Calvert Shores: Petition for Municipality Referendum Gets GO

[NorthBeachPerso]

If I may ...What services exactly would be "closer" that already aren't already being provided for by the county? Deputies? Like that would stop any crime. Has it stopped any crime in the beaches? The only thing a municipality in Lusby would be is an HOA on steroids with the acrimony, bitterness, backstabbing goings on that the current HOA structure already has. The only difference is that any policy/ordinance/rule voted on by a municipality and passed has the full force of law. The people behind this municipality push are deeply anal and want nothing better than to control the residents and impose their "vision" of how others should live, and to make them pay for it. Lusby, and CRE, is doing just fine without more expansive and expensive government.

You're right, police in many cases are report takers and not crime stoppers.

How many Deputies are patrolling the Ranch Club right now? Friday night at 6:15 or so? I know what the likely answer is. Zero.

What's the response time there if something happens right now? I know what it is here, under two minutes. Yours is 5 to 10 minutes (it depends on what's going on in Solomon's).

You're not going to like the following stuff. I don't care.

A municipality is eligible for FEMA disaster aid for hurricanes and other natural disasters, a POA doesn't get that. That's up to 75% of extraordinary expense.

It's also eligible for Community Legacy Block Grants (clubhouse?).

There are DNR grants for beach and pier work. The beach could be made into a profit center like they are up here. One complaint I hear often is that there's no really convenient public beach in South County.

A municipality can set up its own Zoning, which would include a commercial area. Something the County will never do for the POA.

I know there are vacation rentals in CRC. Right now the County collects (or should be) a 5% lodging tax that goes to it. A municipality would get 90% of that lodging tax back from Calvert. Now the POA gets zero.

There is CDBG money available for various projects, mostly related to alleviating blight. The POA can't get that money.

There is County recreation district money available for playgrounds, passive recreation, etc. that the POA can't really get now. That's a function of it being a private community.

There are probably a couple dozen other programs a municipality has access to which could significantly improve everyone's life down here which aren't available right now.

I don't have a dog in the fight, as I mentioned earlier I think having a 3rd municipality in the County will negatively impact the existing two. I can see a competition between them right now over Project Open Space money (which the County absolutely hates to give to the Towns even though they're required to by the State at the end of the day).

 

[LightRoasted]

If I may ...

You're not going to like the following stuff.

Doesn't matter if I do or not. All those amenities in CRE, the clubhouse, beaches, camp grounds, etc. are owned by the POA. A municipality will not, and therefore can not, control them or profit from them as you describe. Unless it is all sold to the municipality, and then, who values it? Two beaches with surrounding property, that's at least, what, several million? A huge lake with surrounding property. Acres and acres of community property. Where does the money come from? Who gets the money? Doesn't matter, it's all pie in the sky anyway. With a municipality, freedoms are replaced with permissions and fees, dictates and ordinances, for the benefit of the few.

And improve everyone's life you say? At what cost? And I'm not just referring to monetarily. I refer to a heavier tax burden. More regulation, rules, fees, stress, etc. Where at present, things are going along somewhat fine and are manageable.

 

[NorthBeachPerso]

If I may ...Doesn't matter if I do or not. All those amenities in CRE, the clubhouse, beaches, camp grounds, etc. are owned by the POA. A municipality will not, and therefore can not, control them or profit from them as you describe. Unless it is all sold to the municipality, and then, who values it? Two beaches with surrounding property, that's at least, what, several million? A huge lake with surrounding property. Acres and acres of community property. Where does the money come from? Who gets the money? Doesn't matter, it's all pie in the sky anyway. With a municipality, freedoms are replaced with permissions and fees, dictates and ordinances, for the benefit of the few.

And improve everyone's life you say? At what cost? And I'm not just referring to monetarily. I refer to a heavier tax burden. More regulation, rules, fees, stress, etc. Where at present, things are going along somewhat fine and are manageable.

I don't know what the plans are but I would assume that the POA property would then become municipal property. That's what happens usually, the POA is the "government" right now. The "we'll have to buy all that" is just a red herring used to try to fool people.

If things are going so "fine" why is this being considered? And the answer isn't your "anal retentives who want to control everything".

If you don't think you have to follow rules now for permits and have regulations from the County, not to mention the overlayment of the POA then you either don't pay attention or you're one of those types who thinks he doesn't have to follow rules. Reading what you post I think it's the latter.

 

[officeguy]

I don't know what the plans are but I would assume that the POA property would then become municipal property. That's what happens usually, the POA is the "government" right now. The "we'll have to buy all that" is just a red herring used to try to fool people.

If a developer cedes land to the county or town for the construction of a road or to establish open space, they usually get $1 in exchange for the deed. So, however many parcels POACRE owns x $1 is going to be the acquisition cost for the town owned real estate.
With Wikipedia as the authoritative source, the most recent incorporation of a municipality in Maryland has been the village of North Chevy Chase in 1996 (it grew out of a special tax district). I don't think there has been a new town or city in the state since the 1940s. This could be an interesting process.

If you don't think you have to follow rules now for permits and have regulations from the County, not to mention the overlayment of the POA then you either don't pay attention or you're one of those types who thinks he doesn't have to follow rules. Reading what you post I think it's the latter.

I would rather deal with a town that is subject to supervision by states and courts rather than the 'HOA nazis' who have free reign from year to year.

 

[NorthBeachPerso]

If a developer cedes land to the county or town for the construction of a road or to establish open space, they usually get $1 in exchange for the deed. So, however many parcels POACRE owns x $1 is going to be the acquisition cost for the town owned real estate.
With Wikipedia as the authoritative source, the most recent incorporation of a municipality in Maryland has been the village of North Chevy Chase in 1996 (it grew out of a special tax district). I don't think there has been a new town or city in the state since the 1940s. This could be an interesting process..........

It is interesting, but I still think the POA issue is a red herring.

What is the POA? It's the de facto government right now. What function will it have in a municipality, it's redundant? Who is it? It's all the property owners.

What's a municipality? It's all the property owners.

If, using lightroasted's rationale, any community property has to be bought from the POA who is that, exactly, and who do you pay?

It's just like now, if a municipality sells a piece of property to a builder (rare, but it does happen) every resident doesn't get a check cut.

What's happening here is that the POA form of government is being replaced by a chartered municipal form.

I understand the hesitation because of the increased tax load, but a side benefit is that property taxes are deductible while HOA fees are not. At the end of the day the situation remains that CRC has been in a precarious situation for a couple decades and it's now coming to a head.

The alternative is to let the implosion eventually occur and have a takeover by the County, which will impose a Special Tax District. End result? Higher taxes anyway with zero local control.

 

[officeguy]

I understand the hesitation because of the increased tax load, but a side benefit is that property taxes are deductible while HOA fees are not. At the end of the day the situation remains that CRC has been in a precarious situation for a couple decades and it's now coming to a head.

The current state of affairs in CRE depresses property values. Many steer clear of properties in the CRE because they dont have confidence in POACREs ability to manage the things that need to be managed. A well run town would eventually cause property values to increase (which ironically would cause the tax load to go up).

I guess some folks live on roads that are not crumbling and they don't have a troublesome neighbor yet, so they don't care about a more effective form of government for the community. They should include the gas-plant in the town. Dominion could do whatever they please and the town would drown in tax revenue ;-)

 

[NorthBeachPerso]

The current state of affairs in CRE depresses property values. Many steer clear of properties in the CRE because they dont have confidence in POACREs ability to manage the things that need to be managed. A well run town would eventually cause property values to increase (which ironically would cause the tax load to go up).
I guess some folks live on roads that are not crumbling and they don't have a troublesome neighbor yet, so they don't care about a more effective form of government for the community. They should include the gas-plant in the town. Dominion could do whatever they please and the town would drown in tax revenue ;-)

Maybe, maybe not. When property values go up governments on MD have to have a Constant Yield hearing.

Short version of what that is:

The Legislature many years ago put in the requirement that when assessments go up, which causes property taxes go up, that local governments (Counties and municipalities) have to reduce the tax rate to keep the dollars collected constant unless they hold a hearing, as part of the budget process, to raise the rate above the Constant Yield rate.

Calvert County has had the same rate for a couple decades but the dollars collected has increased. They hold a Constant Yield hearing every year. So have both Towns, but not as often.

Here's what people forget when they complain about taxes, governments aren't immune from inflation and price increases. When BGE/SMECO raise their rates there is no government exemption, the governments pay that higher rate. Same with insurance, same with fuel costs, same with materials. And on and on and on.

There are about three or four things municipalities have to do to keep people happy: if it has water and sewer, keep those working, plow the streets when it snows, keep those streets in decent repair and at least try to do something if there's crime. That's it. If a Town (or County) does those few things half decently well most everybody is happy.

 

[LightRoasted]

If I may ...

It is interesting, but I still think the POA issue is a red herring. This we can agree on.

What is the POA? It's the de facto government right now. What function will it have in a municipality, it's redundant? Who is it? It's all the property owners. POACRE won't have a function because the very people elected to run POACRE are the one's behind the municipality.

What's a municipality? It's all the property owners. No it is not. It is anyone living within in addition to property owners.

If, using lightroasted's rationale, any community property has to be bought from the POA who is that, exactly, and who do you pay? It's not a "rational", it's fact.

It's just like now, if a municipality sells a piece of property to a builder (rare, but it does happen) every resident doesn't get a check cut. First has to be owned by a municipality, a newly created municipality will not own anything.

What's happening here is that the POA form of government is being replaced by a chartered municipal form. It is not being replaced. The cart is before the horse here. It would be in addition to, until the current traitors on the POACRE board sell out to the municipality.

I understand the hesitation because of the increased tax load, but a side benefit is that property taxes are deductible while HOA fees are not. At the end of the day the situation remains that CRC has been in a precarious situation for a couple decades and it's now coming to a head. Whoopee. A small deduction. Again, at what cost?

The alternative is to let the implosion eventually occur and have a takeover by the County, which will impose a Special Tax District. End result? Higher taxes anyway with zero local control.

Right now, the very people that have been elected by the property owners, are the ones pushing for the municipality. A serious conflict of interest. Take Kathy Zumbrun, the POACRE Treasurer, also on the 2016 ballot to be re-elected treasurer, just also happens to be the chair of the Municipality organization committee. The very people that are supposed to be looking out for the POA are backstabbing the people they are supposed to represent. Instead of working within the framework they have, they are looking for an easy way out. I imagine as well that she will have a very handsome pay package with the municipality should this fiasco come to fruition. Also, take a look over at George Hanson, a charter committee member, and the Chesapeake Water Company. George just hates CRE, however, his water company will profit handsomely as well when it is taken over (or regulated?) by the municipality. Absolutely nothing is altruistic here and everyone involved is suspect as to their involvement. And who is paying for all the effort involved in this push? The flyers? Banners? Letters? etc.

If you want to see who will be part of this new government, click here. These are the people, in addition to those behind the scenes, who will profit at the expense of those in this "new municipality".

 

[NorthBeachPerso]

If I may ...Right now, the very people that have been elected by the property owners, are the ones pushing for the municipality. A serious conflict of interest. Take Kathy Zumbrun, the POACRE Treasurer, also on the 2016 ballot to be re-elected treasurer, just also happens to be the chair of the Municipality organization committee. The very people that are supposed to be looking out for the POA are backstabbing the people they are supposed to represent. Instead of working within the framework they have, they are looking for an easy way out. I imagine as well that she will have a very handsome pay package with the municipality should this fiasco come to fruition. Also, take a look over at George Hanson, a charter committee member, and the Chesapeake Water Company. George just hates CRE, however, his water company will profit handsomely as well when it is taken over (or regulated?) by the municipality. Absolutely nothing is altruistic here and everyone involved is suspect as to their involvement. And who is paying for all the effort involved in this push? The flyers? Banners? Letters? etc.

If you want to see who will be part of this new government, click here. These are the people, in addition to those behind the scenes, who will profit at the expense of those in this "new municipality".

My knowing who will part of the new government isn't necessary since I only know who a couple of them are and then only in passing.

A couple things:
POACRE will have no function under a municipality so it will likely dissolve. What happens to the common areas will be addressed in the charter documents. My guess is that those properties will just transfer over to the municipalities to become public areas owned by the municipality. That's not necessarily a bad thing when seeking bonds for projects like roads and storm water management.

A salary? Maybe. None of the Town Council members in either Beach get paid and while North Beach has a line item of $18K for the Mayor the current one does not collect it. There is no salary for Mayor in Chesapeake Beach.

Is the water company a private entity? If so, it's regulated by the State of Maryland so the municipality will have no skin in that.

You did catch one thing I didn't say, that a municipality is made up of all residents as well as property owners. Which will likely give some people heartburn as those residents will be able to vote whether they own property or not. On the other hand, non-resident property owners will not be allowed to vote in municipal elections, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Part of the CRC problems stem from non-resident owners not approving actions over the years which are now catching up to it (roads and storm water management are two such).

For storm water management, that's becoming a critical issue statewide. There has been talk at the State level of having MDE come in and force private communities to upgrade their storm water management to current standards. That hasn't happened yet but I have the little voice in my head telling me that's not that far off. That's coming down from the federal level to the State to the locals.

You don't even want to think about how much that will cost.

 

[officeguy]

If I may ...Right now, the very people that have been elected by the property owners, are the ones pushing for the municipality. A serious conflict of interest. Take Kathy Zumbrun, the POACRE Treasurer, also on the 2016 ballot to be re-elected treasurer, just also happens to be the chair of the Municipality organization committee.

Please explain how that is a conflict of interest ? The town or village wouldn't be competing with the POA, the POA would morph into to the muncipality. Maybe it would remain to run something like a community center, but once a town gets incorporated, most of the management functions of the POA would be assumed by town government.

I imagine as well that she will have a very handsome pay package with the municipality should this fiasco come to fruition.

Lol. This is not California where you come in on day one of your term and vote yourself a six figure pay package. The mayor of La Plata makes something like $15,000, the council members $9,000. La Plata, as a town goes has a lot of services. A police department, water treatment plant, sewer system, public housing, lots of highways. $300 a week to get phonecalls at all times of the day or night because some streetlight is out or a culvert collapsed is hitting it rich I guess.

If you want to see who will be part of this new government, click here. These are the people, in addition to those behind the scenes, who will profit at the expense of those in this "new municipality".

Chances are, some of these people will end up on the town council. Otoh, the town council will be selected by voters, not property owners. In recent 'elections' in the POA, only a minority of owners have voted. Many properties, particularly unbuilt ones and rentals, are owned by estates and trusts that dont bother to deal with POA politics. Once it is a town, any resident of voting age has the same say, and that includes renters or family members of owners who live in the properties. There is no telling how the balance of power on the town council works out. Rather than yelling from the sidelines, I would encourage you to get involved in the process, put your name out there, walk the roads, knock on doors, educate people. If the referendum passes and the town gets incorporated, run for a seat on the town council. In municipal elections, all you need is a couple hundred votes. Just look at the 19yo kid who ran for a seat on the town council of Indian Head last year. He ended up becoming mayor because he had twice as many votes as the next candidate. Now he can enjoy the lifestyle of the rich and powerful with his $6,000 salary (that's per year, not per month) and the supreme power that the mayorship of a small broke town entails.
Get involved. Make a difference !

 

[officeguy]

Just looked through the draft charter. The proposed salary for the mayor is $15,000, for council members $10,000. In addition, there is expense reimbursement for things like travel to Annapolis or to a mayors convention. As this is typically done, the council can only increase the salary for its successors, not for the sitting members.

 

[NorthBeachPerso]

Just looked through the draft charter. The proposed salary for the mayor is $15,000, for council members $10,000. In addition, there is expense reimbursement for things like travel to Annapolis or to a mayors convention. As this is typically done, the council can only increase the salary for its successors, not for the sitting members.

The number will have to be taken out of the Charter. All the Charter is supposed to do is give them the authority to set a salary (or reimbursement). Salaries are set by Ordinance through the budget process.

If there comes a time when the salary needs to be changed (up or down) having the number stated in the Charter means a Charter change, which is a royal pain in the ass to do, not to mention expensive because of the differing level of public notice and hearings needed compared to a budget or ordinance.

 

[LightRoasted]

If I may ...

Please explain how that is a conflict of interest ? The town or village wouldn't be competing with the POA, the POA would morph into to the muncipality. Maybe it would remain to run something like a community center, but once a town gets incorporated, most of the management functions of the POA would be assumed by town government. Morph? Is that a legal term? All the common areas and amenities are owned by the property owners. Get one thing straight. The POA and a municipality are two distinct separate entities. There is no morphing.

Lol. This is not California where you come in on day one of your term and vote yourself a six figure pay package. The mayor of La Plata makes something like $15,000, the council members $9,000. La Plata, as a town goes has a lot of services. A police department, water treatment plant, sewer system, public housing, lots of highways. $300 a week to get phonecalls at all times of the day or night because some streetlight is out or a culvert collapsed is hitting it rich I guess. Come on, really. I was referring to the job of "City" treasurer or other paying job within the "City" government.

Chances are, some of these people will end up on the town council. Otoh, the town council will be selected by voters, not property owners. In recent 'elections' in the POA, only a minority of owners have voted. Many properties, particularly unbuilt ones and rentals, are owned by estates and trusts that dont bother to deal with POA politics. Once it is a town, any resident of voting age has the same say, and that includes renters or family members of owners who live in the properties. There is no telling how the balance of power on the town council works out. Rather than yelling from the sidelines, I would encourage you to get involved in the process, put your name out there, walk the roads, knock on doors, educate people. If the referendum passes and the town gets incorporated, run for a seat on the town council. In municipal elections, all you need is a couple hundred votes. Just look at the 19yo kid who ran for a seat on the town council of Indian Head last year. He ended up becoming mayor because he had twice as many votes as the next candidate. Now he can enjoy the lifestyle of the rich and powerful with his $6,000 salary (that's per year, not per month) and the supreme power that the mayorship of a small broke town entails.
Get involved. Make a difference !

I am involved in the process already of doing what ever I can to educate people of what is about to happen.

Is the water company a private entity? If so, it's regulated by the State of Maryland so the municipality will have no skin in that.

Written by the Water Company, George Hanson, for the Water Company.

Article XIII. Water and Sewers
Section 13.01 Powers of the City
Under this article, the City shall have the power to own, construct, operate, and maintain a: Means they could purchase the water company.
(a) Water distribution system and water plant;
(b) Sanitary sewerage collection system and a sewage treatment plant; and Bet one of the first things they do is start the process of building one.
(c) Storm water control system.
Section 13.02 Existing Utilities and Franchises
(a) Any utility franchised to serve within the corporate limits of the City and established prior to July 1, 2015, for water, wastewater, or storm-water services shall remain whole and continue to serve the franchised area.
(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) above in this section, this article does not prohibit the City from contracting to franchise any service described in this article.
(c) All occupied properties within the corporate limits of the City shall be required to be connected to water or wastewater systems if those services are available. Do you see this? People will be forced to "Hook up" if not already.

 

[NorthBeachPerso]

If I may ... I am involved in the process already of doing what ever I can to educate people of what is about to happen.

Written by the Water Company, George Hanson, for the Water Company.

Article XIII. Water and Sewers
Section 13.01 Powers of the City
Under this article, the City shall have the power to own, construct, operate, and maintain a: Means they could purchase the water company.
(a) Water distribution system and water plant;
(b) Sanitary sewerage collection system and a sewage treatment plant; and Bet one of the first things they do is start the process of building one.
(c) Storm water control system.
Section 13.02 Existing Utilities and Franchises
(a) Any utility franchised to serve within the corporate limits of the City and established prior to July 1, 2015, for water, wastewater, or storm-water services shall remain whole and continue to serve the franchised area.
(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) above in this section, this article does not prohibit the City from contracting to franchise any service described in this article.
(c) All occupied properties within the corporate limits of the City shall be required to be connected to water or wastewater systems if those services are available. Do you see this? People will be forced to "Hook up" if not already.

Yeah, that's standard verbiage for a municipal Charter. Delineating the powers of the municipality. If you would look at other Charters around the State you'll see the same language.

Will the new municipality buy the water company? I have no clue. I could make an argument for either buying it or not.

The sewer connection requirement is pretty standard now for a new system. If you think that remaining unincorporated will keep you from being required at some point to construct a sewer plant you need to think again.

You already have failing septics down there, on some properties a replacement can't be built. Get enough of them and the State will require either the community or the County to build one. That's what happened several years ago to Holland Point Park between Rose Haven and North Beach. They ended up connecting to the regional plant in Chesapeake Beach.

Wanna talk about a property value killer? Try a community of failing septic systems.

Have you really not been paying attention to some of the new rules being imposed? I realize that you don't really like to follow rules but you should at least be aware of them.

 

[officeguy]

The number will have to be taken out of the Charter. All the Charter is supposed to do is give them the authority to set a salary (or reimbursement). Salaries are set by Ordinance through the budget process.

If there comes a time when the salary needs to be changed (up or down) having the number stated in the Charter means a Charter change, which is a royal pain in the ass to do, not to mention expensive because of the differing level of public notice and hearings needed compared to a budget or ordinance.

The way the chapter is written, it sets the initial salaries in the charter and issues authority to adjust the salary by means of an ordinance (and lays out a CPI based system to do so). As I understand it, by MD law a city council can't set its own compensation, it is always deferred until the next election takesplace. So even if on day one of the new muncipalitiy, the council passes an ordinance, it wouldn't take effect for another 4 years. As the power to writ ordinances only comes into being once the charter becomes valid, there is no other way to set a comp package for the initial council.

 

[officeguy]

Morph? Is that a legal term? All the common areas and amenities are owned by the property owners. Get one thing straight. The POA and a municipality are two distinct separate entities. There is no morphing.

As I said, there is a chance that the POA will continue to exist, they are not exclusive. There are HOAs and POAs in most muncipalities in Maryland. POA will most certainly cede the roads and utility ROWs to the city and I would expect that they also cede the airport, the beaches and the dam. At the end of the day, there will either be no POA or only a very small one that maybe manages the clubhouse, but most of the functions will be taken over by the city.

Come on, really. I was referring to the job of "City" treasurer or other paying job within the "City" government.

The treasurer is an employed position and any member of the council is precluded from holding a paid city position until 1 year after conclusion of their term (anti revolving door law). If the new city manager decides to hire her out of a pool of applicants, then yes she will get whatever market rate salary the city sets for the position.

If I may ... I am involved in the process already of doing what ever I can to educate people of what is about to happen.

I suggest you dive into the maryland league of cities incorporation handbook and inform yourself a bit further on what the process entails so you dont spread misinformation.

Under this article, the City shall have the power to own, construct, operate, and maintain a: Means they could purchase the water company.

That article reserves the cities right to operate its own water system. It is possible that they would start that by buying the private water company.

(b) Sanitary sewerage collection system and a sewage treatment plant; and Bet one of the first things they do is start the process of building one.

As I understand there are lots that either didn't perc or that are in the critical area and have issues with MDE if they need to replace their septic systems. There are lots of benefits to having city sewer rather than private disposal systems.

(c) Storm water control system.
Section 13.02 Existing Utilities and Franchises
(a) Any utility franchised to serve within the corporate limits of the City and established prior to July 1, 2015, for water, wastewater, or storm-water services shall remain whole and continue to serve the franchised area.
(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) above in this section, this article does not prohibit the City from contracting to franchise any service described in this article.

The city will probably collect franchise fees off the cable company and the water company. It is one of the sources of revenue available to muncipalities.

(c) All occupied properties within the corporate limits of the City shall be required to be connected to water or wastewater systems if those services are available. Do you see this? People will be forced to "Hook up" if not already.

That's how it works if you are in metcom territory or in an area served by county water in chuck co. Building a water and sewer system is a large expenditure, it only really works if you get everyone in the served area to connect. From what I have seen, sewer authorities dont really go out and try to connect rural subdivisions, it is just not cost effective to do so. But if they built a sewer branch along the waterfront or one of the lowlying areas with septic failures, then all the properties along that branch will have to connect. But that is no different from what the county can do already. What gets built gets decided at the local level. If you are active in the town and not a complete dolt, you will have access to several council members if you object (or you can even get yourself elected and have a direct say).



There are a couple of things I would change in the charter. I would want to stagger the terms of the council members with two getting replaced every two years. This would require two seats to start out with a two year term. It reduces the chance of a well funded interest launching a coup of the council. Not sure whether MD law allows staggered terms.

 

[NorthBeachPerso]

The way the chapter is written, it sets the initial salaries in the charter and issues authority to adjust the salary by means of an ordinance (and lays out a CPI based system to do so). As I understand it, by MD law a city council can't set its own compensation, it is always deferred until the next election takesplace. So even if on day one of the new muncipalitiy, the council passes an ordinance, it wouldn't take effect for another 4 years. As the power to writ ordinances only comes into being once the charter becomes valid, there is no other way to set a comp package for the initial council.

Yeah, it's appropriated every year in the budget but can only be changed for the next term. I understand now why it's in the Charter, I hadn't thought of that.

For a later post, Council terms can be staggered. The upside is what mentioned, one particular faction probably can't fill every seat. The downside is elections every two years.

When a water or sewer system is built the bondholders usually require 100% hook up.

 

[LightRoasted]

If I may ...

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It seems you two have already had a few Dixie cups of the cool aid. Either you can't see, or just ignore, the attempted power grab being created. The business of being in other peoples business is just fine for you? Instead of the POA putting to a vote of fixing the things that need fixing and adding or increasing fees, if this municipality goes through, it will be forced on to those living here, not just in CRE but expanded outside the boundaries of CRE to commercial areas. And what has the board of directors been up to during this push for a municipality? Doing their elected jobs? No. They are giving the residents the run-a-around attempting to create a living, breathing, destructive government to freedoms and rights, a mini Montgomery County under the guise of helping the community.

 

[NorthBeachPerso]

If I may ...
It seems you two have already had a few Dixie cups of the cool aid. Either you can't see, or just ignore, the attempted power grab being created. The business of being in other peoples business is just fine for you? Instead of the POA putting to a vote of fixing the things that need fixing and adding or increasing fees, if this municipality goes through, it will be forced on to those living here, not just in CRE but expanded outside the boundaries of CRE to commercial areas. And what has the board of directors been up to during this push for a municipality? Doing their elected jobs? No. They are giving the residents the run-a-around attempting to create a living, breathing, destructive government to freedoms and rights, a mini Montgomery County under the guise of helping the community.

How long have you lived there? Successive Boards have tried to fix things, have tried to raise fees to fix things, for years, actually decades, and guys like you used the same arguments against doing anything then as you're using now about the proposed municipality.

####, y'all are still fighting about the gates which have been down for almost 25 years.

 

[Merlin99]

How long have you lived there? Successive Boards have tried to fix things, have tried to raise fees to fix things, for years, actually decades, and guys like you used the same arguments against doing anything then as you're using now about the proposed municipality.

####, y'all are still fighting about the gates which have been down for almost 25 years.

On the plus side, some of the CRE fights have been the most amusing. I hope exnodak posts some more, he always had a very intelligent response to some very stupid questions.