Bigger might not be better for Howard County government to tackle environmental initiatives.
Rather than expand the government by creating a separate Department of the Environment, the county should consider a smaller central office, a county environmental commission said.
“Howard County has been a functioning government for quite a while and incorporated environmental aspects in all areas, so it would be suddenly disruptive to pull them out [to form a separate department],” said Jim Caldwell, a member of the county’s Commission on the Environment and Sustainability.
The commission is recommending the county consider creating an Office of Environmental Sustainability, a “small but dynamic office that is close to the executive and carries quite a bit of authority,” said Joshua Feldmark, executive director of the commission.
This is an important aspect of the county’s approach to environmental initiatives, because the government organization could affect how other recommendations are carried out, according to the group?s draft report, due to County Executive Ken Ulman next week.
The group considered, but ultimately decided against, recommending a Department of the Environment, as some environment and community activists had called for. Creating a department could disrupt staff resources and add inefficiencies, the report states.
Modeled after the budget office, which has a small staff but necessary authority, the environment office would coordinate environmental initiatives under way in departments such as Public Works or Planning and Zoning. Among the concerns raised was whether it would have enough clout to coordinate initiatives. Ultimately, the county executive will set the tone for environmental issues, Caldwell said.
Cathy Hudson, head of the environmental committee of the Howard County Citizens Association, said whether the county creates an office or a department, it needs to have “significant encouragement from the county executive.”
