, should the Board of Education close facilities in Carroll County to save money?

As Superintendent Stephen Guthrie prepares to offer cost-saving facility options to the Board of Education, Carroll County commissioners reiterate that there will be budget implications if schools aren't closed as a way to reduce overhead costs. "We've done more than just encourage them to initiate the [facilities study] process, we've tied the outcome of the process to potential decisions we'll make here," Commissioner Doug Howard said in an open-session commissioners meeting last week. "We have said that if the decision is to not close schools then there will be budget implications for that." Should Carroll County schools be closed as a cost-saving meaure? Tell us in comments. School Superintendent Stephen Guthrie told Patch that he will…

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Commissioner R Rothschild

11:22 am on Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Kathy- As an individual commissioner, I believe all options should be on the table, including creative alternatives. Also, I disagree with those that try to equate this process with "destroying education." I believe that is a close-minded vision. I compare this situaton to an airline that flies too many planes with empty seats. What happens if the airline chooses to operate one or two less …   more ›

You Said It!

Comment: ‘I think it makes sense to … close some of the schools’

Carroll County readers this week weighed in on the future of Carroll County schools.

This week, Carroll County Superintendent Steve Guthrie said he will present options for cost savings, including school closures, as the county faces declining student enrollment and continuing costs to maintain and improve facilities. The prospect of school closures sparked conversation among Westminster and Eldersburg Patch readers. Have an opinion on the debate over schools? Share them in comments.  “The schools here, while perhaps award-winning, are SO run down. Their technology is years behind - if they are allowed to use it at all (my son attends a school where the administration is anti-technology). Why not redistrict instead of closing? Why is the county losing students when housing is growing?” - Robin Nicole “Not all schools in …

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Commissioner Rothschild: 'Second Amendment is a Restriction Against Government'

A Westminster police officer and Carroll County commissioner weigh in on this week's court ruling that expands access to gun permits.

Patch readers across the region spoke out, to the tune of more more than 340 comments, when it was reported Tuesday that a U.S. District Court judge declared Maryland's gun permitting process unconstitutional. The ruling will relax the handgun permitting process in Maryland. "People believe the Second Amendment gives Americans the right to keep and bear arms. Actually, it protects their fundamental right to keep and bear arms," Carroll County Commissioner Richard Rothschild told Patch.  "Our forefathers understood that arms provide citizens with the means to secure their lives, their liberty, and their property." On Monday, Judge Benson Everett Legg ruled that the requirement to show "good or substantial reason to wear, carry or transport …

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WestMonster

12:46 pm on Wednesday, August 1, 2012

There's an important distinction that needs to be brought into this conversation: the difference between "inalienable", "natural", and "legal" rights. These terms are being thrown around in this discussion, and in some cases are not being used correctly. The right provided by the second amendment is a legal right, since it would not exist without being enumerated in that legal document. The …   more ›

Poll: Did Frazier Violate the Ethics Ordinance?

A local political organization has filed a formal complaint with the county ethics commission over a commissioner's use of county resources to invite county employees to pray with her.

The Carroll County Democratic Central Committee (CCDCC) has filed a formal complaint with the Carroll County Ethics Board, charging that Commissioner Robin Bartlett Frazier and County Clerk Shawn Reese violated the county ethics ordinance. In early May, Reese sent an email on Frazier's behalf inviting county employees to pray with her at 12:30 p.m. on Thursdays in the county office building. The organization is asking the Ethics Board to request that Frazier postpone the first scheduled "prayer time" on June 7 until the "issue is resolved." Commissioner Doug Howard initially voiced reservations about Frazier's use of the county email system for non-business communications. Then last week Howard said that disciplining Frazier is not "within…

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(Update) Carroll Commissioners Object To State-Mandated 'Driveway Tax'

Two of Carroll County's commissioners object to "attack on the middle class" and State Delegate Justin Ready agrees.

This article was updated at 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24 with Delegate Justin Ready's comments at the end. Commissioners Richard Rothschild and Robin Frazier encouraged Maryland Association of Counties (MACO) members to take a position against a bill that would require counties to collect what Rothschild calls a "driveway tax." The bill, HB 987/SB614, would require counties to place a tax or fees on residential impervious surfaces like concrete and asphalt, and stormwater management projects. Rothschild reported at Thursday's open Board of Carroll County Commissioners meeting that there was a heated discussion over the bill at the MACO meeting in Annapolis on Wednesday.  "This is at attack on the middle class, an attack on detached single family…

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Carroll County Commissioner Agenda Jan. 24 through Jan. 28

On Thursday, Jan. 26 the Board of Commissioners will vote on the Carroll County Regional Airport expansion.

This weekly agenda is subject to change. Please call 410-386-2043 to confirm a meeting you plan to attend. All meetings will be held at the Carroll County Office Building Room 311. (Unless otherwise noted)   Tuesday, Jan. 24 9 a.m.: Closed--Board of County Commissioners/Cabinet Meeting 10 a.m.: Closed--Administrative Session 1:30 p.m.: Board of County Commissioners Open Session, County Office Building, Room 311 Wednesday, Jan. 25 8 a.m.: Industrial Development Authority Meeting, County Office Building, Room 105. Will be attended by Commissioners Howard, Rothschild, Roush, Frazier & Shoemaker 10 a.m.: Maryland Association of Counties Legislative Committee Meeting, Annapolis. Will be attended by Commissioners Rothschild & Frazier. 1 p.m.: …

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POLL: Most Significant County Commissioner Decisions in 2011?

We know you love to weigh in on the county commissioners, so let us know what you think about their first year in office.

The Carroll County commissioners are approaching the end of their first year in office. If nothing else, their decisions have spurred much discussion and controversy. Patch has chosen just a sampling of the decisions made by the commissioners in the past 11 months, there were certainly many more than what we have posted in our poll. So weigh in on the poll and use the comment box below to discuss other important decisions that were made, or not made, by Commissioners Doug Howard, Richard Rothschild, Robin Frazier, Haven Shoemaker and Dave Roush. Want some background on decisions that we have included in our poll? Here are some articles that have appeared on Patch: Carroll County Commissioners Deny Education Budget Being Cut This article …

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Robert Armstrong

12:10 pm on Thursday, November 24, 2011

Spending $32,000 to bring a fake British Lord to a Flat Earth conference has to rank #1.   more ›