Cecil County Council Peanut Gallery Budget Flubs; Can-Kicking Versus Investment in Future

May 31, 2017

COMMENTARY A majority of the Cecil County Council seems to be worrying about picking up peanuts, as it reviews the proposed Fiscal 2018 budget, while ignoring the elephants in the room: the need to invest in the county’s future and to work harder and smarter to address the local opioid drug epidemic. Some of...
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Cecil County Budget: Council Cuts $822,000, Falls Short of Some Great Expectations, Gimmicks

May 30, 2017

The Cecil County Council took a stab at cutting the Fiscal 2018 budget on Tuesday (5/30/2017) and came up far short of a grandiose plan advanced by two members seeking to cut over $6 million from the budget proposed by County Executive Alan McCarthy. Cecil College and Cecil County Public Schools (CCPS) survived multiple...
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Cecil County Homeless Count at 193 (Maybe), Health Dept. Says; Drug Deaths at 21 This Year

May 24, 2017

Homelessness in Cecil County is nearly as high as Harford County’s figures, although Cecil’s overall population is half that of its nearest neighbor. And county Sheriff’s Office data on drug overdose fatalities so far this year shows 21 deaths, well on the way to a record number, according to testimony to the Cecil County...
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Cecil County Budget: Health Dept. Asks $3 Million, Hotel Tax Delayed; Now Heavy Lifting Begins

May 18, 2017

After weeks of listening to department heads defend and explain their budget proposals, the Cecil County Council will hear from citizens next week and then the heavy lifting begins: deciding whether to accept, or cut, County Executive Alan McCarthy’s proposed Fiscal 2018 budget that would boost property tax rates and raise income taxes. Many...
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Faux Turf Fields Vs. Grass: Budget Plan Costs More and Shifts Expenses out of Cecil Co Schools Budget; Fiscal, Safety Questions

May 8, 2017

NEWS ANALYSIS A proposal to spend $1 million for an artificial turf playing field in Perryville in the county executive’s Fiscal 2018 budget raises questions about costs, safety and policy issues on pushing expenses out of school accounts into county parks liabilities. In other words, is fake grass greener than the real thing? The...
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Cecil County Sheriff Pitches 3.5% Budget Boost; 3 New Deputies, Programs to Combat Drugs, Crime

May 3, 2017

In what has become a sad annual ritual, Cecil County Sheriff Scott Adams pleaded with the County Council this week on behalf of his office’s budget while wearing a mourning band around his badge in honor of a Delaware state trooper murdered a few days ago just a short distance over the Cecil County...
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Silence is Golden for Cecil County Council on Animal Control Costs; County Ignores Oversight Regs

May 1, 2017

A CECIL TIMES Special Report The Cecil County Council didn’t seem to care that costs of animal control services rise in the proposed Fiscal 2018 budget, on top of costly fiscal add-ons a year ago to buy a county-owned shelter facility and staff it with county employees earning government-worker salaries, healthcare and pension benefits....
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On the Bus, Off the Rails and Other Budget Tales; Trump Aid Cuts Could Affect Cecil Co Services

April 26, 2017

Cecil County Council members were all aboard the budget bus Tuesday evening (4/25/2017) when they reviewed Fiscal 2018 spending plans for the county’s bus transit, senior citizens’ and other programs, even as the services have grown in size and scope. The Council is looking for ways to save money in the upcoming budget year,...
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Cecil County Budget Review Highlights Jobs (and Jabs); Fair Hill Trots Out Best to Impress

April 20, 2017

Cecil County Executive Alan McCarthy’s first budget, which boosts spending for economic development and job-creation efforts, drew scrutiny from the County Council this week as McCarthy and state officials saddled up to try to bring elite four-legged tourists and the humans who love them to the county for a potential multi-million dollar jackpot. Chris...
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Cecil County Budget: Books, Business, Ballfields; Council Faces Heavy Lifting for Limited Results

April 7, 2017

NEWS ANALYSIS Cecil County Executive Alan McCarthy’s first-ever budget proposal landed with a bang at the doorstep of the County Council this week, accompanied by a perhaps surprisingly muted reaction, so far, from the public and positive endorsements from local business leaders and representatives of popular county programs. McCarthy’s budget raises property tax rates...
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McCarthy Proposes Property, Income Tax Increases in First ‘Balanced’ Cecil County Budget in Decades; More $ for Cops, Library but Nicks School Budget

April 2, 2017

Cecil County Executive Alan McCarthy has proposed his first budget that breaks with years of deficit-financed spending policies in the county but takes the politically risky road of raising property and income taxes to pay for county services. Property taxes would rise by $100 a year for a home valued at $200,000, while local...
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McCarthy Marks 100+ Days as Cecil County Exec at CBL Event; Warns of ‘Empty Bag’ in County Finances

March 30, 2017

Cecil County Executive Alan McCarthy reflected on his four months in office Thursday (3/30/2017) as a “hectic” but “educational experience,” with steps already taken to reorganize county government, re-order transportation priorities, and promote business development. But he warned that the county faces a fiscal “empty bag” due to stalled revenues, rising costs, state spending...
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Cecil County Biz: McCarthy Creates New Department for One-Stop Shopping for County Permits for Efficiency, Lower Costs

March 28, 2017

Cecil County Executive Alan McCarthy announced Tuesday (3/28/2017) that he is creating a new “Department of Land use and Development Services” to place under one roof permit applications and reviews for new business and development projects to streamline functions that are currently divided among three county agencies. The expedited process, including online applications for...
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Cecil Co Exec Pulls ‘Nuisance’ Property Bill as Landlords Object; McCarthy Calls Poorly Drafted Bill an ‘Embarrassment’

March 23, 2017

Cecil County Executive Alan McCarthy has withdrawn a proposed “criminal nuisance” ordinance, aimed at cleaning up run-down properties and removing criminal tenants in some communities, after landlords highlighted flaws in the bill and potential conflicts with state landlord-tenant law during a public hearing. But McCarthy said a key factor in his decision was the...
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McCarthy Pushes New I-95 Exit to Aid Biz Development, Reinstates Rail Priorities; Puts Moore Bus ‘Hub’ in Back Seat

March 22, 2017

Cecil County Executive Alan McCarthy wants a new Interstate 95 interchange to serve new businesses coming to the Principio business park and has reinstated commuter rail expansion in Cecil County as top priorities, in contrast to a puzzling push last year by former county executive Tari Moore to make a bus garage and pie-in-the-sky...
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