Harford County Council passes Master Water and Sewer Plan update, expansion of benefits for volunteer firefighters

Oct. 13—The Harford County Council passed two resolutions and three bills at its legislative session Tuesday.

The resolutions included the fall 2022 update to the Master Water and Sewer Plan, and approval of a proposal to impose and collect boarding fees for "weekend inmates" at the Harford County Detention Center.

One of the bills extends the moratorium on applying certain county zoning codes to restaurants to allow for outdoor dining. A second bill expands eligibility for the county's Length of Service Award Program for volunteer firefighters. The third bill outlines the properties that would receive real property tax credits in fiscal year 2023 for being near a county-owned refuse disposal system.

The moratorium allows bars, breweries, nightclubs and restaurants to expand and/or continue outdoor dining, which enabled such establishments to resume operations after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill extends the moratorium through Dec. 31, 2023.

The Length of Service Award Program bill eliminates the cap on the maximum monthly benefit allowed for volunteer firefighters. The bill also reduces the benefit eligibility age from 55 to 50 for those with 25 full years of volunteer service, and from 70 to 60 "for those with five continuous years of service and a minimum of 10 years of certified active volunteer service."

A 100% county property tax credit will be granted to 36 property owners near the Scarboro Landfill at the county-owned Harford Waste Disposal Center in Street, under the new bill.

All three bills and one of the resolutions passed unanimously, but council member Andre Johnson voted against the detention center fees.

Johnson said the council had received letters from the NAACP outlining concerns the civil rights organization has about the resolution, such as a lack of transparency and the possibility the fees could be administered unequally.

"I think that we should definitely assess this, take a look at it and table this," Johnson said, "until we can really get a good feel on what this could potentially be for our citizens of this county."

The council also voted to approve the reappointments of four members of the county's advisory board on aging: Anna DiGuardo, Tammy Fitzgerald, Jacqueline Panowicz and Claudia Sconion.

Before the legislative session, the council held public hearings on three bills and one resolution.

The resolution, if passed, would allow the Aberdeen to waive a required five-year waiting period to allow a 9-acre property on Long Drive that was annexed by the city to be rezoned from a county agricultural district to a city integrated business district. The land is owned by the Presbyterian Home of Maryland, Inc.

The new zoning classification would allow for "residential, recreational, educational, retail, entertainment and other commercial uses in an aesthetically pleasing and functionally compatible manner," according to Aberdeen's city code.

Council Vice President Robert Wagner said this annexation "makes perfect sense in terms of the other properties around it."

A hearing also was held on a bill that would amend the county code to allow military veterans of any age who have service-related disabilities, and their surviving spouses, to be eligible for property tax credits that are available to elderly citizens and veterans. According to the bill's fiscal note, it could, if passed, reduce tax revenue by about $2.1 million annually.

Robbie Sandlass, county treasury director, said the county will encourage people who are eligible to apply for the credit.

"I think we are looking at a pretty substantial increase in the number of applications that'll be eligible to receive this," he said.

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A separate bill would amend the Harford County Sheriff's Office pension plan to add a deferred retirement option program. That would allow personnel to delay receipt of their retirement benefits while they're still employed by the sheriff's office.

"This change should help with retention efforts at the detention center," Sandlass said.

Sheriff Jeff Gahler, speaking in favor of the bill, agreed with Sandlass.

"This is ... a time where hiring and retention has not ever in anyone's memory been harder," Gahler said. "This is a way to allow us to retain experienced correctional deputies at the detention center."

The final hearing was on a bill that would amend the county code's definition of a daycare center to include a kindergarten as an additional use.

The items from the public hearing will be addressed at a future legislative session.

This story has been updated.