Open Government In The Dark

A nearly two-hour power outage in Towson wasn't enough to stop the Baltimore County Council from being briefed over lunch about a proposed stormwater fee.

Councilmembers and other county officials dined on sandwiches and cookies. Or maybe it was brownies. Or cake.

Truth is, it was hard to tell in the dimly-lit council chambers.

The disembodied voices of the councilmembers and that of Vince Gardina, director of the county Department of Environmental Protection and Sustainability, discussed the proposed fees that will be introduced formally next Monday.

Staff and reporters were forced to look over a 28-page document explaining the fee and the associated complicated acronyms by whatever light was available including the light of cell phones.

The outage was part of two that affected the Towson area Tuesday. The larger of the two outages centers on St. Joseph Medical Center, while the smaller outage centers on Towson Town Center and included the Historic Courthouse where the council meets.

For many visitors except for those paying bills, the Historic Courthouse was closed. Security officers at the entrances stopped visitors from entering—even those who were attempting to attend the public meeting of the County Council.

The officers said they were told to require visitors to be escorted around the building by Budget and Finance Director Keith Dorsey.

Don Mohler, a county spokesman, said the request was probably done for security or safety purposes but acknowledged that accomodations should be made for the public to attend meetings that are not canceled.

Back in the council chambers, the council continued its briefing with Gardina.

Afterwards, Gardina was asked if the dark rooom made it more difficult to discuss such a complicated subject.

"It made it easier," Gardina said. "They couldn't see me sweating."

Reporter Nick Gestido contributed to this post.