- GBC, Presidents' Roundtable Name Leaders of Personnel Study for Mayor; Executive Volunteers Begin Work
- GBC Gains Agreement to Fold Community Court Concept and Resources into Citywide Early Disposition Court
- Cardin and Ehrlich: There's a Tax Cut in Congress' Future
- City Schools Seek Help from Businesses
- City Homicide Reduction Rooted in Dramatic Late-Year Success
- Kim Morton, Former Assistant State's Attorney, Joins GBC Staff
- GBC UPDATES:
- GBC MEMBER NEWS:
- 12 Public Relations Lessons You Don't Have to Learn the Hard Way
- Learn to Recruit, Retain Satisfied Employees on March 7
GBC, Presidents' Roundtable Name Leaders of Personnel Study for Mayor; Executive Volunteers Begin Work
Three Baltimore-area CEOs will co-chair the Greater Baltimore Committee and the Presidents' Roundtable study of the city government's personnel management practices, the groups announced on February 9.
Leading the study, which was requested by Mayor Martin O'Malley, will be L. John Pearson, president and CEO of The Baltimore Life Companies; Arnold Williams, managing director of the accounting firm of Abrams, Foster, Nole & Williams, P.A.; and Kenneth Banks, president of Banks Contracting Company, Inc.
Pearson is a member of the board of directors of the Greater Baltimore Committee. Williams and Banks are members of the Presidents' Roundtable, an organization of Baltimore's leading minority CEOs.
Just as last year's study by the same two organizations of five key city departments was volunteer-driven, this study will be conducted by 40 volunteers from the ranks of Baltimore's business executives.
"We want the unvarnished truth," First Deputy Mayor Michael Enright told volunteers who gathered last week at GBC offices for an organizational meeting to launch the study. He asked volunteers to apply "best practices" management standards in reviewing and developing recommendations for the city's Department of Personnel and for personnel offices within city agencies.
"We are ready to take anything on," said Enright. "We're not going to be afraid to try things."
Mayor O'Malley's request for the personnel management study is based, in part, on recommendations made by the Greater Baltimore Committee-Presidents' Roundtable in July 2000. In asking the two organizations to undertake this study, the Mayor indicated that he views it as a critical step in his efforts to strengthen management practices and improve service delivery throughout city government.
Key objectives of the study include:
- Evaluation of the mission, objectives and priorities of the Department of Personnel and other agency personnel offices;
- Analysis of the effectiveness of existing personnel management structures and systems currently in place;
- Analysis of laws, regulations and negotiated contracts that impact the city's personnel operations; and
- Development of recommendations aimed at strengthening the city's personnel operations.
GBC Gains Agreement to Fold Community Court Concept and Resources into Citywide Early Disposition Court
The Greater Baltimore Committee, which has been working to establish a Community Court to bring swift justice and social services to nuisance crime offenders, has gained tentative agreement from city and state criminal justice officials to incorporate the Community Court concept into the citywide Early Disposition process for misdemeanor cases.
Under the plan, which the GBC board of directors has endorsed, social service resources developed for the Community Court will be located in the Eastside District Court building at North Ave. and Harford Rd. where the Early Disposition docket is heard. This would enable nuisance crime defendants to be screened for substance abuse, mental health and other needs and to be connected to appropriate social services for treatment that will help them break their cycles of crime. Defendants eligible for early disposition go before a judge within three days of arrest.
Offenders eligible for the community court process will include those who have committed nuisance crimes including vandalism, disorderly conduct, and minor drug possession. The plan would be implemented after space is prepared at the Eastside District Court building to accommodate four social workers and other service resources that are part of the GBC's Community Court concept.
The GBC has been working to establish a Community Court in the city since 1995, when the court's creation was among three key crime-reduction recommendations contained in the report, "Smart on Crime."
Since then, the GBC has raised $1.9 million in private funding for capital costs and gained General Assembly approval for $2.1 million in operating costs for the court. The creation of the citywide Early Disposition process last year to address minor cases earlier in order to clear city court dockets prompted the GBC to begin exploring whether the two concepts could be combined. Meanwhile, the GBC held off plans to begin renovating a building at 33 S. Gay Street that it had acquired to house the Community Court.
"Merging the Community Court with the Early Disposition Court makes a lot of sense. It expands the innovative community court concept into a citywide venue and will significantly improve the process," said GBC President Donald P. Hutchinson. "We are augmenting the existing operational structure of the Early Disposition process with the valuable assets developed by the GBC as part of our Community Court planning."
Cardin and Ehrlich: There's a Tax Cut in Congress' Future
Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin and Rep. Robert L. Ehrlich expect Congress to enact a significant tax cut soon, they told more than 150 GBC members and guests who attended the GBC's Business Outlook program on January 30 at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore.
Nevertheless, Democrat Cardin and Republican Ehrlich both said they are skeptical about the extent of "bipartisanship" the 107th Congress will ultimately exhibit.
On the issue of taxes, both Congressmen predicted an eventual 25 percent reduction in personal income taxes, but disagreed on the form that those reductions should take.
Cardin does not support a complete repeal of the estate tax. "More sensible" estate tax relief can be achieved "for a fraction of what repeal would cost," he said. Nor does Cardin favor reducing overall tax rates. He supports tax code incentives for Americans who increase savings, strengthen their health insurance coverage, and invest in educating themselves and/or their children.
Meanwhile, Ehrlich strongly favors repealing the estate tax which, he argues, is among the most "unfair" taxes. "Death should not be taxable, period," said Ehrlich.
Click here for more on Rep. Cardin and Rep. Ehrlich's comments at the Jan. 30 GBC Business Outlook.
City Schools Seek Help from Businesses
The Baltimore City Public School System is seeking funding help from the business community to upgrade and move 6,000 donated computers into city schools. Between $250 - $350 is needed per computer to complete the project, Joseph Kirkman, chief technology administrator for the BCPSS, told the GBC Education Committee on February 13. Corporate donations would finance the purchase of monitors, network cards, sound cards, and other items needed to make the computers operational. Donations to the BCPSS computer project can be made through the Maryland Business Roundtable for Education at (410) 727-0448.
Technology companies and other businesses are also being sought to partner with schools in the city to train teachers and administrators to work with the new technology. For more information on school partnerships, contact Pam Johnson, director of the Partnerships and Development Office, at (410) 396-8813, ext. 14.
City Homicide Reduction Rooted in Dramatic Late-Year Success
Can Baltimore City sustain and improve on its progress last year in lowering its annual homicide rate? A month-by-month analysis of the city"s homicide statistics in 2000 strongly suggests that it can.
The city's annual homicide rate dropped from 305 in 1999 to 262 in 2000 - a 15 percent reduction. The reduction is largely attributable to dramatic downward shifts in monthly homicide statistics in each of the last four months of the year.
Beginning in September, the city recorded no more than 19 homicides in any month for the rest of the year. Compared to1999, the city's fourth quarter homicide rate was almost 50 percent lower in 2000.
On January 25, the GBC published a full-page ad in The Baltimore Sun congratulating the mayor, police, state and local law enforcement agencies, as well as business and civic leaders for their teamwork toward lowering the homicide rate. To see the ad, which also lists the contributors to the GBC Homicide Reduction Fund, click here.
Kim Morton, Former Assistant State's Attorney, Joins GBC Staff
Kimberly B. Morton, a former assistant state's attorney for Baltimore City, has joined the staff of the Greater Baltimore Committee to coordinate the GBC's work in support of intra-city redevelopment projects, including the West Side redevelopment and the Hippodrome theatre.
Prior to joining the GBC staff, Morton was an assistant state's attorney for more than nine years, the last three of which she served as the coordinator of the Youth Gun Violence Task Force. In that capacity, she directed the design and implementation of a citywide law enforcement strategy to reduce gun violence among youth.
She is a graduate of Morgan State University and the University of Maryland School of Law.
- GBC UPDATES:
- GBC Welcomes New Members At Feb. 6 Reception
GBC Chairman John Morton III and President Don Hutchinson welcomed new GBC members during a February 6 reception in the GBC Board Room. New members received a membership plaque, enjoyed hors d'oeuvres and chatted with board directors and fellow members. Forty-six new members have joined the GBC in the last 14 months.
- Online Event Registration a Hit With GBC Members
Members have been quick to embrace the GBC's new online registration system for programs and special events. Less than a month after online event registration was launched, a third of the more than 150 members who attended the January 30 Business Outlook event registered through the GBC web page, www.gbc.org.
Registering for a GBC event online is both easy and secure. Simply click on the online registration portion of the event listing on the GBC home page calendar and fill in the blanks.
Other enhancements planned for the GBC's web page include a comprehensive links page, enhanced member news, and online resource "libraries" for key GBC issues.
- GBC Members Helped Fund Ravens Victory Parade and Rally
Sixteen leading members of the Greater Baltimore Committee contributed $29,000 to Baltimore City to defray the cost of staging the Ravens victory parade and City Hall rally on January 30. City officials estimated that the parade and rally attracted 200,000 fans.
The GBC was a key supporter of efforts by the city and state that returned NFL football to Baltimore. In 1996, the GBC led the business lobbying campaign that culminated in General Assembly approval for the construction of PSINet Stadium.
- GBC Welcomes New Members At Feb. 6 Reception
- GBC MEMBER NEWS:
- Shapiro Law Firm Changes Name
Shapiro and Olander, P.A., a 25-year-old law firm based in Baltimore and Washington, D.C., has changed its name to Shapiro Sher & Guinot.
The firm's senior partners include Joel Sher, William Carlson, Charles Fax, and Luis Guinot, Jr. Ron Shapiro remains as Counsel to the Firm, providing business advice and direction.
- Five New Partners Named at Whiteford, Taylor & Preston L.L.P.
Whiteford, Taylor & Preston L.L.P. has named five new partners to its firm. Julianne E. Dymowski practices in the area of community associations law and litigation; Edwin G. Fee, Jr. is involved with estate and trust law; Rose M. Matricciani practices in health care and corporate law; Elise Davison Morris focuses on business and commercial litigation; and Thomas J. Whiteford practices in litigation such as medical malpractice, premises liability, nursing home litigation, and commercial litigation.
- 30 GBC Members Among "Maryland's Top 100 Women"
30 GBC members made this year's list of "Maryland's Top 100 Women," published annually by the Daily Record. Ten of these women were awarded the Daily Record's Circle of Excellence Sustained Achievement Award for being chosen to be on the list for three years.
Click here for a complete list of GBC members named among "Maryland's Top 100 Women" - Villa Julie Offers Two New Graduate Technology Programs
Villa Julie College recently added two new graduate-level programs as part of the Graduate School of Information Technologies. The new programs offer a Master's in Business and Technology Management and a Master's in E-Commerce. The college continues to offer a Master's in Advanced Information Technologies.
- Shapiro Law Firm Changes Name
12 Public Relations Lessons You Don't Have to Learn the Hard Way
If you build a reputation for your organization, then you must defend it at all costs, says PR pro Chuck Fitzgibbon, executive vice president of Weber Shandwick International. Fitzgibbon, along with Kevin O'Keefe, also of Weber Shandwick International, believes that "skillful and strategic crisis management equals effective reputation protection."
Fitzgibbon and O'Keefe offered "12 Lessons Companies Have Learned the Hard Way in Times of Crisis" to eager listeners at the GBC Breakfast Briefing on February 7, such as "Start Before A Crisis Happens," "Show Concern For Those Affected" by the crisis, and "Don't Play the Blame Game."
For more tips and details on how to protect your company's reputation in a crisis situation, click here.
Learn to Recruit, Retain Satisfied Employees on March 7
If you're looking to expand your employee recruiting efforts or to retain your employees for a longer period of time, join the GBC in learning how to "Win the Recruiting War" at its next Business Education Seminar on Wednesday, March 7. Mariann Powers of Marsh USA, an international company that creates and delivers risk solutions and services to its clients, will bring in three of her clients to share their recruiting success stories, covering topics such as the compressed work week and employee discount programs.
The program, sponsored by LifeBridge Health, will take place at Sinai Hospital's Zamoiski Auditorium from 7:45 - 10:00 a.m. The cost is $50 for GBC members, or $500 per table of ten.
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