The Republican minority of the Anne Arundel County Council called for an end to County Executive Steuart Pittman’s coronavirus-related emergency powers at Monday’s council meeting and pushed for the full reopening of churches and businesses under state rules.
Councilman Nathan Volke, R-Pasadena, and his two Republican colleagues introduced a bill that would limit Pittman’s powers. They also introduced a resolution calling for the county executive to open businesses and churches to the same extent authorized under Gov. Larry Hogan’s recent rules on reopening Maryland. Their resolution failed with a party-line vote after nearly two hours of debate.
The passage of the emergency bill stripping Pittman’s powers will require a supermajority vote when it comes back at an emergency session at 9 a.m. Friday.
Pittman has scaled back the county’s reopening, saying health data shows the county isn’t ready as the number of coronavirus cases climb and more county residents have died.
Health Officer Nilesh Kalyanaraman said the county does not quite meet metrics for reopening and did not speak in support of the resolution to align reopening with the governor’s permissions. Data over the next few weeks will indicate what steps are safe to take next, he said, but “Our goal is to recover.”
The bill removing Pittman’s emergency powers was introduced to the council, which has a Democratic majority, Monday night. Volke’s fellow Republicans — Councilwomen Jessica Haire and Amanda Fiedler — also have been frustrated by the slower reopening. The three Republicans will have to convince two Democrats to join them if they want to scale back the authority.
“It’s hard to adequately express my frustration and disagreement with the County Executive’s decision to be more restrictive than Governor Hogan in re-opening Anne Arundel County,” Volke wrote in a Facebook post announcing the plans.
Though Hogan’s most recent move toward reopening gave churches and retail stores the ability to open at 50% capacity with social distancing protocols, he also pushed the choice to local jurisdictions to decide whether communities were ready for this step.
Pittman gave nonessential retail businesses the green light to begin providing curbside pick-up and delivery options and said that hair salons and barbershops could operate on an appointment-only basis. Where Hogan gave churches to open up at 50% capacity — the only exception to the 10 person gathering limit — Pittman has kept to the governor’s March restrictions.
Under those, no more than 10 people “inside the religious facility” during a given gathering, including clergy, staff and participants, and that those in attendance must maintain a distance of 6 feet between themselves and others present throughout the gathering.
The decision to restrict opening was decried by the Republicans on the council, who tried to call for the county to be brought up to speed with state allowances Monday night. Members of both parties shared stories of suffering and fear they had heard from constituents. Volke particularly advocated for small businesses to be open: “Walmart didn’t call me. Lowe’s didn’t call me. Home Depot didn’t call me.”
He implored his colleagues to consider that residents should be able to freely practice their faith traditions and earn money for their families: “If that’s me playing politics, then I’m going to do it every day, all day for the citizens of this county because it’s the right thing to do."
Still, the three were unsuccessful. Democratic councilmembers voted against the resolution, arguing for the prioritization of public health metrics in the decision making, and many called attention to the potential economic risks of a second surge in the county, which could hurt vulnerable business owners and employees.
A debate and a vote on whether to remove Pittman’s emergency powers are still forthcoming. To remove them would mean that he would not be able to make decisions without the approval of the council anymore. There are seven explicit powers laid out in the county code including the ability to impose a curfew, and the ability to close liquor stores or establishments or the closure of any store that sells guns.
An eighth power grants him “any other measures imminently necessary for the protection of life and property in the county.”
Volke said he thinks these powers came out of riots that took place more than 50 years ago. But decisions about how the county reopens would be better made in conjunction with the council, which he said is an equal branch of government and would maintain a check on the administration. The bill would terminate Pittman’s emergency powers at noon on Saturday.
The code gives the executive with the powers for a reason, Pittman’s senior adviser Chris Trumbauer said.
“The executive branch is equipped to be able to react quickly and make decisions in an emergency,” he said.
He said the administration has worked to keep councilmembers informed and solicit input from them, but that the executive branch should make the decisions. This is not just true of Anne Arundel, he said, but it also happens at the state level where the governor has broad executive power.
Pittman announced Monday that he has assembled a coronavirus recovery workgroup to advise him throughout the slow process of reopening the economy.
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His advisory group will be made up of the following members:
- Health Officer Nilesh Kalyanaraman.
- Councilwoman Amanda Fiedler, R-Arnold.
- Councilman Andrew Pruski, D-Gambrills.
- Sherry Perkins, president and CEO of Anne Arundel Medical Center.
- Karen Olscamp, president and CEO of Baltimore Washington Medical Center.
- Alissa Santoro, Crofton Chamber of Commerce.
- Bishop Antonio Palmer, Kingdom Celebration Center
- Donna S. Edwards, president of the Maryland State and D.C. AFL-CIO, a regional labor union
- Eric Devito, chair of the board of directors. Anne Arundel County Economic Development Corp.
“Here in Anne Arundel I will not allow politics to interfere with our work to save lives,” Pittman wrote in an op-ed in The Capital. “I will, however, engage in dialogue with those who disagree with our approach.”
Assisted living measure
The council also heard a bill From Volke that would change the way assisted living facilities and other congregate housing facilities are regulated in the county.
It would categorize these facilities depending on how many residents they house, which would determine whether the facilities could be built next to each other. The bill was amended Monday, so it will go before the council again at its next meeting.
The bill solicited 83 testimony submissions — 53 of which were in support. Due to the volume of the submissions, only the first 50 submissions were read during the meeting. Many residents expressed concern about how this bill would impact state-certified recovery residences within the county and might prompt the opening of uncertified facilities in the county.
All testimony will be posted on the county website after the meeting.
The council also discussed property tax rates in the county, and whether the proposed decrease to the rate in the county will actually result in lower tax bills for residents. The council will set the tax rate at a 9 a.m. meeting on June 12.
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This story has been updated to correct the current restriction on churches in Anne Arundel County. No more than 10 people “inside the religious facility” during a given gathering, including clergy, staff and participants, and that those in attendance must maintain a distance of 6 feet between themselves and others present throughout the gathering.