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Howard County Council adopts new county flag over objections about process
Summary
The Howard County Council approved Council Bill 22-20-25 to adopt a new county flag after a debate over who should control the selection process under the county charter.
The Howard County Council voted to adopt a new county flag, approving Council Bill 22-20-25 after members debated whether the council or the county executive should control the selection process.
The council approved the bill on a 4-1 vote. Chair Liz Walsh cast the lone no, arguing the charter gives the council explicit authority over the county seal and flag and that the council had ceded that authority in practice. “By charter, this is one of our very few actual rights... section 9-09,” Walsh said during debate.
Supporters described the flag-selection process as having broad community participation. Councilmember Christiana Rigby said the process let “more people from our community hav[e] input, going through this process, building consensus, on a flag design than the 5 of us.” Rigby and other supporters said volunteers and commission members had invested months of work and deserved a final resolution.
Walsh told colleagues she had received emails raising questions about the process and the commission’s adherence to expert advice on color and fabrication. She said the council’s charter provision gave the council the authority to adopt or alter the county flag and that she wanted the body to exercise that authority directly in the future. Rigby and others replied that the commission process had expanded public participation and that revisiting the decision at a later date would disrespect months of volunteer work.
The vote: Chair Liz Walsh voted no; Dr. Jones, Deb Young, Christiana Rigby and Mr. Youngman voted yes.
The council also noted there had been public hearings and written comments on the design; council staff said a hybrid public hearing would be held May 19 for additional testimony on legislation introduced that night.
Council action on the flag means the new design will be available for county use; implementation details such as production and issuance were discussed as administrative matters that staff will coordinate.
The council moved on to other business after the vote, including several bills and resolution votes scheduled for final consideration.
