Evening star., 1952-10-31
PRO.


opposing states:
PRO.
A vote for creation of a Charter
Board does not commit the voter
or the county to anything. 1t,
simply commits the board to hard
work for six months, without pay
or expense account.
The board would have no power
to change anything. 1t would have
no part in governing the county
if a. charter is approved. If the
voter is in doubt or is uninformed.
he should vote to create the board
and see. at least, what it has toI
offer. If he doesn't like the boards
charter, he can vote against it
in 1854.
The opposition is raising the
question of a threat to the two
party system to confuse the issue. ]
There is no movement for nom
partisan form of government in
Prince Georges. Most of the lead-
ers of the charter movement are
active Democrats and Republicans
in favor of the two-party system.
Must Bear Party Labels.
The Lindsay Act prohibits nom
partisan county elections and the
courts have held that county
candidates must bear party labels.
The State Constitution requires
the Charter Board to be elected
on a nonpartisan basis. This is
because nominations are made by
Ipetition or by the county COM
missioners. It also permits the
movement for home rule to- be BIZ
partisan, but once a charter. is
adopted, the bipartisanship would
come to an end. IS
Under a charter the governing
body would be a County C0uncii1
with powers to pass laws pertain-|
ing Yto county government.
At present the responsibility for1
county government is divided be-
tween the County Commissioners
and the county's delegation to thel
General Assembly. H.. a
When something goes fNrone
it is not always possible to point
Ito the group that is to blame.
Each can pass the buck to e.
other. This cleavage is more acute
when the groups represent differ
ent political parties. X
The county should have gov
erning body that could be held
solely responsible for government
Iand that body should be given
the means of fulfilling its res
possibility. J,
Town Councils Powers Strong.
Each of the Incorporated towns
has a charter. The Town Coun-
ellis have broad law-making
powers. such as that of enacting
ordinances. The county govern
Iment is almost totally lacking in
these powers. Residents of towns
have large measure of home rule
which county residents do, not
have.
Statewide problems do not
permit the legislative delegation
at Annapolis to give the time to
local matters which was possible
in the past. Rapid changes in the
county have increased the need
for legislative attention to local
problems.
The legislative delegation has
no fixed public meeting place in
the county. A County Council,
like the present county COM
missioners, would meet regularly
and citizens would know where to
take their problems.
Opponents say the fault with q
County Council would be that it
would make the laws and also
have executive powers. But town
councils already do this. The
tendency is toward consolidation
of local governments. The Sobol-
off Commission says, Home rule
has become the most acceptable
answer to the local legislative
problem.
The issue of a county manager
at this time is q smokescreen
raised by opponents. There is no
direct connection between, home
rule and a manager. Baltimore OBJ
tanned charter in 1918 under the
same provision Of the Maryland
Constitution yet never has had q
manager.
Provision Already in Law. ,,.
There already is provision in the
present law for a manager. There
would be no provision for q man.
ager by the Citizens Committee
slate if most Of the people don't
want one. Furthermore, if the
board provides for a manager, the
voters still can kill, the plan in
1854.
The question of taxes Is another
smoke screen. A home-r1lle char
ter viii provide the means for Civ
ing more efficient government for
the same tax dollar. The amount
spent and the resultant tax rate
depend entirely upon the people
elected to the County Council.
This is true with the commits
sloners now. Citing Montgomery
County's tax rate is a false issue.
1t is inconsistent THAI Charter
Board candidates who are opposed
4 to charter should ask to be the
ones to draft such plan. Only
those who believe in a charter
should be elected to the board to
draft it If you don't like what
they have to offer. vote against it
two years from now.