Feel Good Legislation

Let us hope our County Council members go beyond feel good legislation to address the issue.

Demos, at the other Howard County Blog, posted an article about Affordable Housing for Howard County civil servants and suggesting it only addresses one aspect of affordable housing in Howard County. More and more people are finding it difficult to find housing in Howard County, I need only point out the Aladdin article that appeared in the Baltimore Sun on Sunday.

What I find most interesting is this quote from the Howard County Times

Ulman's bill, submitted April 3, would create a directory of apartments that offer free or reduced rent to county police officers. The county government would also take a "proactive" approach in encouraging landlords to participate in the program, Ulman said. . . "This isn't a free gift to police," Ulman said. "The communities are benefiting from the added security a police officer with a take-home car brings."

I think it is important to point out that this does nothing for law enforcement officers in the County. I have a friend in Howard County Law Enforcement. He lives in a very nice apartment at a greatly reduced rental fee simply because he is a law enforcement officer.

What Mr. Ulman is proposing already exists. My friend and I discussed this over the weekend and he laughed at the pure politics of Mr. Ulman's proposal. His position is that any law enforcement officer in Howard County already knows where they can go for reduced rent in a very nice apartment and they don't need County Council to waste time on this issue.

Looks good, feels good, is already happening, and Mr. Ulman is just trying to take credit for something that landlords already do - because it makes sense.

If Mr. Ulman really wants to do something regarding affordable housing then tackle the problem of these people, Aladdin residents fear 1-year notice