Councilman Huff Reflects on First Full Year in Office

Now that he's had a full year as the under his belt, Republican Todd Huff called 2011 a period of learning and success.

"This has been a fantastic year," said Huff, a Timonium resident who defeated in 2010. "It's been a great learning experience."

He is especially proud that he was able to introduce and have the Baltimore County Council approve legislation to .

"It was definitely for the safety of people in the area," Huff said. "And that's going very well."

The police department has previously stated that it

Huff added that legislation he sponsored to , which also passed a county council vote, is also in the interest of public safety.

"We're going to start having at night to thin out the herds, which will cut down on car accidents and Lyme disease," Huff said.

But critics have argued that the hunts are

The year, however, was not without its hardships. He described the comprehensive zoning process as "grueling and exciting."

"I'm for protecting people's property rights," he said. "At the same time, I want to make the process fair for the community and people who own property."

And as the new year begins, Huff, who is also the operations manager at , which has six locations in Maryland and Pennsylvania, hopes to continue a top priority. He plans to focus on businesses in Jacksonville and the York Road corridor.

"Revitalizing local businesses will stimulate economic growth and bring up the housing market," he said. "There are some great revitalization programs with the county. They do work very well with very low interest rate loans."

Determining the county budget for the 2013 fiscal year is also looming in Huff's mind.

"With a lot of county government retirements this year — it will free up some budget constraints," he said. "We're saving about $7 million from the