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Residents raise charter petition thresholds, bus-shelter maintenance and mental-health pilot in public comment
Summary
During public comment residents urged state-law changes to lower the petition threshold for charter amendments, criticized the city’s bus-shelter contract and maintenance backlog, and called for a permanent public-safety oversight committee and clarity on the mental-health pilot MOU.
Several residents used the public-comment period to press the council on different topics. Tom Gagliardo (Ward 1) urged the council to ask the District 20 delegation and the Maryland Municipal League to seek a change in state law that would lower the petition threshold required for city charter amendments, noting the current requirement is 20% of registered voters. "Maybe 250, maybe 500 works," Gagliardo said as examples for a lower signature target.
Arthur David Olsen (Ward 4) raised a list of city maintenance concerns including a declining bus-shelter program, which he said had dropped from a 'D' to an 'F' due to missing shelters and inadequate contractor performance, and he urged the city to consider declaring a breach of contract if performance doesn’t improve. Ferd Hefner representing Presbyterians for Police Transformation urged adoption of the task force’s top recommendation for a permanent public-safety community standing committee and asked the council to ensure staffing and supervision align as the mental-health pilot transitions into the county MCOT system.
Council members acknowledged the comments and asked staff to follow up: several members asked the city manager’s office for updates on bus-shelter contracts and maintenance backlogs, and staff said they will resend protocols and MOU updates related to the mental-health pilot to council members.
