Local government should provide solutions, not create problems, County Executive Charles I. Ecker told a crowd of about 500 last night at his swearing-in at Glenelg High School.
Mr. Ecker used the occasion of his swearing-in and that of the five new council members to outline his legislative agenda for the next four years.
"We will continue to value education, safety and health -- not just for today, but for future generations," he said. "We will continue -- to be fiscally responsible, living within our means."
He thanked residents for their "patience and support" during the fiscal problems of the last four years, but said there is still much to do, including "completion of a comprehensive transportation plan and implementation of a long-range plan for solid waste disposal."
Earlier yesterday, Mr. Ecker, who joined J. Hugh Nichols as the only executive in county history to win re-election, said he hoped to get a transportation plan dealing with mass transit and the county road network before the council in "late spring or early summer."
Resolving the county's long-term trash disposal problem may take longer, he said. Mr. Ecker is hoping for a regional solution, but pointed out that "there are three new players" in the region -- new county executives in Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Prince George's counties.
"Howard County is not an island," he said last night. "Howard County must learn to think and act regionally."
He also called attention to the county's internal needs -- housing opportunities for police, teachers and fire-fighters; and removal of "obsolete rules and regulations" from the county bureaucracy.
"We need to expect more of ourselves and each other," Mr. Ecker said. "It is our responsibility to use our collective creativity to provide collective solutions."
At the end of his speech, Mr. Ecker received sustained, standing applause from the audience.
Earlier, incoming council members shared their appreciation for friends, family and campaign workers who had helped bring them to this day, offering a litany of what Democrat Mary C. Lorsung called "simple thank-yous."
Republican Darrel Drown said he had not planned to mention the fact that the GOP has a majority on the five-member council for the first time in county history, but it just felt too good not to.
Democrat C. Vernon Gray jokingly reminded Mr. Drown that having a majority doesn't necessary mean having votes. Mr. Gray, who is beginning a record fourth term on the council, noted that Mr. Drown, who is beginning his second term, had not always voted the way the Republican Mr. Ecker wanted in the last four years.
Newcomer Dennis R. Schrader, whose election gave the GOP a council majority, said "there is no greater privilege than to serve your fellow citizens" as an elected official. The challenge for this council and this administration, he said, is to provide "high quality service in a cost-effective way."
It was a theme expected to be repeated often in the next four years. Just yesterday, the county's spending and affordability committee met to review a final draft of what is expected to be another dour report to the executive and the council later this month. The anticipated bottom line -- not enough money to go around.
Neither Mr. Ecker nor Republican Charles C. Feaga, who will become council chairman tonight, expect to propose a tax increase, however. They plan to trim government instead.
Every branch of government is expected to feel the pinch, but the school system is likely to find the budget process more difficult than ever. In the past, the council would restore some or all that the executive cut from the school budget -- something unlikely this year.
"I don't think we should be involved in curriculum," Mr. Feaga warned yesterday afternoon, "but [the school board] is not going to get a blank check either. They're going to have to live with some limitations."
Among those are limits on funding for any new schools similar to the new River Hill High School, which Mr. Feaga described as an Ivy League-type campus, saying, "I'm not sure we can afford that type building in the future."
Mr. Feaga hopes to begin his budget-trimming with the council tomorrow when he is expected to ask council members to limit the amount they spend on travel and mobile telephone service. "I think we could set a good example by restricting the amount of taxpayers' money we spend on these things," he said.