Harford County Executive David Craig has been acquiring a lot of new friends lately, as in every municipal elected official in the county.
When you have a large budget surplus, as the county government does, and the municipalities have a number of expensive needs, why wouldn't Craig be a friend — indeed?
Fortunately for the municipal folks, Craig understands their plight, having served as a mayor and city councilman in his native Havre de Grace before becoming county executive two and a half years ago.
He also understands the municipalities have two places to go begging when they need money, the county or the state. The alternative, of course, is to raise municipal taxes. From his own experiences at the county level — and as a state legislator — Craig knows the state isn't giving up anything to the locals. As for raising taxes, just look what that did for the last mayor of Aberdeen.
So, the municipalities have come to Craig with their collective hands out. Bel Air wants some resolution to its downtown parking issues, which are in part caused by the county government's major presence in town. All three municipalities want the county to help they fund a conversion of their police pension plans to a state system which provides more generous benefits. Aberdeen is hoping the county help it solve its water supply needs.
Craig has been listening. He recently met with Bel Air representatives about the parking situation. He's listened to County Councilman Jim McMahan make a pitch on behalf of the municipalities for the police pension money. He's had meetings with Aberdeen's new mayor Mike Bennett about water and other infrastructure issues facing the city.
He's had meetings, but he hasn't said "yes" to anything that would obligate the county to spending money. Craig pointed out Thursday he is very understanding of what the municipal folks want. He also pointed out that, as county executive, he has a lot more peoples' needs to look out for than just those inside the corporate boundaries of Aberdeen, Bel Air and Havre de Grace.
This doesn't mean Craig is unwilling to help. He's just taking his time and listening. Sometime between now and the submission of his new budget to the county council, which is due April 1, Craig may have a few things to say about the county government's future relationships with the three municipalities.
The municipalities have Craig's ear, but he's got all the marbles. Any guess who sets the rules?
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