Legislators speak to stakeholders at Charles chamber breakfast Monday
Sen. Middleton offers hope for Indian Head
The Charles County Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual legislative update gathering at Middleton Hall on Monday, welcoming the Charles County delegation to discuss bills relating to current issues in the region.
Sen. Thomas “Mac” Middleton (D-Charles), Del. Sally Jameson (D-Charles), Del. Edith Patterson (D-Charles) and Del. Susie Proctor (D-Charles, Prince George’s) made up the panel of legislators, who fielded questions written by the Charles County officials in attendance and read by moderator Phil McDonagh of the chamber’s 2018 Legislative Committee. The panelists touched on topics ranging from support for small businesses to renewable energy and hit the recurring themes of the opioid crisis and municipal revitalization.
One subject in particular piqued the interest of the entire audience,
when McDonagh asked Middleton whether Indian Head could possibly earn a designation as an enterprise zone, which would provide businesses in the area with tax credits and increased opportunities toward capital investments. The state now has 31 of these zones after five more were added in June 2017, according to the Maryland Department of Commerce website. This includes 19 of the 24 jurisdictions in Maryland, but McDonagh stated none are located in Charles County.
Middleton explained that while Charles County may not be able to secure any enterprise zones, there is another path to revitalization. The senator explained he is working on changes to the Maryland Economic Development Assistance Authority and Fund which would provide additional loan opportunities for small towns like Indian Head.
“If you look at the average loans and grants that have been provided, it’s around $250,000,” Middleton said. “But when you look at what’s happening in Indian Head, it’s a more serious nature. When you look at how much it’s gonna take to finish the demolition, to get the centers in that area, it’s gonna take a lot more than $250,000.”
He added that a provision of the program setting the cap on loans at $3 million has been raised to $5 million, a change that could assist the town with the Velocity Center project and any other additional growth. Middleton used Indian Head as his example during his testimony on the floor about raising the limit, and closed by saying, “there are efforts within the Department of Commerce that I think we can utilize to help address Indian Head.”
The discussion received applause from the audience when Middleton finished.
The panel members were less than enthusiastic about the odds of any minimum wage increase legislation passing, though they expressed support for the Fight for $15 Maryland movement. The goal of raising the state’s minimum wage from $9.25 to $15 per hour seems to be far off at this point.
“What we felt in our committee was it sounds like a great idea, but are we there yet, are we ready?” Jameson said. “We still haven’t begun to phase in what we’ve done. My committee is pretty conservative, so I don’t know if that bill will be able to come out or not.”
Middleton detailed how a major factor in considering the issue is assisting mental health providers,
and he didn’t want to support anything until that sector received adequate help. Because of the cost for just that portion, not to mention the overarching fiscal concerns of increasing minimum wage, Middleton concluded, “the money just isn’t there.”
Opioid abuse has been tackled by federal, state and local governments for the past few years without much success, but Proctor assured the crowd that Maryland is continuing to battle the issue.
“In addition to the millions of dollars that are being sent forth in a crisis situation, we have numerous
committees and work groups that are coming together to try to face this opioid crisis,” Proctor said. “We have parent groups that have come in to set up their own method of fighting the crisis, we have experts before us give detailed information of their reasoning, their understanding of how this particular crisis is moving forward.
Given her background in education, Patterson was asked about school funding. She discussed the Kirwan Commission, formally known as the Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education,
headed by William Kirwan, chancellor emeritus of the University System of Maryland. The group is researching current formulas and financial practices to better understand how local school systems are spending their funds. Patterson expressed confidence in the commission, though didn’t get into specifics of its success.
Near the end of the event, McDonagh lobbed a general query to each panelist as to how they know what Charles County wants.
“I consider myself a good listener,” said Proctor, mentioning a
diaper-changing facility bill she pushed for after speaking to many young fathers who wanted the same accommodations as mothers.
“I listen to you, because again when I’m advocating, I’m advocating for this county,” said Patterson, echoing Proctor. “Whether it is for economic development, whether it is for more equity in terms of funding for schools, anything that will make your homes, your lives, work and families better.”
Jameson, whose tenure is coming to a close, cited sticking to her platform throughout her career as a method of providing for citizens, and offered similar advice for the future.
“It’s very important that you know as you go into this next election what the candidates believe in at that point in time,” Jameson said.
“Some of the things I’ve laid out, legislation that we’ve gotten behind, that we’ve passed, reflects what we want for Charles County and [what] ]the citizens deserve,” Middleton said. “I think I hear what our citizens want and try to reflect what their needs are in my role as state senator.”