Acting County Executive Leads Baltimore County Through Transition

BALTIMORE COUNTY, MD — This marks the first full week that Fred Homan will be acting as the county executive. Homan had been the chief administrative officer for Baltimore County under County Executive Kevin Kamenetz.

The assignment of acting county executive, as the name implies, is temporary; it is up to the county council to appoint someone to serve the remainder of the term.

Kamenetz was in his second term, set to expire in December 2018 with the election of a new county executive.

After the death of Kamenetz on May 10, county officials said the charter dictates who will succeed him.

Here is the statement from Baltimore County:

"The Baltimore County Charter stipulates that, when the County Executive is unable to fulfill his duties, the Chief Administrative Officer serves as Acting County Executive until the County Council appoints someone to fill out the remainder of his or her term. The replacement must meet the requirements for the office and be of the same party as the County Executive he or she replaces. The Baltimore County Chief Administrative Officer is Fred Homan."

Homan has worked for Baltimore County government for 40 years, according to The Baltimore Sun, which reported he worked his way up from managing the county's fleet of vehicles and was appointed to the post of chief administrative officer in 2006 by former Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith.

Here is what the Baltimore County Charter says regarding the vacancy of the office of the county executive:

Whenever for any cause the office of the county executive shall become vacant, the same shall be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of the total number of county council members established by this Charter. The person so elected by the council shall possess the same qualifications for the office as herein above provided in Section 402(a) hereof, shall belong to the same political party as his predecessor (unless his predecessor was not a member of a political party) and shall serve the unexpired term of his predecessor...

Kamenetz was a Democrat, so his successor would need to be from that party.

Baltimore County Council Chair Julian Jones did not respond to a request for information from Patch regarding when a vote may be taken regarding the vacancy.

He reportedly said that he would not comment until after Monday, May 14, since that was the final evening that the Kamenetz family would be "sitting shiva," or observing a period of mourning.

"I think it's important that we be respectful, and everything else will take care of itself," Jones told WBAL.

The Baltimore County Council is set to meet for a work session at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, May 15. There is nothing on the agenda regarding the vacancy.

The qualifications for the county executive are as follows, according to the charter:

• Qualified voter
• At least 25 years old
• Baltimore County resident for at least five years next preceding his election
• Devote full time to the duties of office

The part of the charter that outlines how Homan was selected deals with the temporary absence of a county executive.

Here is what it says:

Temporary absence of county executive. During the temporary disability or absence from the county of the county executive, the county administrative officer shall serve as acting county executive. If both the county executive and the county administrative officer are temporarily disabled or absent from the county, the director of the budget, as the acting county administrative officer, shall also serve as acting county executive, unless the county council designates the head of another office in the administrative services, or the director of public works to serve as acting county executive.

SEE ALSO:

• Funeral For County Executive Kevin Kamenetz Draws 1K Plus
• County Executive Kevin Kamenetz Dies At Age 60

File photo by Elizabeth Janney.