Permitting Fees at Last Year's Rates to Encourage Business Friendly Climate

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FREDERICK, MD – Frederick County permitting fees were due to automatically increase as of July 1 by 3.2 percent to keep pace with inflation this year. But, with business-friendly goals of utmost concern to the Frederick Board of County Commissioners, the board recently chose to keep rates the same as last year.

The board also agreed to clarify fee schedule policies in the Community Development Division to provide clarity and consistency with other regulatory issues in the Department of Permits and Inspections. It establishes, eliminates and/or clarifies other fees for certain approvals that are a result of new or modified planning and development review approval processes and also incorporates comprehensive planning and zoning fees into the fee schedule to coincide with the division’s reorganization last year.

Key changes in the fee schedule include the clarification to the “agricultural buildings” definition to be consistent with the building code; establishing of a “minimum permit” fee instead of a “per square foot” charge, and elimination of the fire code revision fee charged for additional plan reviews. In addition, the board will exempt the county’s capital improvement program from payment of the fees in accordance with its strategic goal to “consider eliminating review fees for county capital projects.”

Board President Blaine Young commented, “We believe that holding the permitting fees at the same rate is good for business, and what is good for business is good for Frederick County. The decisions the board has made are part of our strategic goals to consider proposals to reduce, alter or eliminate rules and regulations to help improve county processes.

“We commend our employees for working diligently to help businesses more easily and efficiently navigate their way through the process. We welcome continued feedback from our citizens -- from the homeowner to the large business to the small business.”

At the beginning of their term in office, the Frederick Board of County Commissioners initiated a review of over 200 recommended changes to rules and regulations as part of their goal to improve the “business friendly” atmosphere in Frederick County, and have made good progress toward completion.

The items on the “business friendly action items” list were proposed after meetings with officials from the former Permitting and Development Review and Economic Development Divisions and members of the Frederick Chamber of Commerce, Frederick County Builders Association, commercial business representatives and many other stakeholders.

The changes coincide with the Board of County Commissioners’ proposed Strategic Plan goal of providing improved predictability for businesses. The goal states that “Frederick County needs to implement predictability in the business community in order to reduce inefficiencies, allow cost control, provide an effective process and increase understanding in daily business processes within Frederick County Government.”

For further information, visit www.FrederickCountyMD.gov/permits or contact Director Gary Hessong, Permits and Inspections Department, at 301-600-1172 or via e-mail at ghessong@FrederickCountyMD.gov.

Red Maryland Network Live Show from MDGOP Convention

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The Red Maryland Network will be broadcasting live from the Strategic Victory Consulting hospitality suite at the MDGOP Convention this Friday Night.
Jimmy Braswell, Brian Griffiths, Greg Kline, Andrew Langer, Andi Mornoy, and Mark Newgent will live on the air with our friend Hillary Foster Pennington from Strategic Victory Consulting.
This event will be THE place to be Friday night. 
We'll be interviewing special guests like Dan Bongino  and other elected officials.
Free food and drink.  
What: Red Maryland Network Live from MDGOPWhen: Friday November 30, 9pmWhere: Turf Valley, 2700 Turf Valley Rd. Ellicott City MD, Room 707 

RSVP on our Facebook Event Page

Making a case for real job growth in Maryland

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As we have discussed many times on this blog, while the Maryland Democrat machine likes to brag about the rosy jobs picture in Maryland the truth is Maryland private sector job growth lags behind many of our neighbors and our state's economy is precariously dependent upon government hiring, especially from the federal government.  Few of us doubt that a day of reckoning is coming where unsustainable federal spending will be curtailed.  When this happens, Maryland will need to rely on its private sector or face even more staggering unemployment.
With this grim future in mind, our friends over at Change Maryland have a new report suggesting real solutions regarding increasing private sector job growth in Maryland and common sense proposals to making Maryland more attractive to businesses. You can read the whole report here.

As Change Maryland founder Larry Hogan notes one of the main problems with Maryland's efforts at economic development is that Maryland's Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED) is dysfunctional and "instead of attracting jobs, our economic development effort mission creeps into a marketing function for the Governor".
The Change Maryland proposals focus on reforming DBED in three critical areas: 1) Increase Transparency; 2) Measure Internal Performance and 3) Reorganize to Attract Jobs.  Among the specific recommendations the group suggests: the state honestly report economic conditions rather than cherry pick economic data (a source of previous contentions between Change Maryland and the Governor); simplify the Maryland StateStat reporting for DBED operations to make it more accessible to the wider business community; and reorganize the staff at DBED which currently has twice as many employees involved in "marketing and communications" than in "business development".
Again, I urge you to visit the Change Maryland website and read this report in its entirety.
When you do, you will see common sense policy solutions to a real and looming problem in our state.  This is not a partisan problem and the solutions proposed are not partisan either.  It is refreshing to see intelligent ideas that can solve Maryland's problems.  Too bad those in control in Annapolis are beyond such petty concerns.
But 2014 is coming.

Red Maryland Radio: 11/29/2012

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It was another must-listen episode of Red Maryland Radio this week.

Listen to internet radio with redmaryland on Blog Talk Radio


On the show:

• Another look at this weekend's Maryland Republican Party convention and the future of Chairman Alex Mooney.
• We discuss the Change Maryland report about DBED and job creation.
• We'll also be discussing the results of the recent Red Maryland gubernatorial poll, which saw Dan Bongino outpace other potential Republican candidates.

All that and more this week. Be sure to listen every Thursday night at 8, on the Red Maryland Network.......and don't forget that you can subscribe to the Red Maryland Network on iTunes. 

Mooney Spent MDGOP Resources on Candidate Who Left Party After Winning Election

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According to a report in the Cecil Times blog, Cecil County’s newly elected, County Executive, Tari Moore changed her party affiliation on Thursday afternoon from Republican to unaffiliated.  
Moore is Cecil County’s first ever executive under the new charter government, approved by voters in 2010.
Moore sent an email to the Cecil Times stating:

"Today I filed with the County Board of Elections to change my voter affiliation to one who is unaffiliated with any political party.

"I have done so only after long and careful consideration, and because I believe that the best interests of all Cecil County citizens should outweigh my own personal preferences in this matter.”

An official with the Cecil County Board of Elections confirmed Moore's switch.

Moore stated she would explain her party switch after she is sworn in on Monday.During the election, the Maryland Republican Party sent a mailer officially supporting Moore and two other candidates for county council, Robert Hodge and Alan McCarthy.Moore is vacating her seat on the current board of commissioners to take the county executive spot.  Under the new charter government, the county council would select Moore's replacement from a list of three names provided by the Cecil County Republican Central Committee.  However, Moore's switch to unaffiliated creates some controversy.  

The new county charter requires the county council to appoint a replacement by majority vote, and if the member vacating the office is a member of a political party, then the council must select from a list of three candidates provided by that party's central committee.  Moore's switch cuts out the Cecil County Republican Central Committee out the process.  Also, as explained by the Cecil Times factional politics in the council would most likely result in a deadlocked vote on Moore's replacement.  Then, according, the the charter, if the council does not appoint a replacement within thirty days, Moore as county executive would get to name her replacement.  Given her switch to unaffiliated, there is no guarantee Moore would select a Republican to replace her. 

Andy Harris, Nancy Jacobs, and several conservative and Republican organizations all endorsed Moore during the primary.Congratulations Alex Mooney, you spent state party resources supporting a candidate who ended up leaving the Republican party, and embarrassing a lot of people, after she was elected, losing what would have been a Republican controlled county government. 

Looks like Mooney found a way to snatch defeat from one of the rare victories Republicans could claim this election cycle. 


MDGOP Cecil County Mailer

Permitting Fees at Last Year's Rates to Encourage Business Friendly Climate

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FREDERICK, MD – Frederick County permitting fees were due to automatically increase as of July 1 by 3.2 percent to keep pace with inflation this year. But, with business-friendly goals of utmost concern to the Frederick Board of County Commissioners, the board recently chose to keep rates the same as last year.

The board also agreed to clarify fee schedule policies in the Community Development Division to provide clarity and consistency with other regulatory issues in the Department of Permits and Inspections. It establishes, eliminates and/or clarifies other fees for certain approvals that are a result of new or modified planning and development review approval processes and also incorporates comprehensive planning and zoning fees into the fee schedule to coincide with the division’s reorganization last year.

Key changes in the fee schedule include the clarification to the “agricultural buildings” definition to be consistent with the building code; establishing of a “minimum permit” fee instead of a “per square foot” charge, and elimination of the fire code revision fee charged for additional plan reviews. In addition, the board will exempt the county’s capital improvement program from payment of the fees in accordance with its strategic goal to “consider eliminating review fees for county capital projects.”

Board President Blaine Young commented, “We believe that holding the permitting fees at the same rate is good for business, and what is good for business is good for Frederick County. The decisions the board has made are part of our strategic goals to consider proposals to reduce, alter or eliminate rules and regulations to help improve county processes.

“We commend our employees for working diligently to help businesses more easily and efficiently navigate their way through the process. We welcome continued feedback from our citizens -- from the homeowner to the large business to the small business.”

At the beginning of their term in office, the Frederick Board of County Commissioners initiated a review of over 200 recommended changes to rules and regulations as part of their goal to improve the “business friendly” atmosphere in Frederick County, and have made good progress toward completion.

The items on the “business friendly action items” list were proposed after meetings with officials from the former Permitting and Development Review and Economic Development Divisions and members of the Frederick Chamber of Commerce, Frederick County Builders Association, commercial business representatives and many other stakeholders.

The changes coincide with the Board of County Commissioners’ proposed Strategic Plan goal of providing improved predictability for businesses. The goal states that “Frederick County needs to implement predictability in the business community in order to reduce inefficiencies, allow cost control, provide an effective process and increase understanding in daily business processes within Frederick County Government.”

For further information, visit www.FrederickCountyMD.gov/permits or contact Director Gary Hessong, Permits and Inspections Department, at 301-600-1172 or via e-mail at ghessong@FrederickCountyMD.gov.

Today's Baltimore Sun Article

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In today's Baltimore Sun, there is an article listing the 89 Maryland facilities out of over 3000 nationwide that has purchased drugs from the New England Compounding Center since this past May.  This is the facility that is linked to the tainted steroid that has sickened over 300 with meningitis, resulting in the death of 23 people.   We have dealt with a number of inquires since the story first broke as to whether or not WMHS received drugs from this facility.  The article lists 89 facilities in Maryland; however,WMHS is not one of them.  WMHS did not purchase nor receive any drugs from this facility.  The Baltimore Sun article lists only one facility in Cumberland and it is not affiliated with WMHS.  A link to the article is attached.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-hs-meningitis-more-facilities-20121024,0,7512595.story

It's 32 Degrees Outside. Where's Your Coat?

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I am on  my way to work this AM and pass a school bus stop with high school aged students waiting for their bus.  What I found amazing was that none of them had a coat or jacket on; only one female was wearing a sweater and a thin one at that.  The boys were dressed in basketball shorts and t-shirts and the girls were dressed in jeans and shirts.  How can their parents let them out of the house like that when it's 32 degrees out?  Maybe I am just getting old. But it's freezing!  This was not a lower income neighborhood where affordability could be an issue, but a traditional middle- class neighborhood.  What I find amazing is that the elementary school kids waiting for the bus on days like this are bundled up with hats, coats and gloves; thank you mom and / or dad.  Middle school kids at least have on a jacket, but then there are the high school kids being COOL by having the least amount of clothes on as possible while waiting for the bus.  A minor issue for some, but how are we as health care providers supposed to keep families healthy and out of the hospital when parents allow or ignore what their high school aged kids are doing. I guess better this than a whole lot of other bad behaviors that high schoolers could be doing.
As I take a respite from blogging, have a blessed Thanksgiving and safe travels.

National Recognition

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In yesterday's national publication, AHA News, WMHS was recognized for our RN Transitionist Program.  This initiative was the brainchild of Dr. George Garrow, Chief Medical Officer, and Carol Everhart, Director of Care Coordination, at WMHS.  We now have two nurses dedicated to the program and they visit patients who will be going to a nursing home after discharge.  They coordinate their discharge between the hospital and the nursing home then visit the patient upon their arrival at the nursing home.  The RN then returns on subsequent days to ensure that the patient--now nursing home resident--remains well enough to stay in the nursing home and not be readmitted to the hospital.  Certainly if the resident needs to be readmitted, they are; however, through this program and improved coordination of the patient's discharge, nursing home readmissions have been reduced dramatically.  It is great when our efforts to keep people healthy and out of the hospital are recognized and especially when it is national recognition.  Thank you, Dr. Garrow and Carol. 

Healthcare Keeps Changing

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Yesterday through Rumor Control, I heard, according to at least one orthopedic surgeon, that WMHS is now putting restrictions on patients in need of orthopedic surgery.  I can assure you that any restrictions are not from WMHS –they are from those who eventually pay the bill for the surgery.  The payors, particularly Medicare, want to make sure that less invasive treatment and therapy are occurring before the surgeon and the hospital jump right to surgery.  Our orthopedic surgeons have always approached surgery very conservatively.  However, in order to show a robust demonstration of compliance, we now have to document medical necessity prior to surgery through a preoperative checklist.  We have to make sure that conservative treatments were tried and failed for at least 3 months before surgery is scheduled.  Again, this is a requirement of Medicare, not the WMHS administration. 
With all of the changes occurring in healthcare, we at WMHS have to do a better job of educating our physicians and staff as well as our patients.  There are now so many restrictions that are being leveled at hospitals and physicians by the various payors that we need full-time staff just to track the ever changing requirements, such as the medical necessity checklist for hip and knee surgery.I continue to be amazed at the ways in which the payors, especially Medicare, try to avoid paying providers for care that is delivered.  There are many changes initiated by Medicare that have improved the delivery of care, but there are some that haven't.  Stay tuned.

Cool Temperatures Can't Stop Weekly Business Visit

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Despite cool temperatures representatives from Frederick County Government and members from the Business Development Advisory Council were hosted by Catoctin Breeze Vineyard for a busines visit. Sherman Coleman and Colby Ferguson, both from the Business Development and Retention Division of Frederick County Government were also guests of Mr. Voytek Fizyta. The 24 acre vineyard has been in business for two years and was a dream of Mr. Fizyta when he arived in this country from Poland 31 years ago. Fizyta's grapes will be ready for harvesting later this year, but the Polish immigrant and electrical engineer has already made a variety of honey wines, traditionally known as Mead. The vineyard represents the ninth and newest Frederick County winery, and offers two table wines and three dessert wines.When Fizyta and his wife Alicja, looked to relocate from Potomac five years ago they immediately fell in love with the hilly terrain in Thurmont which provided the perfect spot for growing grapes because of the soil. Perched along hilly terrain, grapes get ample sunlight at Catoctin Breeze Winery. The constant breeze evaporates moisture which is a major problem for East Coast grape growers.The Fizytas outfitted their 1,200-square-foot basement to accommodate making wines. They expect their first significant harvest from the 2011 planting later this year. they are also planning to build a production facility on the premises in the near future. The business is licensed to sell wine directly to consumers and restaurants, using the company's website, www.catoctinbreeze.com

Mount St. Mary's University Roll Out Red Carpet For Business Visit

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MSM President Mr. Thomas H. Powell and Vice President for University Affairs Ms. Pauline A. Engelstatter rolled out the red carpet for a business visit for local County Officials. This visit was part of an ongoing program instituted by the Frederick County Board of County Commissioners to maintain open dialouge between the business community and County leadership. The President along with his Board members and Cabinet spoke of their 204th year history and how MSM is the largest seminary in the U.S.MSM is also the second oldest Catholic University in the U.S. President Powell expressed how happy he was to have a good relationship with the County. There have been many additions and improvements to the University that have been done by local businesses, many of whom are minority businesses. This is part of an ongoing effort to help support the local economy.The outlook for MSM looks bright with enrollment increasing every year. Often referred to as the "Cradle of Bishops" the Mount is home to the National Shrine Grottto of Lourdes. This tourist attraction brings over 100,000 visitors a year. MSM remains strongly commited to it's core values of: Faith, Discovery, Leadership and Community.For more information on Mount St. Mary's University, visit them at www.msu.edu

Permitting Fees at Last Year's Rates to Encourage Business Friendly Climate

To contact us Click HERE
FREDERICK, MD – Frederick County permitting fees were due to automatically increase as of July 1 by 3.2 percent to keep pace with inflation this year. But, with business-friendly goals of utmost concern to the Frederick Board of County Commissioners, the board recently chose to keep rates the same as last year.

The board also agreed to clarify fee schedule policies in the Community Development Division to provide clarity and consistency with other regulatory issues in the Department of Permits and Inspections. It establishes, eliminates and/or clarifies other fees for certain approvals that are a result of new or modified planning and development review approval processes and also incorporates comprehensive planning and zoning fees into the fee schedule to coincide with the division’s reorganization last year.

Key changes in the fee schedule include the clarification to the “agricultural buildings” definition to be consistent with the building code; establishing of a “minimum permit” fee instead of a “per square foot” charge, and elimination of the fire code revision fee charged for additional plan reviews. In addition, the board will exempt the county’s capital improvement program from payment of the fees in accordance with its strategic goal to “consider eliminating review fees for county capital projects.”

Board President Blaine Young commented, “We believe that holding the permitting fees at the same rate is good for business, and what is good for business is good for Frederick County. The decisions the board has made are part of our strategic goals to consider proposals to reduce, alter or eliminate rules and regulations to help improve county processes.

“We commend our employees for working diligently to help businesses more easily and efficiently navigate their way through the process. We welcome continued feedback from our citizens -- from the homeowner to the large business to the small business.”

At the beginning of their term in office, the Frederick Board of County Commissioners initiated a review of over 200 recommended changes to rules and regulations as part of their goal to improve the “business friendly” atmosphere in Frederick County, and have made good progress toward completion.

The items on the “business friendly action items” list were proposed after meetings with officials from the former Permitting and Development Review and Economic Development Divisions and members of the Frederick Chamber of Commerce, Frederick County Builders Association, commercial business representatives and many other stakeholders.

The changes coincide with the Board of County Commissioners’ proposed Strategic Plan goal of providing improved predictability for businesses. The goal states that “Frederick County needs to implement predictability in the business community in order to reduce inefficiencies, allow cost control, provide an effective process and increase understanding in daily business processes within Frederick County Government.”

For further information, visit www.FrederickCountyMD.gov/permits or contact Director Gary Hessong, Permits and Inspections Department, at 301-600-1172 or via e-mail at ghessong@FrederickCountyMD.gov.

Democrats pick gun & drug thug for vacant delegate seat; GOP silent

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Need I say more?

Apparently so.  The Prince George's Democratic Central Committee has nominated Greg Hall to fill the vacant delegate seat in district 24.

Hall, an associate of Democratic ex-con, ex-senator Tommie Broadwater, has a record of drug and gun offenses.  Hall was also originally charged with first degree murder as a participant in a street gun battle that killed an innocent 13 year old on his way home from church.  The murder charge was dropped when it was determined that the fatal bullet was fired by the other side of the gunfight.

Today the Prince George's Young Democrats are urging people to call the governor's office on Monday and demand finalization of Hall's appointment.

I have been searching, without success, to see if state or county Republican officials have made any public statement in opposition to Hall's appointment.

Apparently not.

Are our state and county Republicans officials comfortable with this appointment?  Do they favor replacing petty thief Alston with violent gun and drug thug Hall?

The party ran no Republican candidates for any of the district 24 delegate or senate seats in the last election.  Republican officials been silent regarding Hall's appointment, as they were about Tiffany Alston's conviction and removal from office.

Seems to me that the state and local Republican parties have once again ignored an opportunity to castigate Democratic corruption, offer an alternative, and call for honesty and integrity in state government.

So, why do we even bother pretending that there is a functioning Republican establishment in Maryland?

No Accountability for State Speed Camera Contractor at SHA

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Another negative legislative audit of the Maryland State Highway Administration found that the agency failed to ensure proper benchmarks were set for the state’s speed camera program for highway work zones, the wining speed camera contractor’s bid did not comply with certain request for proposal requirements, and tests of the speed camera monitoring system’s accuracy were not as comprehensive as SHA intended.
The audit also revealed additional serious problems at SHA.  The agency failed to properly calculate the maximum value of architectural and engineering contracts submitted for approval by the Board of Public Works, used contract fund balances to pay for work outside the scope of those contracts without BPW approval, extended contracts without BPW approval, and a SHA management employee managed a $5 million consulting contract with a firm where his spouse was a senior executive.
This is another damning audit for an already beleaguered agency, part of the Maryland Department of Transportation.  Earlier this month the Office of Legislative Audits released a report detailing how the MDOT Secretary’s office skirted state procurement laws.
According to the audit the speed camera pilot program called for benchmarks to evaluate contractor performance, however no benchmarks were established, such as the reliability and readability of photographed violations.  Between October 2009 and June 2010 the system recorded 133, 620 violations, yet only 44 percent of those were issued citations because SHA deemed them unreadable.
SHA awarded the operator of the pilot system the contract for the full Maryland SafeZone Program.  The pilot contractor was the only bidder in the RFP process.  However, the contractor’s proposal was not in compliance with the RFP requirements.  Specifically the audit cited:

At the time of the contract award and as of April 2012, the specific speed detection equipment (scanning LIDAR, a laser system) listed in the contractor’s proposal, and ultimately used, was not reported by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) as conforming to its guidelines, as required by the RFP. The contract required that all equipment conform with IACP’s speed detection equipment standards to provide assurance of its calibration and functionality. We were advised by a member of the IACP, who was also a SHA consultant, that the scanning laser technology used was new and that IACP had not yet developed performance standards by which the system could be judged. The October 26, 2009 RFP required that the proposed equipment record a legible image of the violating vehicle’s rear license plate 95 percent of the time, regardless of the time of day, environmental conditions, or vehicle positioning. However, in May 2010, during the bid evaluation process, this measure was changed to 90 percent, and we were advised by SHA management personnel that this was the result of the contractor asserting that it was unable to meet the 95 percent legibility measure.

Prior to awarding the contract, SHA used a consulting firm to conduct a system accuracy test of the contractor’s proposed equipment in an active highway work zone. However, the consulting firm deviated from SHA’s testing instructions and therefore, the basis for the conclusion that the equipment met performance requirements is questionable. For example, SHA directed the consulting firm to have test vehicles perform 40 test runs in which the contractor’s speed measuring equipment would be compared to two independent radars, one which was inside and one which was outside the vehicle. However, the consulting firm only conducted 18 test runs and only reported the results of 8 of those runs. Moreover, five of those eight reported runs were made using vehicles lacking independent interior radar, so the results could only be measured against one independent radar, rather than two as planned. Nevertheless, the consulting firm stated that the observed results fell within acceptable standards, and SHA’s technical evaluation team gave an overall “good” ranking of the contractor for the applicable bid evaluation attribute. SHA could not provide a reasonable explanation or documentation regarding why the tests were considered sufficient.

The report also found that the speed camera monitoring system did not undergo an independent calibration test as required by law, until nine months after the system began operations.


Read the full report below.  
SHA12