Making Columbia an incorporated city must offer residents concrete benefits to gain their support, the mayor of Bowie and the leader of an incorporation drive on the Eastern Shore told leaders of the Columbia movement last night.
"One thing you have to think about is what are the advantages you can clearly articulate? What's in it for [residents]?" Bowie's mayor, Gary G. Allen, told 10 Columbia Municipal League Inc. members at an organizational meeting.
"It has to go beyond being cheaper" because costs will depend on future demands for services, said the part-time mayor of the Prince George's County city of 42,000.
Richard Jarenski, leader of a 4-year-old movement to incorporate Kent Island, a community of 14,000 just across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, advised the group to avoid forming a government "just to form a government. In my opinion, that's going to lose. It doesn't sell."
He recommended assuming planning and zoning powers because growth typically ranks just behind police protection among citizens' concerns.
The Columbia Municipal League is struggling to answer complex logistical, financial and legal questions involved in changing Columbia into a city with a government, as it continues collecting petition signatures to put the issue on the ballot as a referendum.
Critics have charged that the incorporation group's plan is too vague. But leaders of the movement say details will be developed as the league receives more comments from residents and begins negotiating with the county and writing a charter.
The group also hopes to commission an independent study of the effects of incorporating.
The group's goal is to create a more open, accountable, cheaper and democratic city government to replace the private, nonprofit Columbia Association, the main administrative body in the unincorporated community of 82,000 residents.
The group invited the two guests to share their thoughts on the advantages of city government and how to mount a successful campaign to incorporate.
In Kent Island's case, Mr. Jarenski said he supports incorporation because he believes residents can protect their interests and plan for future development better than Queen Anne's county government.
Mr. Allen said Bowie residents have a greater sense of control over local affairs.
For example, he said, the city has contracted with four police officers to patrol the city to supplement county police protection.
In Columbia, however, the issue revolves more around replacing a corporate-style of governance with a huge homeowners association than dissatisfaction with county services.
Mr. Allen and Mr. Jarenski both advised against creating a system in which a government and the Columbia Association would co-exist and charge residents for services. They recommended including the legal question of whether CA could be dissolved in the independent study.
Bowie has a part-time mayor and city council, elected at-large in nonpartisan elections.
A city manager runs the day-to-day government, which has a $16 million budget, half Columbia's $32 million budget.
The owner of a $150,000 Bowie home pays $438 in city taxes, and receives a rebate on county taxes because the city picks up some services, the mayor said. The owner of a $150,000 home in Columbia pays $547 annually to CA and a higher county tax rate.
CA oversees recreational facilities, community programs and parkland at the direction of an elected council, while much of Bowie's budget is devoted to trash and recycling collections and road maintenance.
Mr. Jarenski cautioned Columbia Municipal League members to shrug off inevitable criticisms and personal attacks, saying his motives have constantly been questioned.
"Your efforts are great, they're humane," he said. "I'm doing it because I think it's right for the people, and I'm sure you are also."