Charter Government Initiative

Dear Cecil County neighbors and friends,

Since my retirement in 2004 I have been drawn into local civic affairs. I take an active interest in my community and I think it is important for our citizens to be participants and well informed on the issues at hand. I’m for good government. For this reason, I commend to you the efforts of the local non-partisan board of citizens who have drafted a Charter government proposal for Cecil County. It will be on the ballot in November. I urge you to read and review this document: http://www.ccgov.org/commissioners/charterboard.cfm.

Our present form of commissioner government is a government by committee that can do little more than shift from crisis to crisis. There is no single individual accountable for any single action. Charter government would give us a County Executive whose feet could be held to the fire of responsibility. Charter government would help relieve us from the interference in local affairs by Annapolis politicians. The best governance is the one that is closest to us, and I believe a Charter government for our county would be preferable to the dictates from Annapolis.

A noteworthy, innovative, and commendable feature of the Charter Government Initiative is the requirement for a five year strategic plan by the County Executive, the Council and department heads in a public forum with public participation. It requires that this plan be annually reviewed in open session, and sets the five most important priorities for the County. It would be refreshing for our leadership to place their decisions on a deliberative process in a meaningful context instead of lurching from one emergency to the next.

Some are wary of Charter Government because they fear additional cost of government. This is a legitimate concern in these difficult times and one with which I sympathize. The Charter Board was well aware that previous Charter efforts floundered on these very rocks and took pains to avoid the shoals of additional expense. They wisely designed a structure that is almost neutral in terms of the costs of the structure by reducing some salaries, and eliminating some positions in order to “pay the bill” for the added features.

The cost of government is mostly a result of population and services provided – not a result of the form of local government. Charter government cannot create new taxes, impact fees, or new tax credits. The people we elect to serve in Annapolis do that. The ability to govern locally, effectively, and more efficiently (see the long range plan feature) makes the case that this form of local government could be better than neutral in terms of cost. It will certainly be more transparent, and responsive to the voters, and that alone offers the probability of cost benefits. I urge you to study the Charter, and vote for it in November.



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Brig.Gen. Kennard R. Wiggins, Jr.
(DE ANG Ret.)
Elkton MD 21921
410-398-0742, cell 443-553-6314