Baltimore County Councilman Ken Oliver had the scallops. Councilman Bryan McIntire, the salmon.
Gathered at a back table at Paolo?s Ristorante in Towson Monday evening, five of seven county councilmen shared a meal together before heading off to their evening vote session. Politics aren?t up for discussion at these periodic dinner meetings, described by some as purely social.
“Our intent is to have dinner,” said Oliver, a Randallstown Democrat. “Have dinner and have some camaraderie among ourselves.”
But the checks for the so-called social gatherings ? eight in all since 2005, according to council secretary Tom Peddicord ? are charged to the council tab, costing taxpayers an average of $240 per dinner, or $34 a plate.
The expense is hardly a dent in the county?s $2.5 billion budget, but government watchdog groups said the expense is symbolic.
“It?s hardly a capital crime, but it?s a bad sign,”said Richard Falknor, executive vice president of the Maryland Taxpayers Association. “It shows they aren?t thinking about the people who put them there.”
Peddicord says he sometimes uses dinners to discuss scheduling, and Fullerton Democrat Joe Bartenfelder said the meetings fulfill the practical need to eat between day jobs and legislative meetings. Still, some council members concede business does come up ? McIntire, a Republican from northern Baltimore County, on Monday asked his colleagues if they wanted to amend proposed pension changes, while two councilmen discussed regulating pit bulls ? albeit briefly.
That violates Maryland?s open meetings laws, said several community activists who regularly attend council meetings. They said they would attend dinners if the locations were publicized.
“I?ve been hearing about this for six or seven years but we couldn?t figure out where they were doing it,” said Noel Levy, a frequent council critic. “It?s outrageous.”
Government bodies meeting as a quorum to discuss policy must provide reasonable notice of when and where the meeting will take place and publish meeting minutes, according to attorneys.
Peddicord says he publishes the date and time of dinner meetings on the council?s Web site, but doesn?t have to include the location because they aren?t intended for business. There is also no record of what Peddicord counted as two dinners in 2005, three dinners in 2006 and three dinners so far this year.
If policy or business is not discussed, no violation takes place despite intent, attorneys said.
“The fact they intend to do something before the meeting doesn?t change the reality of what occurred,” said Jack Schwartz, an assistant attorney general.
