Politics & Government

MEETING PREVIEW: Speed Camera Legislation, Employee Insurance, and More.

Patch has a roundup of agenda items for tonight's Mayor and Council meeting.

The College Park City Council will take a stance on pending speed camera legislation, as well as a short list of other agenda items, at its Tuesday evening meeting. The session begins at 8 p.m. in the council chambers of C.

If you are attending, pick up a free parking pass on the first floor of City Hall.

Below, you'll find a summary of agenda items. The complete agenda accompanies this post.

Find out what's happening in College Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Action items will be voted upon individually:

New Speed Camera Legislation

Find out what's happening in College Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Council will vote on whether or not to oppose pending speed camera legislation in the Maryland House. Among several provisions, the bill would require local jurisdictions to keep speed camera images on file and available for public inspection, regardless of whether or not the image led to a citation. The bill would also require that speed-monitoring systems used by jurisdictions are included on a product list of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Read the complete bill here.

Block Grant for Sidewalk Reconstruction

Council will decide whether or not to ratify an application to request a $90,000 grant from the county to be used for reconstructing curbs, gutters and sidewalks in Old Town, Lakeland and Berwyn. The application will go through the Prince George’s County Department of Housing and Community Development.

City Employee Insurance

Council will vote on a resolution that would authorize two-year participation with the Maryland Local Government Health Cooperative for employee health insurance, switching from CareFirst. The first 12 months of the plan benefits and membership will cost $787,864, 80 percent of which will fall on the city ($630,300). The cost will be approximately $20,000 less than the current cost for coverage.

Council will also decide whether or not to award contracts for dental insurance, workers’ compensation and various liability insurances. The contacts with MetLife and DentaQuest are budgeted to cost the city $44,800 for fiscal year 2013, with the premiums remaining the same as the previous year. Compensation insurance through the Inured Workers Insurance Fund will cost the city $174,000, approximately $20,000 higher than last year due to state mandated increases. The city’s liability insurances, carried by the Local Government Insurance Trust, is budgeted at $160,137, a decrease of approximately $5,000. The estimated total cost of these contracts will be $378,937, approximately $15,800 (4.4 percent) higher than fiscal year 2012.

Boards and Committees

Council will propose four re-appointments to city boards and committees.

Both of the items on the consent agenda will be addressed with a single vote:

Radio System

The city will likely procure and use the  Department of Public Safety 800 MHz frequency narrow-banded system and give up the use of the present 450MHz system. This will allow the city to abide by a looming Federal Communications Commission decision to narrow banding on two-way radio frequencies.

Financial Disclosure

Council is also set to confirm its support for a Maryland Senate bill that would limit the financial information that county, municipal, or school district officials would be required to disclose. The bill does not seek to dilute financial disclosure requirements, according to the city's letter to the referred senate committee; instead it ensures the relevancy of the information reported on financial disclosure forms, according to the letter. Council is also requesting that disclosures about real property interests be limited to property located only within the county. Read the complete bill here.


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