My question to Mr. Kamenetz would be, and I have repeatably brought up this topic, how much money does the county spend on illegal immigration.

This much I do know. Title 1 schools in the county cost the taxpayers $21 million. Last years food stamp program doubled to $99 million.

Interestingly Mr. Kamenetz has a appointed member of his cabinet who is the liaison to the Hispanic community.

It takes real leadership to deal with this issue and that is something lacking in the Baltimore County officer building.

The buck stops on Mr. Kamenetz's desk.

Maybe the Baltimore county school system needs to trim from the top down instead of the bottom up. They expect the teachers to do more with less , Why should the Board of Education not do any diffrent? Our teachers in Baltimore County are to be commended . They do a fantastic job. How many Blue ribbon schools do we have know, or have got that honor in the past? Of coarse the Board of education is going to take the credit when the Teachers are the ones that made it happen. Maybe Mr. Kamenetz could see some of his election supporters to help. The ones who paid for TV ads after giving as much cash as they could under the law for there election? I kow whom I am talking about. Just go back and watch his election ads and see who paid for them and then look at their discloser . Funny how Mr. Hairston does not want his meeting public. IMHO I think there needs to be am investagation to see what all of them are hiding

Amazing how all these Officials want closed to the public Meetings,to me a closed meeting is so the stench from the the bulldookie can't be smelled by the people.Want to know what Towson and Annapolis smell like? Drive by Backriver Waste Plant.

Wasn't Kamenetz endorsed by the teacher's union??????

Whoever is advising this guy, which I suspect is no one since his ego can accommodate it, is tracking him to be a one termer.

He's badly mismanaged this whole affair and now he's lost educators and parents while standing by the school board and Hairston. He's at odds with his own legislative lobby in Annapolis and he now has to push higher taxes and rate increases for fewer services with absolutely no political capital with the voters.

This is the curse of hubris. When you think you better than everyone else you cannot sense the populist swell. Heed the warning that was Dennis Rasmussen.

Kamenetz - Yes Louann...he was endorsed by TABCO!! GO FIGURE!

What I can't understand is if he is getting half of the money needed, why not rehire half of the teachers back??????

http://www.kevinforthecounty.com/endorsements/

Fred you are 100% correct..get it done Kamenetz, you were elected to represent us...get to it...how about cutting 30% of your county administration staff? And why are public matters being discussed in private??? Something here does NOT smell right. I thought the increase in sales tax was going to fix this. At least that was what we were told at the time, so they were either lying then or lying now.

Read kamentz letter before you offer comments so that you have the facts. The guy is managing a budget in tough times without raising taxes.

Not only do our elected officials censure their closed door agendas but now the press is deciding what is approved for us to read.

Apparently the politically correct at the Sun felt this was not appropriate for us to read. Maybe Kamenetz will hire some of these editors who will decide what is good for all of us.

http://www.wbal.com/absolutenm/templates/smith_show.aspx?articleid=70859&zoneid=19

Buzz,

First of all, what do you know about balancing a budget, aside from your retirement check and your porn collection? Furthermore, illegal immigration is not even the topic of issue, nor is food stamps. While I understand you think robbing Peter to pay Paul is the answer, you are mistaken, again!

I seriously think you need to get checked for ADHD and get on meds, stat! You are jumping from topic to topic and make zero sense.

This is for everyone, just because our officials are elected by the public, does not mean every conversation is open for public discussion. Call the President's office and tell them you will be in for their next staff meeting, let me know how that goes.

The Sun, if we have to call them "the press", has always taken their cue from local politicians when it comes to the information we are provided. My late father read the Baltimore News American and always called the Sun "that communist rag"....LOL.

Calm down??? the problem is that we have been far too tolerant all along and allowed this to happen. Now everyone wants to tax anyone who's not them to make up the difference. And Matt, show us what Buzz said that wasn;t true. There are many places where money can be made up, many entitlement programs which we simply cannot afford. The government ( on ALL levels) needs to go back to the basics, ( you know, schools, fire police , roads) and get rid of the handouts to this or that party. Taxes are definitley NOT the answer...even the mafia knows not to bleed it's payers all at once.

Mike,

The numbers Buzz gave have not been confirmed. Anyone can throw a few high numbers in the air and get everyone excited.

I'm sure you realize we are in a recession and the "handouts" you refer to will continue to increase, should the members of our communities continue to become unemployed or are unable to find work. Simply turning our back to the problem isn’t the answer, wouldn’t you agree?

I'm not quite sure how you plan to fund schools, fire, police and roads to the level we need them, without a tax increase? Did you take an economics course the rest of us weren’t privy to?

I doubt Buzz even knows what Title 1 is all about. Why would anybody in their right mind be against it? Same thing with food stamps. why would you have a problem with unemployed people on Food Stamps? How long was the last layoff at the Point?

Title 1 Program
http://www.bcps.org/offices/titleone/

I challenge you to show me where I ever suggested turning our backs. The increased handouts only make the problem worse. As do increased taxes. If I cannot afford my bills I have to cut back. It's time our government learned the simple lesson we teach our children about money management. The other problem are these secret expenditures which Hairston and others seem to think is their right to keep under wraps. Who's money are we talking about here? It isn't the governments job to bail anyone out, nor is it their responsibility to levy taxes to alter mine or anyone's behavior. How about we cut 30% of the "administrative" jobs in the county and state as well as the salaries of the executive, council members and heads of the many departments. Everyone else has taken a pay cut, why are these people exempt? Furthermore, the salary I receive is generated by me, not by other people as in the case of those working for the government. Raising taxes isn't raising revenue, its just moving it out of the hands of those who generate it.

Speculating on the knowledge someone has about a particular subject is of the subject and a colossal waste of time. I don't have a problem with food stamps, in general. I would prefer a more straight forward approach, like food being donated to centers where people can get it, we waste a lot of food in this country. Restaurants, caterers etc, could take part as well as donations from corporate sponsors. I would be for tax breaks on that, taking it off the taxpayers plate. There are many people on government programs that do not deserve them. There are many able bodied people in government subsidized or outright paid for government housing. Why are these people not participating in the day to day maintenance of these facilities...i.e snow removal, trash removal , lawn care etc??? take that out of the equation and maybe we can afford some more teachers. In short we have options, but most of the politicians are afraid of actually putting real solutions out there, because that would end their gravy train.

Mike,

You stated "get rid of the handouts to this or that party". I'm not sure what else you could have implied, aside from taking away from those who need it? Additionally, cutting back 30% of our administrative jobs would only raise the unemployment rate and you think this is the answer?

To be honest, you sound bitter. You feel if it doesn’t affect you directly, then you shouldn’t have to deal with it. While I understand you receive your salary outside of the government, you receive a salary as compensation. Why should county works not receive the same thing, because they work for the county?

Your solutions to donating food actually already take place. As for your solution of eliminating food stamps, you would like who to donate food? You do not want to raise taxes, but want everyone to donate food? Who is going to pay for these "donation centers", the trucks required to bring the food in and/or the personnel working there? You want to add more services, without raising taxes...lol...that makes absolutely no sense!

If Kamenetz wasn't so worried about his future for higher political office he'd see the solution right in front of him. He lobby the BaltCo delegation in Annapolis to reject the alcohol tax coming up for vote and have the county council install a local tax on beer and wine that would fund education.

Instead he fellates the political machine that redirects BaltoCo dollars to voting blocs in Baltimore City and PG County.

I really feel for the guy. He wasn't cut out for this position. He's hampered by his own ego which dictates his way is the right one, while not having any backbone to stand up to the party leaders. Compound this with his inability to connect with voters and listen to what they see as administrative excess (how many on the county exec's p.r. staff?) and he's done. Even his press statements smell of fear and desperation. Not really leadership material.

My prediction. You'll be able to measure his insecurity by his treatment of Marks and Huff. Either is now the front leader to oppose him in the next election. Kamenetz is completely sold out to the west side of the county now he's lost any operational independence. And to think he did it all to himself by drowning in his fear of diminish revenues while failing to look two or three steps ahead.

You know Matt, I think you are missing Mike's point - which is a good one. He's not suggesting throwing the needy to the lions, he's suggesting that there is a more practical way of helping them. One that does not fall on the taxpayer's shoulders (as everything else seems to these days). For example...why is it that the ppl on welfare aren't required to do some kind of community service? Why does the government hire outside cleaning services to clean it's offices? Why not require a welfare recipient to do so. This way, it's not a handout and the government can save taxpayer's money. The list could go on and on from there. It may not answer the tough, looming issues right now but it would be a start. And those distribution centers you speak of? They already exist...they are called food banks and are all around the state. My church has one. It's stocked and manned by the parishioners because we recognized a need in our community and wanted to help. No government salaries or benefits required. I just think there is too much gov't waste and fraud that exists today. Clean up some of that and we may be able to do the most good where it's most needed. Why should the taxpayer shoulder all of the responsibility? It's time the gov't look in it's own backyard before raiding our wallets, once again.

Thank you Mrs H, I'm glad to see that I wasn't screaming into the void. Yes we do have food banks, but it seems ludicrous in a country where we have too much food ( another topic for another post) that people go hungry. We waste more food than some countries produce. Given this it seems that the food banks as they exist could/should be expanded upon. Furthermore it is beyond difficult to formulate solutions to problems when the real data pertaining to the situation is being kept from us by elected and appointed ( anointed) officials. If we don't have numbers in terms of where the money is going, we can't possibly figure out what our real needs are, and the last thing we need is for our "leaders" to filter that information, I suspect they do not want us to know the real picture. I do assert however that squeezing those that are managing to keep their heads above water is only going to add the those on the government hand out list. Its already happening. One only has to note the lack of new business moving into Baltimore City,and the rate at which they are leaving. The few remaining tax payers are being squeezed beyond the point of survival. The average local/state budget allocates 50-60% of its revenue to education. I'm sorry but given this, I do not believe that the lack of money is the problem. it is the lack of accountability and the incompetence with which it is managed.

Matt, let me paint you a little picture. I was laid off years ago, I went through desperate, difficult times. I was always able to find work. Some of it was awful, but I did what I had to do without ever taking a thin dime from the government. Over time and with a lot of hard work and sacrifice I created a successful small business with which I support my family and pay my own benefits OUT OF POCKET. I resent people saying that they have to have my money to feed people that do not work while there is so much waste around us. I would rather them take that money and train people to do a job. The people I pay to work in government have FAR better medical, vacation and other benefits than I do...ON MY DIME. If the government is not willing to thin their own ranks and trim down their spending they have no business coming to me for more money, particularly after the tax increase a few years back that was supposed to fix all of this. Furthermore, if we are not careful we will drive all of the small business ( the back bone of our economy) into extinction. The working class, you know people who actually DO things, as opposed to those who manage others who manage someone else, are disappearing at an alarming rate. How long before an extra percentage point here, there and everywhere adds up to 100%...of your income? Taxes should not be a growth driven business.

From one small business owner to another, who also pays our own health insurance, well said!

Buzz I suspect you are correct, Louann, thank you....we seem to be our only advocate.

Buzz,
re-read and agreed with

Mrs. H and Mike,

While your solutions sound good, they are not feasible. Your solutions seem like the end all of be all, but it isn’t that easy.

Buzz, Buzz, Buzz...I'm glad you are finally entertaining the idea of an English class. I am aware of what exactly a paragraph is, it only takes me one to show you up every time we chat! :)

How do you know that they are not feasible. It is my assertion that neither you nor anyone with the true facts and figures has thoroughly explored it. While your at it, look up the current per capita income for Baltimore County, and then look at the average taxes paid...obviously way out of balance. That is NOT sustainable.

Also Matt. if you run out of money when paying your monthly bills, do you simply run back to your employer and ask for ( demand) more money???

No Mike, I do not. I live within my means, as should you.

Tiffany, thank you for your kind remarks.

Political robust debate is good. The problem arises when these people use their comments to attack one on a personal level.

In my case dealing with Matt, he attacked me by suggesting I take an English class at CCBC and continued his tirade by demanding that I stop commenting. His claim was that there was an outcry of others on this site who shared the same sentiments.

When I clicked on his name it revealed all of his comments. I noticed that quite a few of them were directed at me.

I don't mind debating in a civilized manor, but when attacked on a personal level, I will respond, not in kind, but rather point out their childish behavior.

When he insinuated that my name was not legitimate along with my comments, I found it necessary to challenge not only his behavior, but his agenda as well.

Winston Churchill one of the great leaders in WWII once made a statement that went something like. those that reap the wind, shall reap the whirlwind.

Once again, thank you for you kind remarks.

After carefully researching the impact of time as it pertains to this volatile subject, the time is now 5:00 p.m. and all is quiet which means its dinner time.

Mr. Beeler,
you're very welcome! I look forward to your thoughts on such subjects. I found it very odd an adult would say the things he has.

AH, now Matt makes comments about me living within my means...off the path, but in response, the constant decision to take more of my money makes my means a variable, regardless of what I earn. Perhaps you should stick to the facts, and backing up the claims you make rather than name calling and snap judgments on people you don't know. Your credibility is sinking quicker than Hairston's approval rating.

He has proven not to be an adult ( at least intellectually) and his surprisingly direct response to my question only serves my assertion that he has not thought this through. He allows the government to make mistakes that he admittedly would not make on his own. Accountability??? I think not. Have a good weekend folks.

Where do I even begin….
Tiffany,
Yes, I am aware this is an opinion board. Hence why I posted my OPINION. If you do not like my opinion of Buzz and his statements, well TFB. My age is of no value to this conversation, but I will say I am over the age of 18. Additionally, I am fully aware of what ADHD is and I do not have a large porn collection, although I cannot say the same for others on this post.

Mike,
I’m not quite sure how you implied I am off topic, you asked me a question and I answered it directly. Additionally, if we would like to talk about intelligence feel free to read the logic behind your posts. They are weak, at best. The only judgment I have made of you so far is off of your posts. I could really care less how you pay your bills Mike. I made a suggestion, you are the one who took it personal.

Buzz,
I agree a political debate is good; however, you never debate the issues. You simply point fingers at our elected officials and reiterate your campaigning positions and offer unrealistic solutions. Tip for you, this will not help you win a campaign. I feel as if you love to throw stones, but live in a small glass house.

Yeah, you're right, it's probably not you, it's everybody else.

The Title 1 program covers a lot of areas including Gifted and Talented. It doesn't even have anything to do with "illegals" despite your obsession with them.

I have finally figured Matt out ! He still lives at home ,living off Mom and Dad and has no responsibility.No wonder he lives within his means.

Darrell, you will notice that when the tables are turned and people don't tremble at his words of wisdom, he resorts to personal attacks with a sprinkling of juvenile taunts.

His use of "TFB" (sic), in responding to Tiffany's comments is typical.

He uses the same tactic with me. I do go after politicians based on their job performance and not personal lives. That is the difference between adults who partake in robust debate and the immature who choose to throw rocks and then hide behind a pseudonym.

Rather than using the skills acquired in debating and advancing one's viewpoint, his inexperience has destroyed his creditability.

All the comments on this site are stored for anyone to view by clicking on the persons name.

When attacking someone on a personal level is tantamount to rock throwing.

Darrell, I spent 39 years working for the county and I know a lot more than Matt thinks I do. I will not stoop to that level even to neutralize someone like that.

He is here for one reason and that is to defend the political agenda of those he represents.

It has nothing to do with "illegals". It doesn't even mention "illegals". Your racist obsession is quite appalling. You have "illegals" on the brain.

The New York Times article you linked discusses the graduation rates of Hispanics it doesn't even mention the word "illegal". I would love to look at your arrest record and see how many Caucasians you arrested versus minorities.

If you don't like that reference then Google the California school system and see the state they are in.

Number one, they have one of the largest illegal populations in the country. Number two, they rank 49th in the educational rankings. They have the highest concentrations of jurisdictions within the state in relationship to crime, one of the highest unemployment rates, the highest gang activity involving illegals .

http://www.fairus.org/site/PageServer?pagename=iic_immigrationissuecenters51f8

One of the most recent and egregious criminal acts involves the beating into a coma a paramedic who attended a Giants game. I'll let you read the rest.

http://multiamerican.scpr.org/2011/04/race-and-the-dodger-stadium-attack/

As to the issue of illegals and crime you can read for yourself.

http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/3/27/114208.shtml

As to you last allegation my arrest records would indicate I would be prejudiced towards whites because I would say the figure was overwhelmingly reflected by a margin of 90% of my arrests were of Caucasians.

As I have stated time and time again, you have never either responded to any questions I have repeatably asked you, and again you fail to grasp that before you respond to something do your research.

If on the hand you think the links I post are not legitimate, remember you yourself have used the very same links to bolster your viewpoint.

FAIR? Youvegottabekiddingme The White Supremacist outfit that is advocating forced sterilization for non whites?? That's your source???

Somebody got beat up outside a baseball game and it's the "illegals" fault?

Dude, you are out there. Do you ever wear a pointy white hat?

"All Hispanics are gang members" Whaaat?? Dude what are you smoking?? FAIR is a white supremacist organization. They are not a leader in anything. Anybody can testify before Congress if invited. Even Stephen Colbert. Is he an "expert on immigration"?

You are speaking gibberish.

Here is some more information about your favorite racist organization FAIR

http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2007/12/11/fair-crossing-the-rubicon-of-hate/

Robert,

I couldn’t agree with you more! Buzz's arguments are constantly flawed. He believes that one thing, must be the one and only explanation for another, i.e. illegal’s have pushed down the education system in California. There couldn’t be any other explanation, could there Buzz? You seem to fit this flawed argument into almost every debate.

I'm glad I am not the only one who believes his arguments are completely crazy!

It is all about perspective, and what options are affordable, if you attended public or private school or if your kids attend public or private. Should class size double if you attend public? maybe. Should it more than double? well maybe or maybe not, It is all perspective. I hope Kevin seeks out alternatives for how cuts are to be made, that listen the impact on class size. He will need those public school parents come election time, see his comments regards his own education, per the sun.
""During his opening statement, Kamenetz incorrectly stated where he went to high school.
For purposes of context, here is the beginning portion of Kamenetz’s opening statement:
“Folks, you know me. I was born on Liberty Road, I’m a proud graduate of Randallstown High School. I grew up in Lochearn. I served 16 years now as a councilman for the west side. I’m proud to have served eight of those 16 years as your councilman.”
The comment has drawn attention from people who attended the debate or heard about it. There have been several comments left on this blog and on the story about Wednesday night’s debate.
Kamenetz is graduate of Gilman — a fact stated both on his official council biography and his campaign website. Kamenetz failed to correct the mistake during the 90-minute debate but answered questions about it afterward.
“It was a simple mistake,” Kamenetz said. “I don’t know why I said it. I meant to say I graduated from Campfield.""

I count two people. That is hardly a mandate or a majority based on the number of people who comment on this site.

If my memory serves me right, there are many more that take issue with your tactics, language and hiding in the shadows.

If you were someone who was not afraid, then I would think you words might carry some weight based on your background. Google my name. I lay all my cards on the table.

You are very good at using the word flawed, but never back it up with anything of substance. Letters like you posted in your remark to Tiffany only reflect you maturity level.

My comments are based on previously published new articles or figures taken from the county's budget site.

I am tired of hearing people who work for the government speak of cutting jobs, cutting programs, etc. The real secret to prosperity for us all is the enormous amount of money taken for government pensions. It just about shut down GM. That is really where we would be saving the most money. I don't hear anyone in the government talking about their pensions. It is almost non-existent in the private sector. The government is not a profit making machine, why are they the only ones getting the pensions? That alone is draining our economy.