News of Del. Eric Bouchat’s decision not to seek a second term representing Carroll County in the Maryland General Assembly has led two members of the county’s Board of Commissioners to air their frustrations with Bouchat’s recent accusations that commissioners improperly crafted the current operating budget.
Commissioners’ President Ken Kiler, who represents District 2, and District 5 Commissioner Ed Rothstein dispute Bouchat’s claims that the county budget was developed by staff without commissioners’ input. Despite the fact that all three lawmakers are Republicans, the commissioners say they are fed up with Bouchat’s attacks and numerous emails.
“The Board of County Commissioners have always and will always maintain 100% responsibility and authority with the development, deliberation and decision-making of the budget,” said Rothstein, who served for four years with Bouchat on the board of commissioners. “[Bouchat] thinks things are being done behind our back. We do not delegate our responsibility to anyone. He has become a complete distraction over this thing, and what we need to accomplish.”
Bouchat has accused commissioners of a lack of transparency and accountability in creating and executing the fiscal 2025 operating budget. His concerns stemmed from news last year that commissioners started the budget process with a $12.4 million budget deficit.
“If the commissioners were involved in the creation of the budget from beginning to end, we, the elected officials, would have known ahead of time with far more knowledge to manage the forthcoming fiscal crisis,” Bouchat stated in an August email. “Knowledge is power, the administration has more knowledge then the commissioners.”
Bouchat went so far as to seek legal advice from County Attorney Timothy Burke, who declined to take up the matter, since Bouchat is not a county government official. The Office of Counsel to the Maryland General Assembly agreed with that assessment, according to a letter sent to Bouchat.
Carroll commissioners passed in May a $545 million operating budget following a frustrating process that included months of discussions as they worked to eliminate the $12.4 million deficit.
“Currently the Carroll County commissioners handle the budget, our meetings and all actions in full compliance with the law,” Kiler said. “In 1971, the General Assembly passed a comprehensive law requiring the [commissioners] to establish orderly procedures for budgeting and finance, which required, among other things, the designation of a budget director to assist the BOCC in preparing a budget, a timeline for preparation and adoption, public review, hearings regarding proposed budget, a statement of debt service requirements, a balanced budget, a reserve fund, and the adoption of the budget by ordinance prior to the beginning of the fiscal year.
“Since the state law was passed, Carroll County has followed a budget resolution, amended in 1975, which incorporates all required budget adoption processes and practices mandated by the General Assembly,” he said. “Our county is in full compliance with state law regarding our annual budget adoption procedure.”
Meanwhile, two years into his first term as a state delegate, Bouchat said he does not intend to seek a second term, because he believes it’s virtually impossible to effectively lobby for his constituents in Carroll and Frederick counties as a Republican in a chamber where Democrats hold the majority.
Bouchat has argued for years that if Carroll County went from its current form of government — in which a board of five commissioners is responsible for legislative and executive policy decisions — to a charter government, in which a county executive rules with a county council, Republicans would fare better in Annapolis.
In 2019, Bouchat also said he would not seek a second term on the Board of County Commissioners, after commissioners voted to hold off discussions about charter government.
Rothstein, said it makes “no sense” for Bouchat to twice use the idea of charter government as a reason not to seek a second term.
“He’s served two years of his first term, and the idea of using charter government over a commissioner form of government has no credibility,” he said. “It’s a shame.”
Rothstein defended the county’s form of government, mentioning the current controversy over the proposed Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project. The project would see 70 miles of 500,000-volt transmission lines installed through Carroll, Frederick and Baltimore counties.
Rothstein said county commissioners are working well with their counterparts in Frederick and Baltimore counties. Both of those counties are charter governments with a county executive and county council
“Most recently with the powerline situation, Carroll County has become the nucleus of bringing together Frederick County and Baltimore County, and the state legislature,” he said. “We are thoughtful in everything we do. We have strong leadership roles across the state.
“The relationship with the other elected officials, the Board of Education, and the state legislature, is transparent, and better than any other county in Maryland,” he said. “No other county has such a strong and open relationship.”
Kiler believes commissioner government is best for Carroll.
“The residents and voters of Carroll County have said that multiple times,” he said. “We have met with [the] governor, a number of his secretaries and delegates, and senators, multiple times. I don’t feel we would have a stronger voice in Annapolis if we had a county executive.”
Kiler said since 1968, county residents have voted against switching to charter government three times.
“The last charter proposal in 1998, was defeated by an almost 3-to-2 margin,” he said. “In addition, Code Home Rule was rejected by the voters three times, most recently in 2006. Based on these precedents, we can only conclude that our citizens are satisfied with the commissioner form of government in Carroll County.”
Finally, Republican Del. April Rose, who serves with Bouchat in District 5 as part of the county delegation in Annapolis, said she would welcome a discussion on charter government only if that is what residents want.
“I’m always willing to listen to constituents,” she said. “We’ve gone through this several times. I’ve seen this movie before. Traditionally our citizens have said they don’t want this and think it will be more expensive. I do not see a groundswell of people wanting a county executive.
“Certainly, as a duly elected official he is allowed to bring it up, but there’s no support for it on the delegation,” Rose said. “The delegation is not giving him what he wants, and he realizes he’s not getting it.”
