The Carroll County Charter Board approved, by a 6-2 vote, a recommendation that the commissioners hire a consultant for "technical expertise and support services" in drafting a charter.
The board, charged with writing a charter for Carroll residents to vote on, wants assistance from the University of Maryland's Institute of Governmental Service. The cost is about $4,000.
The board was notified last week that the commissioners were not in favor of hiring a consultant and had full confidence a draft wouldbe done by November.
But some charter board members said IGS, as the service is known, would better help the panel meet the November deadline.
Commissioners have emphasized they want the proposed charter on the November ballot because voters tend to turn out at the polls in larger numbers for a presidential election.
Two charter board members, Joseph Getty and Richard Yates, voted against the recommendation. Board co-chairman Walter Bay abstained.
Getty said he had confidence the nine-member board could draft a charter by November.
Neal W. Powell said the consultant would prove beneficial not only in helping with technical matters but in the "gargantuan" task of compiling a charter index.
"IGS can do that," he said.
Some members warned that meeting the November deadline may be difficult without the consultant's assistance. Hiring a consultant would be money better spent than holding a special election on the charter, members said.The cost of a special election was estimated at about $50,000.
The institute has assisted every Maryland county that has drafted a charter since the mid-1960s, and provided free help to the Carroll groupwith its initial efforts to gather information.
In other matters,the board also voted to ask the county to continue to have one of its attorneys present at the weekly meetings for legal advice and otherassistance. The board also wants help in recording meetings.
APPEAL DENIED
The state Board of Education has denied an appeal from the principal of Carroll's vo-tech school to bring his salary in line with the heads of the county's five high schools.
Robert Gebhart, Carroll County Career and Technology Center principal, pleaded his case before the 11-member state board in December after both the Carroll school board and an administrative law judge denied his request.
Gebhart, who announced his retirement this month, said he would not appeal the decision. He said he wasn't interested in the money, but in the principle.
Although the vo-tech school is smaller than any of the county's high schools, Gebhart maintained that the duties and responsibilities were very similar.
The principals of the county's high schools are paid according to the district's 16-step scale for administrators and supervisors. Their wages are partly based on the school's staff size.
Gebhart, who has served as vo-tech principal since1977, receives an annual salary of $64,119, which includes compensation for longevity. Base salary for the vo-tech principal is between $43,589 and $58,740. Other base salaries for high school principals range from $45,591 to $62,748 yearly.
NO PAY-PER-VIEW OLYMPICS
Citing complications with applying for access channels, Prestige Cable TV Inc.'s general manager Bill Bethune said the firm won't be offering pay-per-view Olympics coverage this summer.
The decision comes after the county's cable television committee reluctantly agreed to allowthe company to borrow unused community access channels.
Bethune says arrangements with NBC for summer Olympics coverage must be made this week, but the channel-borrowing application process is too complicated to be completed by then.
Regulations require Prestige pay anapplication fee and indicate the length of time the channels will beborrowed, the cost to the operator for programming, the proposed cost to the subscriber, market studies showing demand, a statement releasing the county and municipalities from liability and information used to decide to provide this particular service.
County Attorney Charles W. "Chuck" Thompson Jr. has said the committee is requesting the information to help consumers decide if they want to take the additional services.
EDUCATION NEEDED
County officials have tapped members of the Recycling Committee to help educate the public about the county's plans to begin curbside recycling July 1.
With a county recycling plan taking shape, committee members were uncertain about their future role.
But members have been asked to help distribute cards containing information about curbside recycling to residents throughout Carroll.
Members also will be tapped to speak before community organizations about curbside recycling.
Under the commissioners' recently approved program, recycling will be mandatory for all households, businesses and any activities generating recyclable waste.
HEALTH BUDGET IS AIRED
While county mental health and drug treatmentofficials are waiting to see what kind of budgets they will have forthe fiscal year beginning July 1, the county Mental Health and Drug Advisory Committee heard a presentation on formulating the 1993 budget.
The presentation was made by Oscar Morgan, the state's regionalmental hygiene officer for Carroll, who explained that most of the effort by the department will be to restore money that was cut from the budget this fiscal year.
"The big chunk of money will correctly be used to fund programs that were under-funded this past year," saidHoward Held, county Mental Health Bureau director.
In addition, the department is going to add $4 million that will be directed towardcommunity programs to reduce hospitalization and prevent rehospitalization, according to Morgan.
Most of the meeting reviewed the steps and procedures the health budget must go through before the final version is presented to the governor.
CCC STATE AID IS LOW
DATELINE: WESTMINSTER
WESTMINSTER -- Until Carroll Community College becomes independent of Catonsville Community College, it is receiving over $860,000 less each year from the state than it would as an autonomous school, said Alan Schuman, the college's budget director.
Schuman presented an analysis of state revenue to the college at a meeting of the college's advisory board Thursday night.
The state has historically provided money through a different formula for small community colleges such as in Cecil, Garrett and other counties, to make up forthe relatively high cost of running a small institution, Schuman said.
Carroll, however, has received its aid as part of Catonsville Community College, a much larger institution. The college is in the process of becoming an independent community college, and a task force is exploring the issues of accreditation, funding and administration.
Executive Dean Joseph F. Shields said that while the state doesn't recognize Carroll Community College as an independent school for subsidy purposes, it does have the legislative authority to build buildings.
Construction is to start April 30 on a new multipurpose building. A library will follow.
The county commissioners are to vote on a bid for $3 million from Lake Falls Construction of Baltimore forthe multipurpose building.
The county is to pay for the new building, which will have eight classrooms, two computer labs, a science lab, faculty offices and a maintenance shop.
Lake Falls built the existing classroom building.
CLARIFICATION
Neil Ridgely, who resigned from the Forest Conservation Subcommittee on Tuesday, is the county landscaping and forest conservation plans reviewer.