Baltimore County, MD Time of Your LIfe, 28 Feb 2019

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From YouTube: Baltimore County Inspired!

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Johnny Olszewski, Jr., Baltimore County Executive.

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(Upbeat instrumental music).

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Welcome to the time of your life with the baltimore county department of aging., I'm your host, ethel rasmussen..

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Our goal on the time of your life is to keep you in the know by conveying important and interesting information about the contemporary topics, events and resources.

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That benefit you, our viewing audience..

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Today's show shares information about baltimore county department of aging's home team program.

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stay tuned to learn more about this inspiring volunteer program to support older adults in baltimore county with danielle singley, program manager for home team..

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We conclude today's show with debbie orlove, community business liaison at the baltimore county department of aging.

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stay in the know by learning, what's happening with senior center travel, senior box office, and what's happening at your local senior center..

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We are pleased to start the show by introducing our very special guest, baltimore county's newly elected county executive, johnny olszewski..

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Welcome to the show.

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[Johnny olszewski] thanks ethel,, it's great to be here. [ethel]. I know our viewing audience.

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Were most interested in learning about your background and why you chose to run for office. sure.

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Well, first of all, it is an honor to be county executive of baltimore county..

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This county has a special place in my heart. I feel very lucky to have been raised here..

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I grew up over in eastern baltimore county, in the shadow of the sparrows point steel mill., and I tell people that I remember the blast furnace.

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Growing up, and what that meant in terms of people having opportunity,, but I also remember, as the blast furnace shut down,, how those opportunities slipped away. and it was very, sort of, personal for me.

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to have had so many people support me and affirm me that,. I was a public school kid who ended up being a first generation college. Graduate.

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went all the way on to getting a phd here in baltimore county..

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It's part of the reason why I came back and served as a teacher in the county school system., because education was just so transformative in my own life. In this county.

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and so,, I ran for office versus a member of the house of delegates to help transform that eastern part of baltimore county, and breathe new life into it., and in recent years I became a new dad, and started thinking about long term, about the kind of county and communities I wanted to raise my daughter, in..

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I ran for county executive with that same sense of.

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Wanting that opportunity that I had for all of our kids across baltimore county. and I'm really, again, just excited and thrilled for the opportunity to be serving in this role.

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[Ethel] excellent. county executive,. Can you share your administrative objective of transparency with our audience?.

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[Olszewski] well,, it all begins with being open,, accessible, and transparent.. I think that people we serve need to know that we're making decisions in a way that is full of integrity and full of openness..

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We've really tried to take proactive steps here.

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In my new administration to make county government more accessible and more transparent., we are posting more information online than ever before.

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I've taken the unprecedented step of partnering with all seven members of the baltimore county council. and we've done town halls throughout all seven of our council districts. now, in past iterations of budget hearings.

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We've had two people testify in the last two years.

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So far, at every single town, hall, we've had no fewer than over 200 people at every town hall.. So this is about a whole new level of engagement,.

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Of welcoming residents in so that they can understand.

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How county government is operating, and that we're actually listening to be responsive to the needs of our residents.

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[Ethel], that is wonderful.. Can you share with our viewers some of your initiatives as far as economic, public safety,, transportation, and others.

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Absolutely., so we have to support the entire age continuum, and for me that starts with making sure that we're doing all that we can to bolster and support. Education..

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As a teacher at heart,, it's my passion,.

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It's my priority here as county executive, and I've shared a vision where we're committed to giving every kid the best start possible through quality, early childhood education., that we are investing in both our people and our infrastructure;, our schools.

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that we're providing the teachers the salaries they deserve.

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We're putting in support personnel. the pupil personnel workers,, the social workers,, the counselors, to make sure our students are successful., but then we're also thinking about the buildings. They learn in. that kids shouldn't have to go to a school that has brown drinking water,, or that has other infrastructure challenges.

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and at the same time,. We need to be thinking about the education continuum on the back end, and finding more ways to find access to our community college and higher ed.

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at the same time,. I'm a big believer in supporting our aging communities., investing in everything from our senior centers, to engaging the community college to partner with our more senior population.

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To have activities and other ways to engage.

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and supporting programs like county ride so that we can have our residents get around this county., so really, supporting the entire continuum of aging in baltimore county,, starting with education as the foundation and the priority of this administration..

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During this process, you've put in place.

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Transition teams and work groups, and they're very important.. Can you talk about the role of each in your administration?

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So we just issued a transition report that outlines the vision for the next four years of this administration..

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We had over 200 recommendations. nearly 120 participants from all over baltimore county and the region. people, who are experts and leaders in the fields of.

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Private sector,, non-profit sector,, government, average citizens, and it was really a.

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Robust collaborative initiative., we created an ideas at initiative where we welcomed feedback from the public..

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We had hundreds of submissions of ideas that are also incorporated into our report,, because really, this is a government that is about meeting the needs of our people, and not assuming that we have all the answers, because I think governments that are engaged in that way really make better decisions, and they make them in better ways.

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we're trying to embody the spirit.

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Of that transparency and that connectedness, that I talked about, before entering the office.

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and we're really taking tangible steps,, and I think this transition report, the recommendations contained within it, and the process by which we created the report really speak to what we're trying to build here in baltimore. County..

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[Ethel] definitely an exciting time., the county's budget and blue ribbon. Commission are, have received a lot of attention..

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Can you provide more information about both?.

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[Olszewski] so,. I was surprised to learn that I inherited a pretty significant structural deficit here in baltimore county.

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and as soon as I learned it, I've taken steps to be proactive about sharing that deficit with the residents of the county.. It's one of the first things I present at those town halls we mentioned earlier., where we walk people through the fact that we have an eighty-one million dollar shortfall in the upcoming fiscal year. That starts on july 1st..

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That number actually grows in future years., so we have to take pretty significant action to stabilize our account. to make sure we're still providing the services that people want to receive and have expected to receive here in baltimore county..

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So the first action I took when I was sworn in,. I literally went from the inauguration to my desk and signed an executive order.

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Creating this commission on fiscal sustainability.

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They're, looking at all of practices, from top to bottom.

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I want them to look at every issue on the table and give us an honest assessment.. They just released an interim report that gives us a beginnings of a road map on how to proceed.

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In terms of this budget and then future budgets., that work will continue through may..

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I'm really excited to have some experts who are taking an outside look.. I think all organizations benefit from an outside pair of eyes, and that's certainly been true here in baltimore county so,. I thank them for their service.

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and again,. It's just that transparency and engagement, letting people know where we are and how we have to get somewhere in the future.

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County executive,, can you share how your administration is translating government accessibility to its constituents?.

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Absolutely. again, government is of and for and by the people.

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We really have tried to embody that in everything we do.

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In terms of our engagement,, in terms of our outreach.

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being proactive. attending forums and festivals and community neighborhood organizations., it's part of why we have this ideas initiative,, where we welcome folks to send information to ideas@baltimorecountymd.gov.

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the beginning of it was actually part of the transition process. We talked about earlier,, but really it was so successful.

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We decided to continue accepting ideas, because we wanna have that ongoing, lively engagement with residents., in addition to the town hall series that we engage with standing alongside.

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Council members, in all seven districts., we've actually said that response has been so overwhelming.

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Hundreds of people at every single town hall., we said, let's replicate that., we're, also opening a transparent police search for the first time,. I think in the county's history,, where we are gonna have public safety town halls in both sides of the county..

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We have a review panel to suggest.

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Candidates for me, that include the community., it's really about finding as many ways as possible, through boards and commissions, through our governmental functions,, to really engage the community, so they are aware of what's happening., it's also part of why we're trying to change our structure.

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So that, as we're conducting our work.

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we're looking at things like a countystat program, you know?

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when baltimore city created citystat,, they were way ahead of the curve. now, that was 20 years ago, and we still don't have anything even resembling that in baltimore county., so we're way behind the curve.

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we're trying to make sure that this is a government that people feel like they are connected. To, they're involved, with, and those are all the kinds of decisions that,. I think, get us to that. Point.

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[Ethel], you mentioned the town halls.. Can you talk about the role of those meetings?.

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Yeah,, it's critical. most of the time, after a very brief presentation by me,.

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That sort of gives a synopsis of our tough fiscal scenario here in baltimore. County, is really about listening., because the best leaders, I think, lead by listening.

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and the public has been wonderful in terms of identifying needs within their communities.

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identifying needs that are county, wide.

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and also coming forward with real,, tangible ideas and solutions to some of the challenges we face.

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I wanna commend the residents of baltimore county for showing out in big numbers, for being thoughtful, for being deliberative, and really just coming to the table with ideas..

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That's exactly, sort of the quintessential spirit.

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Of a town hall, is to have people come out and engage in a dialogue to find solutions so that we can take our really good county and make it great..

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So I just want to commend folks for being a part of that process.

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[Ethel] excellent. recently you created the office of community engagement..

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What will the role of that agency be?.

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So,, the office of community engagement is an extension of the town halls..

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It's an extension of the ideas at initiative, and it's one more way that we're being proactive in reaching out to our communities here in baltimore, county., I've retooled the office and created the office because.

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I wanted every single council district to know that they have a dedicated liaison and representative that has a direct tie to the county executive's office..

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These are people who will,, who know the communities,, who have been embedded in the communities, who serve the communities,, who know how to help people.

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Navigate the bureaucracy that is county government.

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and they have a seat on the level of my office.

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They interact with me and my staff, every day.

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they're, an important part of our team,, but really the thought is they're suppose to be spending more time in the community than they are in the office.. It's really about providing an additional resource..

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Anything from potholes to school needs.

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To just navigating permits and processes.

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That they know, the public knows, baltimore county resident knows, that residents know,, that we are there.

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we're trying to engage proactively. we're attending those community associations. and that, even though I can't be at every single function,.

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There is some representative and some way to engage with us,, which is really important.

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[Ethel] right. you've also stressed data based decision making..

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Can you talk a little bit about that and your vision for it?.

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Well, we know that what gets measured gets managed.

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and,, unfortunately,, we've sorta been managing without.

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Much of a clear sense of where this county is going.

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and we haven't really had metrics to hold ourselves accountable.. As I take responsibility for leading this government,.

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I wanna have a way to communicate with my staff.

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And with the public so that we can really ensure that whether, again, we're filling potholes.

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Or taking inventory of our roadways or our schools,.

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That people know how our dollars are being spent..

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They know that we're being responsive to concerns and complaints. and that the needs of our citizens are being met.

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Until we actually create a system to track and measure those things,, I don't know how we actually could tell people that we're having the right, standards, or holding our folks accountable..

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I think that technology and data provides a great platform to both track. Our progress,.

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But also to be proactive using things like advanced data analytics so that we can start getting ahead of problems before they even exist.

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leveraging technology and data is gonna, be a big initiative of our administration. These next four years.

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[Ethel] excellent.: can you share your vision, pertaining to creating partnerships and sponsorships to secure and support baltimore county?.

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[Olszewski], we have an incredible opportunity to partner more with both the private sector and the non-profit sector, to leverage some of the baltimore county assets, and leverage what we already have being brought to bear.

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And bring in other folks who wanna be a part of what we're delivering. there are numbers of private businesses.

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And non-profits that engaged in our transition, process, and they've said, "we wanna help deliver more services..

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We want to deliver meals for seniors..

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We want to be engaged in the classroom..

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We want to help with economic development." and they're, not looking for money or any sort of thing from the government,. They just want to supplement what were already doing., bringing that innovation, bringing that partnership. Is,.

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I think, one really important way that were gonna address the challenges of the years. Ahead. I'm excited about what some of those partnerships might look like. Moving forward.

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[Ethel] excellent.. Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk about your administration, and the inspiring impact that it's gonna have on baltimore county. [olszewski]. It was my pleasure.

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Thanks for having me in today.,.

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[Ethel] we're gonna, take a short break. stay tuned to learn about baltimore county department of aging's, home team, program.

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(Upbeat instrumental music).