http://www.carrollcounty.com/articles/2008/05/23/news/local_news/newsstory7.txt

Police ordinance, districting made law

Beth Ward, Times Staff Writer

Friday, May 23, 2008

County officials were not surprised that Gov. Martin O’Malley signed into law Thursday a bill requiring a public vote on any ordinance establishing a county police force and a bill establishing five commissioners elected by district in the county.

“It was passed by the General Assembly. We fully expected it to be signed,” said Steve Powell, county chief of staff.

The Carroll County Board of Commissioners voted to transition from the Maryland State Police’s Resident Trooper Program and move to a county police department with an appointed chief in the fall. An ordinance establishing a county police force went through the public process. However, the board has not acted on it.

If passed, the ordinance would have to be ratified by the voters in a November referendum. To get on the November ballot, the language of the ballot question must be certified by the county attorney and to the Carroll County Board of Elections by Aug. 18, according to the Maryland State Board of Elections.

Sheriff Ken Tregoning said the governor’s signature doesn’t change what was already decided by the General Assembly.

“I don’t read into the governor signing the bill,” Tregoning said. “It went through the legislative process, the House [of Delegates] and Senate unanimously passed the bill. The governor recognizes that.”

Also signed into law was a bill allowing Carroll residents to vote for five commissioners by district in the 2010 election. District lines will follow a map known as Option 1, which would divide the county into a northern district composed of Taneytown and Manchester; a district made up of New Windsor, Union Bridge and Mount Airy; a third district composed of Sykesville and Eldersburg; a district made up of Hampstead and Finksburg; and a central district for Westminster.

Martin Radinsky, chairman of the Democratic Central Committee of Carroll County, lobbied against the Option 1 map, preferring a map with different district lines. However, once the legislation passed the General Assembly, he said he stopped lobbying against it.

“At that point we knew it was going to get through,” he said.