From Harford County government:
County Executive Barry Glassman announced plans Wednesday to outsource the county’s environmental services functions, including the operation of its Harford County Waste Disposal Center in Street and the Tollgate Rd. drop-off site in Bel Air, to Maryland Environmental Service, a not-for-profit, independent state agency. Without raising prices or limiting services to the public, the outsourcing planned to begin in late summer will provide opportunities to improve efficiency, realize cost savings and minimize future expenditures.
Maryland Environmental Service’s scope of work is planned to include staffing for operations and technical support of the county’s daily landfill operations, homeowner drop-off services, mulch and compost operations, roadside litter control, recycling and related engineering services. As a result, 46 positions in the county’s Division of Environmental Services will be eliminated.
“Staffing changes are the only difference that citizens may notice, but this outsourcing will streamline county operations, increase our access to expert resources and allow for better cost management,” said County Executive Glassman. “At the same time, this is the last major reorganization in my transition plan, and we are working to find homes for affected employees.”
The Glassman administration has notified affected employees and encouraged them to apply for 27 job openings with the county, which are primarily essential positions being backfilled as a result of the county’s earlier retirement incentive program. The administration will also provide assistance for those who wish to apply for available positions with Maryland Environmental Service, which may include staffing of the Harford County operations.
Established in 1970, Maryland Environmental Service (MES) is a not-for-profit, independent state agency with expertise in providing environmentally responsible services at competitive prices to private sector and government clients. MES services include water and wastewater treatment, solid waste management, composting, recycling, hazardous materials cleanup, storm water services and renewable energy. It currently has 764 projects in three states.
MES has proposed to provide services for Harford County in fiscal year 2016 at a cost not to exceed the county’s budget for the same services. Because MES is a not-for-profit agency, it only charges for expenses incurred, allowing for cost savings to the county due to efficiencies in MES operations, including flexibility in workforce deployment, and economies of scale.
Sitting around all day isn’t much of a “job” but it did pay well while it lasted. Poor dump workers will now have to get a real job.
What ever happen to the brain surgeon couple working at the dump that stole gas for a couple of years before getting caught. Did they get rehired with back pay?
No Jim. They are still out cutting grass. Powering the mowers with all the gas they stole. As for the ones left. Good luck finding a job. Told them when I retired last year to simplify and get out.
The way usually things are done at the county is to promote people that are lousy workers and thiefs or whatever else they do or find them a job within the county elsewhere. The good workers never get promoted or get raises while the losers always get some kind of union protection and then make a deal with the county government. And THAT is a proven fact that could be proven by a lot of people. And it is still ongoing in this administration. HR and the administration is always afraid of getting sued by these “losers” “thiefs” “bullies” etc. and that is why they will always move them around and not get rid of them. Some have been even promoted to better jobs with pay increases. And all of that is a FACT.
Do you have sources for your facts?
Where are those proven facts? Let’s see some name’s of people and description of events.
Oh, right, you aren’t going to post any.
The school system’s unions protects people who do nothing, who waste time, who do not show up for work numerous times, the good employees have to pick up there work load. The crappy workers get wrote up and upper management does nothing.
Yup they will have to get real jobs, but the last laugh is on the tax payers! MES is a state agency that believes in fees. They will fee the money right out of your pocket. MES also agreed to operate this fiscal year on the current budget, what happens next year when? (90% of the equipment is band-aided together in desperate need for replacement… not one penny has been put on the side the last 10 years for replacement). Another County cost saving measure was to send your trash to Baltimore County starting March of 2016 (do you think the trash haulers are going to write-off the extra salaries, wear n tear of their equipment?) Do the math for the residents who live in Norrissville? Oh and by the way Mr. Glassman supported former LT. Governor Brown with campaign donations trying to get him elected… so you just wait, the residents will start getting tax and fees everywhere!
Isn’t our old friend and county exec Jim Harkins still the head of MES?
Yes History, former County Executive Jim Harkins is still the Director of Maryland Environmental Services (MES). He contributed to both the Glassman and Council President Slutsky’s campaigns.
On the Board of MES you have Harford attorney Joe Snee. Sneed stroked a $1,000 check to Mr. Glassman for his campaign. You know Joe, the guy whom the Aegis stated in 2010; “He’s never backed a losing candidate for county executive or circuit court judge, and he’s got his finger so close to the pulse of the political community, he can tell you who Harford County’s next county executive will be, after Craig’s second term”. He predicted Mr. Glassman four years before it in fact became a reality.
Joe philosophy can be summed up from the same Aegis article; “As people move into Harford County, as government continues to regulate, there will be more need for legal services”. Translation, big government is good for Joe Snee. Just so happens Snee is also the attorney for Walmart, representing the new store they are trying to shove down the citizen’s of Harford’s throats.
Also on the board of MES and its Secretary you have Harford developer Richard Street, who has given to the campaign of Councilman Jim McMahon. Street is a big client of Snee who has worked tirelessly to change school district lines in order to place new housing developments in a “more desirable” school boundary.
MES Deputy Director John O’Neill has gotten in the act and given to the campaign of Councilman Chad Shrodes.
And let’s forget MES board members Edward Adams and Talmadge Simons who contributed to the campaigns of former county exec David Craig. Remember the trash transfer station that David wanted to build in Joppa and give the contract to MES? Just so happens that David’s son Randy now works at MES.
Nice work Mr. Glassman, you have used the pretext of reducing the size of Harford government, to actually award the work to your friends, and the friends of various members of this County Council.
Developers own this county and have for many, many years. This one greases that one, who greases that one who sits on the council who finds a way to make that happen – ordinances are changed, exceptions are made, enormous raised reservoirs are built (yes that’s all about getting the building moratorium lifted in Bel Air), and citizens wishes are ignored. These guys have all parlayed a once rich inventory of farmland into enormous personal wealth and sitting in the middle of it is the developers best friend – Snee. Nothing wrong with being rich, nothing wrong with being an advocate but it’s so past that. We’ll be left with a county with no personality, no open spaces, no history and a compromised quality of life that you can already see if you’ve lived here any length of time. These little $1000 donations I suspect are symbolic but not representative of the offers (eh hem…opportunities) discussed behind closed doors.
It’s those damned cat people.
What do feral cats have to do with development unless of course you’re just being a troll type internet stalker and then what’s your point? If you have something to share, an opinion, anything of value to add – perhaps a cogent thought then let’s here it.
You ask if I have any cogent thought on the dump being out sourced (the topic) while you rant on about enormous raised reservoirs, developers, farmland, compromised quality of life and all sorts of nonsencile thoughts that have nothing to do with anything.
Point being loosen up that tin foil hat you have yet to prove one fact of your never ending conspiracy theories you nutbag.
The bid MES came in with is higher than the operating cost of the landfill currently. MES will operate at a loss the first year to get their foot in the door and then raise costs going forward to make money. I know the numbers and I know this is true. MES does not run any operation from top to bottom the way they are expected to here in Harford County. The quality of services will decline and they will probably end up being out of compliance with the state.
-This move will cost the county more in the long run.
-The quality of services will decline.
-46 hardworking county employees lost their jobs, many losing pensions and everything.
Explain how this is a good thing. It is pure political graft in its most base form.
Didn’t Harkins leave office before his term was up to take the MES gig?
I MADE THIS COMMENT IN REGARDS TO ANOTHER ISSUE, BUT IT SEEMS EQUALLY RELEVANT TO THIS CONVERSATION:
Sadly, politics, regardless of party, is far too political. I was always concerned about the Craig administration, but the new administration really scares me. The rapid announcement by the Glassman people that the Master Plan was to be “upgraded” or “Reviewed” (or whatever euphemism the Executive used) really “set off fire bells in the night.”
It seems,that Mr. Glassman believes that Harford County belongs to him and his cronies. His dictate changing the colors of the County Seal really ticks me off. I’m afraid next he’ll declare, on the new revamped County Website (which genuinely does need a major re-design) that a Sheep is to be the official county Mascot. At least Glassman can rightly claim he grew up in the County, as opposed to the Council President who got caught in that lie about his background during the last election..
Yes, History. He did leave to nearly double his salary thanks to a political favor from Bob Erlich. Don’t be surprised if/when you see Jim Harkins return as a county employee as a part of this new political favor from Barry Glassman. Unbelievable.
While all that sounds terrible without some numbers it’s all a bunch of noise.
Was he making 10 bucks an hour and left for 15?
You seem to know More History so give us the numbers.
It does not seem too hard to get the numbers if you are really interested. A simple Google search brought up the article from the Baltimore Sun in 2005.
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2005-05-26/news/0505260117_1_harkins-county-executive-maryland-environmental-service
From that article:
“Harkins said his last day as county executive will be July 15. He will start his new job, which pays $75,000 a year more than his $90,000 county executive position, the next day.”
If he averaged 2% raises per year, he is over 200K now.
Can you help me find the salary for the Director of MES? It appears to be buried.
They have some Harford County Public Schools, white Vans sitting in residental neighborhoods, I have reported this to the county, and to the state for fraud waste and abuse. Lets see what happens
Let me tell you they do nothing. My neighbor goes to work at 6:45 comes back home in a HCPS van by 7:30 and puts his daughter on the bus at 8:30 every morning then goes off to work.
They don’t care the system is corrupt from top to bottom.
not everyone is corrupt, there is alot of good working people, that when they come in the door they are told to take short cuts slowdown, your making us look bad, there is many that are so insecure about their jobs that they constantly harass other people, and criticize there work to make the do nothings look good. There is some good hardworking people,
I have never seen an explanation anywhere as to why a government agency can’t be run like a business, as in cost cutting and streamlining. Why can’t our current County Executive and the many, many folks he’s surrounded himself with figure out the fiscal issues without outsourcing?
Running it like a business would require the ability to fire people at will. No government union would ever allow that. Outsourcing and shuffling jobs around is the only solution.
Replace the custodial crews with contractors, keep the essential ones, most of them really are housekeepers and janitors.
They should staff the dump with work-release prisoners.
When I started working there back in ’04 they had work release prisoners. Residents didn’t like it, and they (work release) wound up stealing and running off…People don’t always know the whole story. Sad, but true. I agree, though- it was a good move, get them out of jail, and work- maybe make some better decisions. Didn’t work out that way.
It just saddens me when our friends and neighbors lose their jobs while our elected employees vote themselves bigger salaries.
I was just there for an hour last weekend (the wait time at the landfill entrance was 45 minutes) and will be back this weekend, so I’m getting a good look at what they’re doing. It wasn’t high energy, I’ll say that much. But it did seem like everyone was serving a purpose, and a lot of the time they had to stand and wait as much as we did. Having spoken with some of them and watched them work for that much time, I’m saddened to hear this and I wish them well.
But that said, I do see where a little ingenuity could go a long way, at least in terms of moving things along on the customer side of things. I see that there’s only one window to take payments for each person, but they could go down the line of cars and do the cash payments at the vehicles and give written receipts to speed things along. For that matter, they could even just get a hand credit card scanner/printer and do the same thing for everybody. There doesn’t seem to be any reason on a busy saturday to lock away the cashier in that little booth, which seems to be the pinch point because at the actual dumping station there were multiple empty places for people to pull in.
So it seems like there’s too much ‘in the box’ psychology in place there, if you ask me, and if you can’t ever change that, then you get outsourced.
I like when they first did the mirror tint on the glass at the pay station then when they realized how stupid that was from customer input they cut a square out so you could see who you were dealing with.
I’m happy to see the change and with MES being a non profit the cost savings to us taxpayers should be substantial. I was there a few weeks ago and they had a $50,000 bobcat skid loader mowing the grass, the guy running it probably made another 50k including benefits. Finding a grass cutting job out in the real world at the same pay is no doubt going to be difficult for him.
I’m sadden to see this completes Barry’s cuts.
‘Sup, Jim in Hickory? $50,000 dollar Bobcat? How do you know how much they paid for it? Did HCG Fleet Management let you see the cost?
Let me guess, you looked it up on the internet?
What’s your butt hurt, bro? Typical overweight over the hump (middle aged) tinfoil know it all white male? How close am I?
I think you are jealous people who are 18 years old can retire at 38 years old after working for the county, get health care and a pension, move to a state (like Florida) that doesn’t collect state income tax and start another career.
Unlike the average private sector worker who needs to retire a millionaire or work until they are 75 to live comfortably.
LOL Enjoy yourself.
It was actually just a guess so I did look it up and damn was I off it probably cost more like 80k new. 🙂
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2013-Bobcat-T770-Compact-Track-Loader-Enclosed-Cab-Standard-Controls-High-Flow/121616336747?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D31236%26meid%3D44cc584df0994f9bbffaed6e09383d5d%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D371337236139&rt=nc
Right. So, what, exactly? Did Harford County pay that much for the one at the dump? Did they get a massive discount when ordering a dozen of them?
What are trying to imply? Someone needs to push now? They need to not use it for mowing?
Do you hang out at the dump all day and gawk at said “Bobcat” and see how its used?
I guess you don’t agree with our volunteer fire departments having ladder trucks and tandem axle rescue trucks since all they really need is a smaller fire engine with the tools inside it.
Jim. What’s your profession? Don’t say “self employed” either as that’s not a profession.
I retired at 45 having sold a very successful company I built from scratch. It’s too darn hot out today so I’m playing on the internet for laughs.
The county has a 30 year retirement.
I used to get there first thing Saturday morning before they opened and wait in the long line. I found that if you get there about an hour after opening, the rush is over and the wait is much less.
The better idea would be to build a transfer station next to the railroad and ship all the trash to another location. Harford county trash could join the New York and New Jersey trash train that runs through here daily. Smaller footprint and less upkeep.
Really? That would NOT be a smaller foot print!! Reuse, reduce RECYCLE is a smaller foot print. Think. Putting it on a train is not a smaller footprint. THINK!
If that’s the case we should just shut down the landfill.
Arrogance and entitlement. I am talking about Billy Boniface, Barry Glassman and Jim Harkins. This deal smells worse than the landfill downwind on a hot summer day. With total disregard for employees who have dedicated themselves to the county and earned promised pensions and health coverage, Billy engineered a deal behind closed doors that he KNOWS will not save money. He was perfectly willing to leave 40+ families in dire straights to get what he wanted. It was all designed to give one person a new County job. Harkins. Glassman is either complicit or clueless – most likely the former, faking the latter. The truth will come out. Billy, as Glassman’s henchman, has pushed the envelope of special deals , employee intimidation and tricky wording to fool the citizens. Payback will come eventually and I will love watching him/them fall. Unfortunately, many people will already have been irreparably harmed before that happens and the citizens will have been hornswaggled out of a tremendous amount of money.
The truth hurts, I my neighbor said to me when he got home from work today that the County Law Department has forbidden any employee to talk to the media or people about this subject. I told to him to spill his guts… after all what are they gonna do? Fire him….news flash they already did along with 45 others!
The government has no right to tell a citizen they do not have the freedom of speech. Tell your neighbor to contact an attorney ASAP as even one right out of law school would be happy to take that money maker of a case.
jim in hickory
You know nothing about what’s goes on up at the landfill. one of my best friends works there. For one the landfill doesn’t own a bobcat with a mower. Yes they have skid loaders but not one with a mower. And the only people that make 50,000 a year are the ones in the office. not the one that greets you or help you unload your trash. The ones that make the stupid decisions are the upper management . And the people that are in jeopardy of losing there jobs have been commited to the county for years.my buddy has 18 years in there are several people that have 29 years in and will lose everything because of the new administration thinks they are doing the right thing. The county will still own the property.( who pays the taxes on that ) For the past 5-6 years all the equipment has been falling apart being barely running at times. Meanwhile the management has been giving back money TO MAKE IT LOOK ON PAPER . Trust me In A year or so when you have to pay for recycling , metal drop off , tires by the size and your trash rates go up your going to think damn this guy was right. Since all trash will go to Baltimore county in 2016 do you think the trash truck owners are going to eat that cost. I think not when it takes them an extra 2-3 hours to get there cans picks up and taken to Baltimore county trust me the cost will be past along to the customer. And a lot of the slow line is due to down town administration they have to video record each transaction. That’s why the guy out side can’t take your money . I just hope the admin comes to there senses and helps these folks out. This will not be a good thing. If you look at all the high ups they all come from the good ole boys system
There could not BE a more obvious Age Discrimination situation. Nothing going on here but claiming to cut costs by eliminating people who have earned benefits. Citizens will pay more, and employees who are citizens will be unable to pay their bills. Smart move, Barry and Billy!
I could care less how many friends you have working there tell them to wake up from his morning nap and look around because yes they do have a bobcat skidloader with a bush hog mower on it.
The $50 grand was WITH BENEFITS ask your “friend” he/she probably gets more than that. Try a little harder at reading comprehension.
Like it or not the dump was scaling back one way or the other and costs probably will be higher because all the NIMBYs don’t want a new dump so we have to export it. By outsourcing it now 47 people get lightened from the payroll and MES will replace them with people making a fraction of the current level.
The current hogs at the trough got caught without a chair when the music stopped which should come as a wake up call to all county workers.
“And a lot of the slow line is due to down town administration they have to video record each transaction. That’s why the guy out side can’t take your money.”
If true, I’d like to find out the reason why, because honestly I can’t see any reason for that to be necessary. It’s really not any different than a cashier at Wendy’s, you are short, you have a problem. Learn to count. Seems to me the county should be able to hire people qualified enough to do that and not feel like they have to be videotaped.
As a county resident I’d trade a little security control for an extra half hour of my life back.
Either way, I don’t blame any of the employees I saw, I’d say that’s a management problem, not a problem with the employees. And I also don’t expect there not to be any wait, hell I’d even wait 45 minutes happily if I thought everything was being done as efficiently as possible.
But we can’t have it both ways folks. if we’re worried about preserving our buddy’s job, them we’ll never cut anything. People complain about taxes going up, but when Mr. Glassman tries to take action to limit tax growth, everybody has a “pet rock” that they want to protect. Either we want to cut the budget line items and minimize tax growth or we don’t.
Harford Resident – I can understand why you would think that. The spin Barry and buds put on this sure sounds good. Unfortunately it is a complete bag of lies. No money has been saved by any of the changes so far. People have been fired, friends of his have been hired, and a ton of money has been spent on contracts with politically connected cronies. I am also a Harford Resident and I am sickened by what I have witnessed and how it has been sold to the citizens.
Nothing new. The previous administration did this to local semi-governmental organizations. Layed off all experienced employees with historical knowledge and hired relatives/friends of cronies. All swept under the rug.
jim in hickory
Stop in the landfill ask them to see there skid loader with a mower attachment.
Trust me you will not find one.
Sounds like you may be friends with some of the ( good ole boys ). Ie the administration. That is all
I have to ask no one it was mowing grass about 30 feet from me when I was at the metal recycling area. It’s a very nice piece of equipment I watched it go for a couple of minutes but he stopped mowing till I left probably afraid of kicking something out…. I must have been hallucinating huh…..
Dude let it go.
Hate to burst your bubble “Jim in Hickory” but the only skid steer with a bush hog attachment at the landfill belongs to a contractor doing work there and not the County. (for the record, all grass cutting at the landfill is performed by a contractor thru and open bidding process) Now, do I believe there are ways to improve the way the landfill is run, YES! but, it really doesn’t matter in the long run as the County, under Harkins’ leadership, zoned themselves out of the landfill business anyway. The cell being constructed now is the final cell and once it’s full, Scarboro will function as a homeowner drop off and transfer station only.
Jim In Hickory doesn’t know much. A lot of ASSumptions from what I guess is your typical overweight, american, white male who is over 50.
He won’t tell us his compamy he built, sold and proclaimed being retired. Maybe its true? Maybe not?
There are 4 different contractors working there right now. IF you saw something YOU assumed it was the county’s and a county employee operating it.
So please before you go and run your mouth get your facts strait.
Im done
I would like to ad the county doesn’t mow the grass there… it’s out sourced like everything else is going to be…. I believe the landscape company is J.D. Lawn Care or something along those lines. Who cares anyways, 46 families disrupted, no food, no heat, no gas for cooking or hot water, water shut off, gas shut off, electric shutoff… at least the former employees will be able to get a hot coffee with there food stamp card! What tax pays for all these… is it really saving the county or its tax payers anything. I just pray nothing bad happens to these county officials because they screwed with the employees and they loose sell control. Please pray for all.
Former employee of 10+ years (moved on to move with my family, out of state- thats for you Jim in Hickory)… I can 100% say that they’re right. Contractors (J.D. Lawn, when I left)HAVE been mowing the grass, mulching the flowerbeds, etc. Jim wants to live in his fairy tale….go on Jim. Stop talking without knowing the whole 360 degree picture. There’s ALWAYS more to the story- ANY story. Go get another hobby, Jim!
47 employees and the dump had to out source the grass cutting to a company that could afford an $80,000 piece off equipment to do it?
OMG thanks guys the only thing better could have been them paying people to cut it with scissors….. What did you guys do with the office trash? Hire waste management to some pick it up?
Bawahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!
Way to go Barry Glassman this bunch of numbnuts deserves to be unemployed.
Even the sheriffs office has it’s own dedicated grass cutters, hard to believe the dump couldn’t handle the job.
Wow, loose all historical knowledge in one fell swoop! Interesting management style.
Jim, what company did you build and sell?
Come on big balla’, if you start the innuendo’s you may as well keep impressing us.
Hey grandpa, better think about getting that new Vette’ or two soon with some custom aftermarket go fast parts, money buys happyness and god knows what those kids buggin’ their pop pop are doing with it.
No kids they are like county workers laying around all day doing nothing and complaining you don’t give them enough. And no vette it’s houses and boats.
So, what is this company you built and sold?
Not going to answer?
Leaving aside the emotional aspects and the victory dance over those who are directly affected, there should be more to this story. Stating that MES will only charge the county for services in 2016 what was proposed for that year is a red flag. Without the ability to review the contract and the numbers used in the projections for the ensuing five years, it is impossible to determine whether the tax payer is truly going to see any savings. If the newly managed facility will be exclusively a fee for service, then there may be no savings to the taxpayers who use the facility, in fact they will pay more. Along that same line, how much less in taxes will Harford County residents pay as a result of this action? As to MES saving money on the operation because they are more efficient, and have better management practices, why couldn’t the current managers of facility and their supervisors all the way up the chain have devised those same measures to achieve better efficiencies? If none of those management personnel are leaving as well, it is unlikely that there will be any savings in the County, ever. Finally, were the employees at the facility allowed to establish the most efficient operation and bid on the project? With all their experience, individual and collective knowledge, they just might have been able achieve an even better deal for the County. Perhaps the County Government could consider this post as a request to answer these questions and advise where the public can see the contract and the cost analysis for the projected savings in order to make a better informed determination of the benefits from this action?
THNX
John P. Mallamo
Is this the same John Mallamo that shows up at every county council meeting to protest anything and everything? He has lost all credibility.
I had to google the dump and see a sat picture of it, as I haven’t been there in years. What I found interesting is it is obviously closed in the picture but there are at least 30 county vehicles parked in the lots and no earth moving equipment in the picture. Did all 46 people get a vehicle with their job?
For those who are here to take a serious look at what is happening:
Billy Boniface has illegally fired a pool of people based on age and eligibility for retirement benefits. Additionally, he has attempted to separate people with 10, 15, 20 and more years of service without any severance. This is cruel, unnecessary and just the sort of thing that forced the creation of employment laws. Lawyers will be eating him for lunch soon.
When they do, they will find that this “sub contracting” or “outsourcing” was in fact a giant political favor so that Jim Harkins could leave MES and become a county employee to supervise the Solid Waste area.
This will all cost the county more as they pay a fortune for MES to do what was already being done, but for a much higher cost. But that won’t compare to the money they will spend on legal fees and settlements to deal with the approach he took.
Please Dagger Press – take a closer look. There is journalistic gold in this story.
Yea I’ll bet the county never checked if what they did was legal and the lawyers are lining up.
NOT!
“This is cruel, unnecessary and just the sort of thing that forced the creation of employment laws.”
What are these “employment laws”? MD is and employment at will state, unless they have a contract and it has been broken there are no “employment laws” covering this.
Don’t wait for the Dagger Press to investigate. The communication person for the administration is former Dagger investigative reporter Cindy Mumby. She seemed to have an interest in the truth in her old job, but now she is subject to the same intimidation and “tow the party line” messaging as all county employees under Glassman/Boniface. She must have changed or is choking her way through it, and the Dagger staff must be confused hearing such “spin” from one of their own. I hope they find their way to the truth. Harford County citizens and employees deserve that much.
You should be appalled, it’s “toe the line” not tow.
Whoops! Thank you Henry. I am appalled and embarrassed, but appreciate the correction.
I have been telling you ALL for THREE years now, that there is no such thing as integrity in Harford County. You guys seem to believe that there is some sort of honor involved in your courts, law enforcement and county government. This is simply untrue. You all are living in a county that is totally messed up with illegal and unconstitutional behavior embedded in your government at all levels. I preach on here to warn the average everyday idiots that this is happening all around you. I’ve given you all example after example of the corruption that has infested your system and it has fallen on deaf ears. Once and for all, Harford County’s government is corrupt from top to bottom. That’s the bottom line, because Jon Adam McCarty says so…….
I hesitate to support the sheriffs new rule on domestic violence/ gun confiscation, however I, as a life member of the NRA, fully support this whack job having every weapon within a five mile radius of him removed.
You might be right, I might be crazy, but sometimes a lunatic is what you’re looking for. Call me what you will, but I speak the truth about everything I say.
Funny comment, wrong article. This isn’t a discussion about domestic violence/ gun confiscation, its about employees getting raped. B, you are wired incorrectly. But since you are a life member of the NRA, I should’ve expected that. Are you not concerned about good people losing their jobs so that friends and family of the County Council are moved in to replace them? Are you not concerned that Harford County is breaching contractual obligations (teachers) and paying employees under their value? Instead you want to take pot shots at some conspiracy theorist that actually makes sense in a lot of what he says. Who really thinks that some sort of chicanery isn’t involved in recent moves by the HarCo powers that be? I do.
I guess I’m supposed to be somewhat appreciative of your comment, but I’m not a conspiracy theorist. I’m a teller of the truth. B fuddled, please GFY….. Oh and B, I’ve never needed to point a gun at any one. I’m adept with my hands. Unless its for military, defense, hunting or a police emergency, a gun is for a coward who can not defend themselves by means of honorable combat. But you wouldn’t know what honor is……….
Soulman
I really hope that you continue to post. I really get a great deal of enjoyment out of reading your post. Besides being the “self proclaimed” all omniscient one I think I have figured out your genealogy. You are a hybrid character related to Steven Seagal, F. Lee Bailey, and Bad Bad Leroy Brown to name just a few. Keep the comments coming. You are a hoot.
….with just a dash of PigPen.
You got me wrong. I’m an Irish/ German/ English mutt. I don’t recall being self proclaimed anything, except maybe career criminal, no, that was all of you. Yes, I think Harford County is corrupt. No, I don’t use guns. Never did. Don’t need one.
B,
Whenever someone posts outright lies, such as “breaching contractual obligations (teachers)” they lose all credibility. Again and again, if the county failed to keep its end of a contract the teacher’s union would have them in court. There was no contract for raises and steps. It is a lie. Those teachers who post such swill show they are too stupid to teach and thus do not deserve a raise.
B fuddled,
I find it cute that you think you have any clue how I am wired by the comment above.
Yes I am concerned about people losing their jobs. I wish them well in their coming job search. However, I hope a lot more government employees, especially federal, lose their jobs.
I am all for paying teachers more. More than they are even asking for currently, but it has to be merit based. The answer to this problem is to shrink the federal government to only do what it is tasked to do in the Constitution, Keep our tax dollars local, and really invest in education locally. However, teachers unions continue to vote against all of our best interests for a couple extra dollars in their pockets so they can pound sand. The state contributions can only decrease as Maryland is drowning in debt and the tax payers flee. This problem is not going to get better continuing down this road. My support of teachers should not worry you as much as others, who continue to agree to job cuts for whatever peanuts are tossed his way.
I am not surprised that you do not support the second amendment after you tried to limit my first amendment rights by deriding where I choose to post that Soulcrusher is a wack job. A true lover of freedom.
PS, if you are not making what you think you deserve, act like a grown up and go get another job. You are not entitled to a particular job.
Wow, B, you really are out of your mind. There is no keeping your tax dollars local. There hasn’t been since I can remember and that’s at least the last 34 or 35 years. You call me a whack job and you spew this crap. Let me tell you the way it is. If Federal Tax funds will go anywhere, they will go to Home Land Security or some other expense laden organization that deals with security. The current state of fear in this country is ridiculous. They have everyone convinced the next terrorist attack is eminent and its coming to your front door. In truth, the average citizen has more to fear from the current protectors of our security, than from the threats they are supposed to be protecting us from. There is no hope of your tax dollars staying “local” as long as the current political situation is in place and more and more money is funneled to the wealthy and corporate powers of this country. That’s truth, don’t you think?
And I thought New Jersey politics were bad. This story makes NJ pols look like kids on the schoolyard.
When the last Fortune 500 company left the state, nary a peep. When the continuous flood of private sector jobs fled the state… crickets. But have a few government job losses happen, out come the Dagger crying towels with screams of corruption.
Let’s see Jim Harkins get a pension fo the Sheriff’s Dept. A pension from the State as being legislator. A Pension from being Count Executive and A future pension for being director of MES.
Then possibly a new job from Boniface / Glassman.
Boy what public service Harkins has given.
A true god in the eyes of every county worker,
One of the worst county executives we’ve ever had.
Craig was by far the worst.
Welcome to HARzzard County… Bo & Luke we need you!
Boss Sheep and Rosco P. Boniface are up to there old tricks again… deceiving the good Ole public for personal gain!
Let’s raise the unemployment rate because MES has agreed to honor the 2016 fiscal budget? If that is true; shouldn’t MES takeover in fiscal year 2017? The 2016 budget has been approved so the employees should keep their jobs until MES comes back with a cost saving offer?
“Jim in Hickory” is such a hoot. Fat white male, +50 year old? Diabetic? How close am I?
MES has like 20 something position’s needed for the dump, some will be “rehired” back. Some will go to vacancies around to other departments, and some will retire.
You should really troll somewhere else, you seriously don’t have much of a clue.
46 replaced by 20 making less and you say jim is clueless.
I’m certainly not. Everyone was made well aware way before Jim in Hickory started cheering on cutting “dead wood” that downsizing was inevitable.
The dump is now going to be a transfer station for homeowners and still have the mulch operation, its common sense that some employees were going to be displaced.
Even if MES wasn’t going to “take over” there still would have been a displacement since the dump is, hyuck hyuck, just a place to fill dumpsters for home owners.
I can’t add and subtract excuse me for being an idiot in public.
Nice some loser uses my name.
Did you not read? County landfill turns into a resident transfer station when the dump reaches capacity. Of course there is no way they could retain ALL of the positions.
Quote my reply to where I said all jobs are retained, a little under half have the ability to be “rehired” by MES while others have options to apply to vacancies in other county departments. The news article lightly covers this, landfill employees have known about this for a LONG time contrary to popular belief.
Don’t belive everything you read in the newspaper! The county administration created the press release to be published. As for the landfill operations… the landfill is not scheduled to become a resident transfer station, resident trash will be accepted and processed as usual. All Commercial trash companies will have to take there trash to Baltimore County… yes the tax payers are paying for this x 2 (1st, Harford County has given several million dollars to Baltimore County to build a processing center ; 2nd, the trash haulers will most likely double if not triple their fees). Only the temporary employees were supposed to be laid-off in March 2016. If the county administration was worried about expenses they would re-organize the structure and run it for profit. There are many successful money-making landfills across america. But this is political one paying the other off…
When the landfill closes and becomes a transfer station it will cost no more and require less employees to move the trash to days cove. When the county went to single stream all recycle materials get sent to Balt. county and prices stayed the same. And for the boob who thinks independent haulers will increase prices it makes no sense. Haulers in Joppa will now be able to make a short trip instead of heading all the way to Scarboro. it’ll be a financial wash.
Barry Glassman did what he had to do and ultimately reducing the workforce will save taxpayers money.
Thanks Barry.