MACo’s 2019 Winter Conference – “Building for the Future” – on December 4-6 focused on looking ahead and analyzing county challenges and solutions. The full conference schedule and program of events can be viewed online. Save the date for MACo’s next Winter Conference: December 9-11, 2020 at the Hyatt in Cambridge, MD. Don’t miss the 2020 Summer Conference: "2020 Vision: Today's Roadmap, Tomorrow's Reality" on August 14-17, 2019 at the Roland Powell Convention Center in…
MACo's Winter Conference last week had many highlights, but one was a trivia game sponsored by MACo Endorsement Partner, American Fidelity. American Fidelity, a company focused on serving local government nationwide, has been assisting Maryland public sector employers with managing the increasing costs, complexities, and time requirements related to employee benefit administration. Learn more about how they're helping MACo members on our website. As the sponsor of the audio visual equipment for MACo's Winter Conference,…
The Baltimore Sun editorial board weighs in, supporting the state granting counties flexibility in creating income tax bracketing, to replace the current single rate. Among topics gaining attention during and since MACo's recent winter conference is an emerging conversation about the county income tax - currently set by State law at one flat rate applying to all taxable income, regardless of income level. Some county officials have argued that flexibility to create "brackets" like most…
Education funding and leadership changes where the running threads that united the outlooks from the panelists on the 2020 General Assembly Forecast. Delegate Eric Luedtke, House Majority Leader, dubbed the 2020 session as "the year of Maryland children." He discussed the first three bills that will be introduced in the House. HB 1 the Build to Learn Act which will focus on school construction; HB 2 the Blue Print for Maryland's Future the ever anticipated…
The MACo OPEB Investment Trust - designed to help counties put current assets to work toward long-term health care liabilities - is performing well, delivering healthy returns, and serving member needs. The Board of Trustees of the MACo OPEB Investment Trust convened a quarterly meeting at the Hyatt during the MACo Winter Conference. In addition to reviewing investment strategy and performance, and discussing the landscape for long-term public investing, the Trustees fielded comments from conference…
Flooding has become a real concern for local jurisdictions in Maryland, particularly those with coastlines. What proactive steps can counties take prior to flooding to reduce its impacts, and what role do other levels of government play in prevention? An expert panel at the 2019 MACo Winter Conference session "2 for 1: Flood Prevention (And Cleaner Water, Too!)" gave insight into flood mitigation tactics and how to take advantage of state and federal funds. "For…
Attendees to the MACo 2019 December Winter Conference learned about some best practices and tools for solar siting during the "Let the Sunshine In: What You Need to Know About Solar Energy Siting" panel on December 5. Caroline County Planning and Codes Director Katheleen Freeman outlined the stakeholder process used by the County to develop its utility-scale solar zoning. Freeman stated that the County established a short moratorium on utility-scale solar projects an formed two…
MACo's "Good Government Book Club" re-convened with a lively discussion on Cal Newport's book "Deep Work," and discussed applications personally, and to the public sector. At each recent MACo conference. members have had a chance to participate in a "Good Government Book Club" by reading a pre-selected book in advance, and coming to the conference ready to discuss it during one of our many breakout sessions. This winter, the selected book was Cal Newport's "Deep…
The Rural County Coalition held their regular lunch event at the MACo 2019 December Winter Conference on December 5. The Coalition heard updates on a variety of policy issues, including solar siting, the Forest Conservation Act, volunteer firefighters, and Kirwan Commission education funding recommendations. The Rural County Coalition is a MACo Chapter Organization that provides a voice for sixteen of Maryland's rural counties, allowing them to offer their unique perspective on important state and federal…
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