C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger bid farewell to the Baltimore County government yesterday, using a speech to employees and councilmen to highlight the roads that have been built, the schools remodeled, the businesses attracted and the parks developed in his two terms as executive.

He spoke for what will likely be his last time as executive in the council chambers where he has been attending meetings or presenting budgets for almost 18 years. Although he's excited to be going to Washington as a congressman, Ruppersberger said he will sorely miss the way a county executive can identify and solve problems on his own.

"You run the county, you're the president of the corporation, you set the policy and you make a difference," Ruppersberger said. "That's probably what I'm going to miss most."

When he came into office eight years ago, Ruppersberger promised a back-to-basics administration, and when he recounted his accomplishments yesterday, he didn't list any programs he had started but focused instead on what the county had built.

"We have done so many ribbon cuttings and groundbreakings that they're all starting to blur together, but I have to say they are among my favorite memories," he said. "They mean something is happening, and we had a lot happening during this administration."

As he went through a list of schools remodeled, old apartment complexes torn down, streets plowed and parks opened, he sounded like a boy with a toy truck and all of Baltimore County for his sandbox.

"I'll always remember the blizzard of '96 when our Public Works Department did a great job getting us moving again after that incredible storm," said Ruppersberger, 56. "I really loved riding those snowplows. I didn't know what I was doing, but it was fun."

Those who gathered to honor him yesterday said that Ruppersberger's best attributes as an executive were his focus on the basics, his constant emphasis on teamwork and his willingness to discuss anything with anyone at any time -- usually for longer than they cared to talk about it.

"There's nobody who's been more personable, that's for sure," said Arnold Jablon, director of the Department of Permits and Development Management and a veteran of four executives. "I think Dutch is a reincarnation of Will Rogers. He never met a man he didn't like. And who didn't like him."

True to his days as a star high school athlete, Ruppersberger plugged his "teammates" to the end, consciously avoiding the word "I" in favor of "we."

He praised the council for working cooperatively rather than competitively with him. He praised the county's legislative delegation for standing united as a team. He praised county department leaders and workers for pulling together on issues.

One of Ruppersberger's innovations was corralling the entire county legislative delegation -- Democrats and Republicans -- to push for the county's agenda on funding for schools and roads. "He was just a very sincere personality," said Councilman Kevin Kamenetz, a Pikesville Democrat. "He helped everyone feel we were working together toward something."

Council members praised Ruppersberger's energy and good will yesterday, saying he wanted to do what was right for Baltimore County and threw his full energy into the job.

"He was quick to react on any issue I brought to his attention," said Councilman Vincent J. Gardina, a Perry Hall Democrat. "That's something I'll miss and something the county will miss."

Ruppersberger said he was more excited when he won his county executive races than he was on Nov. 5, when he won the 2nd Congressional District seat in a race against Republican and former Rep. Helen Delich Bentley. But he said after a couple of weeks in Washington, he has been more enthusiastic about his new job.

Still, Councilman T. Bryan McIntire, a north county Republican, said Ruppersberger will not have as good a job. "What he'll miss is command. ... He won't have it in Congress," McIntire said. "He'll miss it, and he was very good at it."