Nonpartisan and Education-based News for Cambridge
The Spy’s Dave Wheelan and WHCP Community Radio’s Jim Brady continue their monthly check-in with the City of Cambridge’s police chief Justin Todd. In this segment, Chief Todd talks about the ongoing fentanyl crisis and its impact on the community, juvenile crime, officer staffing levels, and preliminary public safety results for the first quarter of 2024.
This video is approximately 12 minutes in length.
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Last week the news of Tom Carroll’s resignation spread throughout Cambridge quickly. The highly respected city manager made it official that he would step down as the city’s chief administrator in May after only serving 22 months in office. Added to this bit of disruptive news was that Carroll made no bones about that he was leaving due to the direct fact that he had lost confidence in the nonprofit Cambrige Waterfront Development Inc. leadership and its plans to develop the Cambridge Harbor project.
This was clearly on the minds of the Spy’s Dave Wheelan and WHCP Community Radio’s Jim Brady as they continued their series have frequent check-ins with Mayor Steve Rideout.
This video is approximately 15 minutes in length.
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Dorchester County is approaching a change that hasn’t happened in 20 years. It’s considering revisions of the county charter and the rules of the road for the county’s government.
It may sound tedious, but it’s not without controversy. The previous county council’s scuttled the Charter Review Commission at appointed grinding to a halt efforts to bring charter changes to voters in referendum in 2022.
The changes recommended by a newly appointed charter review commission include term limits, lifting the residency requirement for the county manager and the finance director, and a prohibition on county council members telling county employees what to do.
“There was a lot of problems with the last council,” said William Layton, who chaired the Charter Review Commission. “But I think it’s not just the last council where we’ve seen this be an issue, not because anybody wants to do anything wrong, but just they’re trying to get their stuff done. They’re trying to give direction and we need to make sure it all goes through the county manager.”
And this time commission members say the county council is standing behind them, a sharp departure from the previous council.
“They’re not even on the same planet, and I shouldn’t be that sarcastic, but I mean it’s huge. Yeah, it’s huge, said Alan Nelson who also worked on the revisions. “The charter hasn’t been changed since it was originally adopted and it’s 20 some years ago and certainly times have changed and we don’t do things the same way we did 20 years ago. So things like there is one recommendation in there, one requirement in the charter that there has to be administrative review of county government every four years. One of the things that was talked about was when do you do that and want to make sure it’s done. The previous council didn’t even do it, but there needs to be, it’s kind of like, I call it the state of the county type of a message. What we suggested is that be done at the end of no later than end of the first year, a new council takes place.”
What has already stirred up discussion online is the commissioner’s recommendation to remove the longstanding requirement that the county manager and finance director live in Dorchester County. To members of the review board, the proposal is simply a recognition of the reality that in a county of just 33,000 residents, the talent pool is limited.
“When you mandate that they have to live in the county, it limits you,” said commission member Susan Dukes. “I don’t think people understand the diversity that you need to hold the position, especially finance director and county manager because you have to be able to be so diverse with the regulations from the local, the state, the federal. You have to understand so many different things, so many different regulations and so many different areas that you have to be able to work with and comprehend and be able to bring into the county and be able to carry. I’ve been in local government for over 30 years and I couldn’t do it.”
Layton, who chaired the Charter Review Commission, said the right candidate for these jobs might be nearby but not in Dorchester.
“Not everybody certainly lives in Dorchester County or wants to move to Dorchester County right away,” Layton said. “We want to be able to pull from a group that involves more or includes more people. Again, going back to if the point is to live close to Cambridge, to be available, could live in Trappe and be closer to Cambridge than you are living down in South Dorchester or North Dorchester. There are people that are close that are nearby that don’t necessarily live in the county, and we wanted to give the council a chance to look at that population.”
Dorchester County has not had an official, full-fledged county manager since 2020, when Keith Atkins resigned after council interference with his management. Since then, the county has appointed acting or interim managers. Jeff Powell, a Salisbury resident, has been interim county manager over a year despite the current charter that requires a county manager to be a resident.
The Charter review members say Powell was not a consideration.
“From my part, and I’m sure a lot of the other accounting council members do know. I honestly don’t even know where Jeff Powell lives,” Layton said. “I’m not trying to get him grandfathered in there or anything like that. All I am looking at is how do we get the best person into this position and expand that net a little bit.”
Commission member Allen Nelson said it’s only reasonable, given Dorchester’s experience.
“We all know, I mean anybody who’s paid any attention knows that we’ve struggled,” Nelson said. “The county has struggled to get county managers. For me as having been somebody that has worked in this county most of my life and been responsible for hiring people and bringing ’em into the county, I know that while I would love them to live in the county, it just doesn’t always work out that way. What difference does it make? You want the best person for the job.”
Another proposed revision would require transparency by the county council, including streaming meetings on the internet. More controversial is a new proposed term limit for county commissioners of three, four-year terms. Nelson said many people agree with that limit.
“I’m hearing the other argument is that, well, the voters will decide if you need term limits or not. Well, no, they won’t and especially in a place like Dorchester County,” Nelson said. “We’re a small town, we’re a small area. Everybody knows everybody or thinks they do. You’ve got somebody that is very popular, very well known in the community, and they may be doing a good job, but there may be somebody else that has an interest to come in and maybe take a little bit different spin on it or do a little bit different. I know this for a fact. They’ll choose not to run because they don’t want to run against the popular person or maybe a friend of theirs. They just don’t want to have that battle.”
All of the eight recommended charter changes will be subject of a special session for public comment held March 19th at the county council meeting. It’s still up to the county commissioners to decide which if any of the revisions to put before the voters this fall in a ballot referendum. Only those charter changes approved by a majority of voters will become law.
“I’m really happy to see them getting public comments on everything that we recommended and I really hope the public will come out and comment on that,” Layton said. “Hopefully in favor of it – in the sense that none of this will put it into law. It still has to go to a referendum and I’d love to see these all go out and get the public’s vote yes or no and for things the public doesn’t want. Okay, then we don’t. It’s a democracy and the majority chooses, but at least it goes out and the citizens of Dorchester County get to choose.”
To read the proposed charter changes, visit the county government website. Any and all Dorchester residents are invited to offer and listen to public comments. Tuesday, March 19th, 6:00 PM at the county Council Chambers room 110 at the county’s office building at 501 Court Lane in Cambridge.
By WHCP News Director Jim Brady
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Every month, the Cambridge Spy and WHCP Community Radio sit down with Cambridge Police Chief Justin Todd to review the city’s current status of public safety. In today’s program, the Spy’s editor, Dave Wheelan, and WHCP’s newly appointed news director, Jim Brady, talked to the chief this month about the Citizen Police Academy, police officer staffing, the effectiveness of ShotSpotter technology, and more.
This video is approximately 10 minutes in length.
The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.
Every month, the Cambridge Spy and WHCP Community Radio sit down with Cambridge Police Chief Justin Todd to review the city’s current status of public safety.
In this recent update, Chief Todd talks about the recent homicide and important background about the crime. He also updates us on his campaign for community policing, staffing, and some observations as the Maryland Assembly meets in Annapolis to discuss juvenile justice measures.
This video is approximately ten minutes in length.
The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.
In the Spy and WHCP’s monthly check in with Chief Justin Todd of the Cambridge Police Department discussed several key initiatives and challenges facing the department. Chief Todd highlighted the introduction of a new position funded by the governor’s office, the “Protect Coordinator,” part of the “Public Resources Organizing to End Crime Together” program. This role, filled by Lamont Goodson a former FBI agent with a military background, is focused on community-oriented policing, particularly in high crime areas.
Chief Todd also talked about the department’s community engagement efforts, including the “Shop with a Cop” program and the MLK youth basketball classic. These initiatives aim to foster positive interactions between the police and the community, especially the youth.
Regarding the impact of new cannabis laws, Chief Todd noted no significant change in street-level crime, but expressed concerns about the challenges of enforcing driving under the influence laws.
Chief Todd also discussed the success of the ShotSpotter program in tracking and responding to gun violence and emphasized the importance of community policing through environmental design to reduce crime. He stressed the need for inter-department cooperation across jurisdictions to address the interconnected nature of criminal activity in the region.
This video is approximately 12 minutes in length.
The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.
The Spy continues its ongoing collaborative series with WHCP Community Radio in our latest “Check in” session with the City of Cambridge’s mayor, Steve Rideout, this week.
Yesterday, The Spy’s Dave Wheelan and WHCP’s Mike Starling connected with Mayor Rideout via Zoom to discuss, among other things, his thoughts after serving a year in office, as well as a brief status report on the current status of the relationship between the City Council and the Cambridge Waterfront Development Inc. after the council sent a letter of concern to the CWDI last month.
This video is approximately 20 minutes in length.
The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.
The City of Cambridge has recently raised concerns about the CDWI’s Cambridge Harbor’s ambitious plans. In a letter sent to CDWI on October 24, the city expressed its apprehensions about the governance of the CDWI board and the specifics of the plan.
In a Spy/ WHCP Community Radio interview, Cambridge town manager Tom Carroll, outlines those concerns, which revolve around four key points:
First, the city believes that involving a private developer with experience in handling projects of this magnitude and complexity is essential. While the development team may have the desire to undertake the project independently, the city emphasizes the need for external expertise with a proven track record. Developing a project of this scale is multifaceted and prone to costly mistakes, even for skilled developers.
Secondly, the city contends that the proposal presented in the development team’s mid-year report does not generate sufficient economic value. It falls short of meeting the community’s needs for a substantial change in its tax base. Implementing the presented plan would demand an unacceptably large public sector subsidy, which the city and county cannot afford.
The third point of concern is related to the Tax Increment Finance District, a public sector mechanism aimed at making growth financially self-sustaining. The city deems it unacceptably large and ineffective in achieving the necessary public funding for a plan that lacks economic viability.
Lastly, the city calls for increased transparency, information, and accountability in the governance of the CDWI board. As the entity responsible for setting up the organization, the city believes they should have full insight into CDWI’s actions, which they feel has been lacking.
This video is approximately four minutes in length.
The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.
Every month, the Spy and our nonprofit media partner, WHCP Community Radio, have the opportunity to talk to Justin Todd, the Chief of Police for Cambridge, about public safety and crime prevention issues. As viewers have noted over the past several interviews, Chief Todd has thought long and hard about law enforcement during his lifetime career, and each session is an extremely helpful exchange on how small cities like Cambridge can fight crime effectively.
But this month’s installment last Wednesday was particularly insightful as Todd talked candidly about the unintended consequences of Maryland’s Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2022. The law generally prohibits enforcement officers from detaining anyone under 13 after committing most crimes. The legislation’s goal was to steer youth away from formal court processing, protect due process rights, safeguard against deceptive interrogation techniques, limit solitary confinement and restraints, and other issues related to being separated from families.
In the case of Cambridge, this has led, for example, to an unprecedented surge in stolen cars by kids, but even more devastating for Todd is that gangs have recruited some of these children, now in hand with their “get out of jail” cards, to commit serious crimes.
As Cambridge ‘s law enforcement attempt to cope with this unique loophole, the chief is hopeful that Annapolis lawmakers will begin to address this issue in this year’s legislative session.
The Spy’s Dave Wheelan talked to Chief Todd by Zoom this week.
This video is approximately five minutes in length.
The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.
Dorchester’s County government has lost a key credit rating in the latest fallout from years of overdue financial audits that are only now becoming available.
Moody’s Investors Service late last week formally withdrew Dorchester’s credit rating when county officials failed to produce financials under a 30 day deadline. Moody’s cited the lack of information from Dorchester in wiping out its credit rating.
County Council President Lenny Pfeffer said Dorchester officials are engaged with Moody’s to try to fix the information. The county posted the oldest of the overdue audits, for fiscal year 2021, on its website Monday.
“We’ve instructed (Moody’s) that as soon as we receive the audits that are complete, we will make sure that they have that information,” Pfeffer said. “But in the meantime, we’ve sent them everything else that we could up to this point.”
With no credit rating, the county would be forced to pay much higher interest rates on any bonds or capital leases. The difference could be 12 to 15% higher than the desirable municipal bond rating it had enjoyed until now. That’s more taxpayer dollars going to pay for higher interest.
The lack of a credit rating also means a likely discount in the resale value of at least $30 million worth of bonds the county previously issued. S&P Global, another rating service, withdrew its rating for Dorchester in April.
The county government has failed to file legally required financial audits to the state since 2020. With the 2021 audit complete, the county is still overdue on the 2022 audit. The fiscal year 2023 audit is due by the end of October.
Officials previously cited high turnover in the finance department and a 2020 computer hack as reasons for the delay. But multiple extensions granted by the state last year had expired with no completed audit submitted. Pfeffer said the current delay is a matter of time auditors need to work.
“We’re at the mercy of the third party independent auditor, so we can only go as fast as they go,” Pfeffer said. “We’ve tried to supply as much information as personnel that they’ve asked for, but we’re still at their mercy.”
Pfeffer said at a council meeting September 5th that the audits were 99 percent complete and predicted the oldest missing report, for fiscal year 2021, would be ready in two weeks. The posting on Monday of the 2021 audit comes one day inside his prediction. Pfeffer said he expects progress will accelerate.
“FY21, since they had to translate a lot of data for the system that was lost and stuff that was put in incorrect or whatever, the new information going into 22 should go much faster,” he said.
The county can submit a fee to Moody’s to reevaluate a credit rating once it has the required financial reports finished. Moody’s did not indicate how long it could take to reestablish a credit rating after financial audits are delivered.
By Jim Brady of WHCP Community Radio
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