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ALOC NEWS
September 3, 2002 Vol. 8, Issue 9
As we mentioned in the last newsletter the Maryland
Business for Responsible Government group releases each year a report on
the voting record of Maryland legislators. This year the governor and his
inside circle of big spenders literally blew the budget apart and spent the
state’s surplus. Because of the strong governor system we have it is very
difficult for the legislature to curb the governors big spending ways. This
was the highlight of this years report, however it is interesting to see
where our favorite boys end up! Please note that the MBRG percentage shown for 2002 is
based on a cores sample of business related bills and it may not represent
the complete voting record of any one legislator. 2002
Cumulative George Edwards 78 % 83 % Kevin Kelly 50
% 62 % Casper Taylor 43
% 60 % John Hafer 83
% 78 % These percentages reflect their voting habits on bills
that included Chemical Terrorism, Budget Reconciliation Act, Intercounty
Connector, Insurance Premium Taxes, Atlantic Coastal Bays, Telephone
Solicitation, Environmental Standing and Education related bills just to
name a few. This is a short encapsulation of the 14 or so bills voted on by
the Senate and 12 by the House. The MBRG’s purpose is to inform Maryland’s business
community, elected officials and the general public about the political and
economic environment needed to foster economic development and job creation
in Maryland. MBRG is a statewide, nonpartisan political research and
education organization supported by corporations, trade associations,
chambers of commerce and individuals. For more information visit their
website at www.mbrg.org or call their
offices at 410-547-1295. After a long reasonably quiet summer we are now back to
our regular schedule of meetings. Double-check the calendar below to
confirm the dates of upcoming meetings. Allegany College has published their upcoming schedule
for lead paint training and check out the below listed dates if you need
this training: Lead Paint Worker
9/12/02 and
11/4/02 Lead Paint Supervisor 9/12-13/02
and 11/4-5/02 Lead Paint Supervisor Refresher (1day) 9/30/02
and 12/13/02 Contact the Continuing Education Department at 301-784-5341 to get additional information or to
register for a particular class. As part of the arrangement we have with CBC Companies
you can report all payment histories and non-payments of rent to CBC. At
some point the tenant may be faced with paying old bills to get credit. Who
knows, you might get lucky some day! The big problem with the reporting of such amounts due
is being both accurate and truthful. Recent U.S. Court decisions have
upheld the right of landlords to report such delinquencies and problems to
credit reporting agencies without liability. Make sure that leases, court judgments and other papers
back up what you report to any credit reporting agency. Also remember to
report any payments made by the tenant as they occur. Rental Property Inspections Dust Wipe Tests/Visual
Inspections 301-777-1369 MDE: Certified Lead
Paint Visual Inspector HUD: Certified Lead
Sampling Technician 9-30-02 Lead Inspections
for Rental Housing Visual Inspections and
Dust Wipes 201 Massachusetts Ave. Cumberland, MD 21502 301-722-8328 3-03
MBRG Roll Call
Next Meeting
Lead Paint
Training
Reporting to
Credit Agencies
Richard Bonig
Carey Walker
Lead
Abatement - Lead Risk Reduction Rental
Property Maintenance Contractor Telephone
301-729-1086 FAX
301-729-4801 - Pager 301-546-0221 3-30
/ 9-30 VISUAL INSPECTOR MDE
Inspections Lead Dust Wipes LEAD PAINT
SUPERVISOR Telephone/FAX: 301-729-2994 1-30
Highland
Enterprises LLC
Robert Saville
“Excellent Rates”
MDE Lead Poisoning
Prevention Report released October 2001
A year ago the MDE released its report for the 2000
calendar year and we expect to see the report for 2001 to be released
within the next 60 days or so. While this information is a bit old at this
point it nonetheless will prove interesting as we try to figure out the
mess our elected officials and regulatory people have made for us. This
information was used extensively when we testified at the last legislative
session when the Lead Paint Gang tried to shove tighter regulations down
our throats. The testing of all children at risk has slowly risen
across the state with Baltimore City now having mandatory testing. Children with blood lead levels above 10ug/dL
decreased to 3,402 or 4.6 % of children tested statewide from 3,904 or 6.3
% in 1999. Children with blood lead levels of 20ug/dL and above, or “lead
poisoning”, decreased to 353 or 0.5 % of children tested statewide from 555
or 0.9 % in 1999. Seems like a very low number when you consider the amount
of time and money we all spend to be compliant!! Baltimore City continues to be the leader in lead
poisoning with 2,198 or 12.2 % having blood lead levels of 10ug/dL or more
and 266 or 1.5 % had confirmed blood lead levels of 20ug/dL. Clearly the
state should concentrate on that area!! Allegany County had 37 cases with lead levels above
10ug/dL, which places us 17th out of the 24 counties. We had 1
child with a lead blood level exceeding 20ug/dL compared to 266 for
Baltimore City. Nearby Washington, Garrett and Frederick County had none. When looking at the testing levels Kent County is 1st
at 37.3 % followed by Baltimore City at 35.8 %, Somerset at 24.2 % and
Allegany County at 23.6 %. Frederick and Garrett County are less than half
of Allegany County. In 1996 there were 59,746 kids tested with 9,884 above
10ug/dL and 1,830 above 20ug/dL compared to the above figures it is clear
that we do not need more stringent regulations. We will have more fact next
month! Check the MDE website for the complete report.
t
The Leases and other forms have been upgraded to reflect
Law changes made in recent years and are available now. Please Note
the change in prices!! ALOC has available leases, rental applications and
tenant checklists for sale, at cost, to members. The cost for each item is
as follows: Lease @ $ 0.50
Rental Application @ $ 0.50
Move in Checklist @ $
0.50 Lead Paint
Brochures, both EPA and Maryland and document receipt@ $2.50 for the set. Document Receipt for MDE and EPA brochures (disclosure)
@ $ 0.25 These forms are kept at Jeff Hutter's office, TWR Comm.
at 549 N. Centre Street. Any paid member can stop by and pick up whatever
they need, however we ask that you call first with your order so that the
forms can be ready and waiting for you. Please call at
least 24 hours in advance as these are made to order. When you call 777-2692 ext 113, you can talk to Pam,
Gary or Sean Please note: We do not keep MDE or City Housing
registration forms on hand. J. Jeff J. Jeffrey Hutter President Carey Walker
Vice President Stephanie Wharton
Secretary J. Jeffrey Hutter
Treasurer Board of
Directors Clarence Anderson Steve Jenkins Bob Saville Bob Miles Have no fear of
perfection – you’ll never reach it. Salvador Dali The day people
stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. Colin Powell September 9, 2002 October 14, 2002 November 11, 2002 No Meeting in December January 13, 2003 February 10, 2003 March 10,2003 Meetings are held at
the South Cumberland Library on Race and Seymour St. at 7 PM TWR
Communications 301-777-2692 9-30-02 The leading supplier of quality
high speed Internet Access in Allegany-Garrett-Washington Counties and
surrounding areas of West Virginia using K56 Flex modems. TWR provides
other computer services including training, computer repairs, networking,
website hosting and Internet advertising. TWR is an agent for Cellular One,
operates a wide area network with wide area paging and mobile 2-way radio.
Check us out at twr@hereintown.net The price of
ALOC Leases, Lead Booklets and other forms has been increased to cover
higher costs of reproduction as well as the change in format of the EPA
booklet, which takes more paper. A-1 Inspections, Inc. PRE-PURCHASE/PRE-SETTLEMENT INSPECTIONS RESIDENTIAL
AND COMMERCIAL LEAD INSPECTIONS 301-724-5323 9-30 9-30 Credit Bureau, Inc. We have been in the
business of building databases for over 50 years. Let us build one for you!
For those of you contributing rental history, thank you. For those who
haven’t called me, it’s easy. Mike Wright
301-729-5202 5-02
Leases and other Documents
ALOC Officers
Thoughts for
the Month
Meeting Schedule
ALOC FORMS PRICE CHANGES
Please refer to the prices listed above!
PHONE 301-724-LEAD