Harford County Council approves eight bills, including police accountability board, in final session of fiscal year

Jun. 23—The Harford County Council approved eight bills Tuesday during its final legislative session in fiscal 2022.

Among the bills approved was a bill creating the state-mandated police accountability board. Council vice president Robert Wagner said the council had some issues with the bill but had to proceed because of the state's July 1 deadline to establish the board.

"None of us like it," Wagner said. "It was something that's handed to us from the state, [so] we've got to do it and this is the best we can do."

Council members had the opportunity to pose questions about the creation of the board to county attorney Melissa Lambert at a public hearing before the council meeting on June 14.

While council member Andre Johnson, the body's only Democrat, said he was unsure of his Republican colleagues' issues with the bill, his concern was about the bill's timing. "I was wondering why it took the county so long to implement this police accountability bill," he said Thursday.

The Morning Sun

The council also approved five executive appointments to the police accountability board: the board's chairperson John Landbeck Jr., Vicki Jones, Alison Imhoff, Sean Jackson and John McCoy. The board members were selected by County Executive Barry Glassman from more than 70 applicants.

Three approved bills dealt with the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Program — the main one will revise the program to include county zoning changes.

Three other bills addressed county bond funding. The first one authorized bonds to fund capital projects such as a training center for the Harford County Sheriff's Office, Harford County Community College's Chesapeake Welcome Center and the rebuilding of Homestead-Wakefield Elementary School. One authorized bonds to fund water and sewer projects; and another revised prior bond legislation due to reduced costs for projects in fiscal years 2013 and 2021.

The final bill made a regulation for accessory structures, saying that they could not be larger than 50% of the primary structure's size.

All eight bills were approved by 6-0 votes — council member Curtis Beulah was absent.

Council president Patrick Vincenti announced that the first official meeting of the health officer search committee will be held July 6.

The council is in recess until September.