City government officials have proposed a charter amendment to change the current 2-year term of office for Mayor and City Council to a 4-year term instead. As a long-term citizen of College Park, I strongly oppose this proposal, and favor instead to maintain the current two-year term of office for all elected officials of the College Park City government. This assures a much better level of meaningful access and accountability for City citizens than would be possible with 4-year terms as proposed to change the charter.
Accountability and access to City elected officials is especially important in College Park, which has grown large and remote from ordinary city residents by the overwhelming pressure for development of infrastructure and services to meet issues of public safety, traffic, and community programs which flow from the domineering influence of the University of Maryland administration. City citizens already show a relatively low voter turnout, and are therefore easily influenced by the needs and interests of the University of Maryland administration which don’t commonly coincide with the home owning population of the city which is the key to a successful community. Greater taxes and control from a centralized, over-spending, and remote City government, discourages this home owning community, which benefits more from lower taxes and a modest level of government spending that aims for the well-being of all city citizens.
The 2020 budget of about 20 million is a case in point – representing a 35% increase from the level of spending just a few years ago, which at that time, seemed completely excessive to the modest essential duties of our municipality - to clean streets, collect trash, and settle domestic disputes and control criminal activity that arise from time to time in the various neighborhoods. Now, it is reported that an 8 million dollar cost overrun is anticipated in the construction of a new municipal building that seems completely unnecessary given the limited, practical needs of an efficient functioning city government.
With 4-year terms, the City citizens will have even less means to effectively respond to mismanagement and other types of excessive, costly judgments which need resolution more frequently than just once every four years. With such extended terms, the danger increases for officials to pursue philosophical and political interests that are well beyond their modest essential duties in city government. Unless a firm term limit were placed on the 4-year term, the fixation of a political machine of special interests would threaten even more to mirror the corrupt, wasteful dysfunctionality of other government entities and agencies in the county and state.
For these reason, I urge citizens and elected officials to oppose any proposal to establish a 4-year term – and maintain instead the 2-year term as contained in the current city charter. Lee Havis, College Park Resident
Organizer, Citizens for a Better Prince George's County
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