Spoken in true politician form "the law doesn't apply to me". LOL

Hmm, another one working by his own rules while ignoring state/county laws.

and yet the good people elected this shady person despite his probation before judgement sentence. We get what we deserve. One might also question the Councilman's close relationship with a well known developer, just sayin'

Its our dime that is paying this guy, directly or indirectly. I think he should excuse himself from working on the contract that provides a service to the state government. I believe that as long as he is working on the contract, he is in violation of the law.

"Oliver, a Randallstown Democrat, was hired as a finance specialist by the state Department of Business and Economic Development in February, just two months into his third four-year term on the council."

That is pretty plain to me. How can he turn that around to mean otherwise?

Nice work Bryan. Keep it up!

Is he the drunk or the thief? I get these local pols mixed up.
Ron Calabrese, Owings Mills

How much does a councildork make a year, 50 to 70k. he is clearly being employed by the state but wants to puff out his chest and say the rules don't apply to me because I am a councilidiot. He should give up his STATE job and let someone who really deserves it take it like his wife or one of his relatives.

Why don't the good, honest people in the Democratic Party in this great state of Maryland kick these crooks and swindlers to the curb?
On one hand we have yet another very clear conflict of interest of a politician also working for the state of Maryland. The councilman is getting his paycheck directly from The State of Maryland...not some accounting firm! On the other hand we have people in the top of Maryland State government trying to change the law to fit their needs. Well even if these swindlers managed to change the law to allow 'double-dipping" it will never make it ETHICAL

Two wrongs do not make a right, but is Oliver working for the State as a contract employee any worse than when Councilman Vince Gardina got $100,000 from a former governor because he was let go from a contract job?

Also, look closer to home. Just retired Councilman Gardina collects $52,000 a year retirement from his Baltimore County Council job and is collecting over $100,000 in his current Baltimore County Government job. Did Councilman Gardina get his current job because of his political and $168,000 contribution to Kevin Kamenetz? Great deal he gets his contribution back in less than 2 years' salary.

Is former Assistant Superintendent Don Mohler collecting his retirement from Baltimore County Public Schools while collecting money as the chief of staff for Kevin Kamenetz? Did Don Mohler's brother Mike get a non compete job as Code Enforcement chief and now has been moved to manager of the Liquor Licensing Board.

Inbred, inbred, inbred.

Did Tony Marchione collect a pension from BCPS and then go on to collect a pension from Baltimore County government?

Maybe this is why he's never returned a single phone call or e-mail to his office. He's just too busy.

Meg's comments are right on the money. And by the way, don't think for a second that an elected official really runs the Baltimore County government. Fred Homan does. What he says is the effective law. He controls how the county spends its money - and control of money = control of the power.

I must say I already had some displeasure with this man when he refused to see reason and allow us (Reisterstown) to redistrict so that Reisterstown could have more unified representation (currently we are represented by 3 councilpersons). This adds to my dissatisfaction. It seems the councilman is an advid listener to the station WIFM (what's in it for me!). Very dissappointing.

He just got out of trouble a few years ago. I met him at Community Meeting at the Randallstown Community Center. While he was halfway sleep, residents talked about crime and gangs. I think he dozed off completely, because at the end all he talked about Wal-Mart. He claims to be personally responsible for bringing it to Randallstown. For the last few years, he has also been working on bringing a TGI Fridays! YEP YEP Hooray! All those years in office and that is all we get? However, I am sure he will be re-elected.

This is clear-
Karen Glenn Hood, a department spokeswoman, confirmed that Oliver is a contract employee. The agency pays him directly, Hood said, and not through a third party contractor. She said she knew nothing about an accounting firm.

Well I'm glad I make it a point to research every person I vote or don't vote for. I wish more people did their research BEFORE voting for people they know nothing about. As soon as I found out that he was convicted in 2009 I decided on Julian Earl Jones. Oliver just barely won this past election by a handful of votes. I'm hoping it's this guy's last term.

WHY ARE OUR "LEADERS" RECEIVING SALARIES? What ever happened to PUBLIC SERVICE? ENOUGH!

While we are talking about Fred Homan, how does he make $190,000? I looked at the salary tables for county employees and the max salaries stop FAR short of that number. What are we paying for?

You're living in a dream world, Pastor. Are you paying their mortgages? They need to make salaries but not in the way that Mr. Oliver is earning his living, and not as much as Fred Homan is taking home (if it's true that his salary is about the cap as Matthew reports).

Mr. Homan received a $40,000 + raise the year he changed the pensions and forced new employees in the county to work for 35 years to collect less money upon retirement. Jim Smith asked council for the raise and they approved it. That's how Fred gets $190,000 a year and will collect a huge monthly pension if he ever retires. And county Council members will receive their full salary for pensions when they retire. Not a percentage of their salary as full time employees do. And to boot, They only work part time as council members. Just Sayin

This will be second time the council faces an ethics issue. Jim Smith faced scrutiny in his relationship with developers and campaign donations. Of course nothing happened, business as usual.

The council should hold an inquiry into this issue. This is not the first time Mr. Oliver had issues with ethics.

Anything less will erode the confidence in the council to deal with these ethical lapses.

The saddest part of this is the statement that "A charter review performed by the county attorney’s office before the 2006 election uncovered the language." when it's been in the Charter since 1956. The Charter isn't that long and complicated that everyone in government wouldn't already know what it said. You mean for 50 years no one knew it said that? Scary!

Mike, you sound very astute on this issue, what actions do you think the council should pursue in dealing with Mr. Oliver.

The devil are in the details and by his own words he alludes to his employer, i.e. the state with the following quote: "I'm a contract employee," he said. "When I'm finished here, they'll send me somewhere else.".

My question is who is the "they" Mr. Oliver is referring to. In this case it would have to be the state. I did omit one final nail, excuse me, detail in the -- on line directory.

Buzz, you are an excellent reporter but shouldn`t the state be the overseer on matters such as this. The councilman applied for a job and received it. Seriouly, what is wrong with that?

We may as well stop wasting our breath since whoever built the county charter didn't provide for provisions to enforce the subject law. Even the county lawyers don't know. See http://towson.patch.com/articles/oliver-job-council-legal-issues.

With that situation most people would do the same as Oliver is doing... grab everything he can while he has the chance.

Graham, You must be kidding. It is not the state's job to follow, or know the Baltimore County Charter/law. Mr. Oliver on the other hand, being a Baltimore Co. Councilman, even a poor one, is responsible to follow the LAW, which he obviously have problems with. I don't want a criminal representing me that's why I voted for Julian Jones.

Graham, the county attorney could order Oliver to step down in the fact that he violated the County Charter. Oliver's recourse would be to request an administrative hearing. It is a question of ethics and the law.

Cops are required to file secondary employment forms and failing to do so can result in departmental charges and dismissal.

Smith faced a Charter issue and it was whitewashed.

The question I have is where is Kamenetz on this issue? The Charter is very clear as Bryan pointed out on this conflict. I have said this many times in the past over my perception that the county executive is devoid of leadership. He proliferates the good ole boys image by making several appointments that the Sun criticized, and that doesn't happen too often.

If Oliver is allowed to skirt the law, for the second time, it can lead to an erosion in the integrity of not only his position, but that of the council in general.

Corruption can taken on many forms in politics.

This violation must be adjudicated as a mater of law and ethics, which is vital in one holding elected office.

Graham, you are right about one thing, the voting issue. Even if there is action taken, I believe he could run again as his last election proved.

After reading the charges he had against him in 09 this only shows how the Maryland Democratic Party Politicians operate.Should we expect anything else? Look at Michael Bush in Annapolis is he any different? There is nothing more obvious then the Public getting a finger stuck in their eye by these double dipping Politicians who make Laws against us but not themselves.

Graham, you are correct that under the Constitution one is presumed innocent until proven guilty, however there is another factor that plays a role in this and that is the court of that public perception.

Again I will refer to the police department to illustrate the situation. Case in point, if an officer is involved in say in a domestic violence issue as illustrated by a recent Patch article, that officer is suspended with or without pay depending on the allegations.

This action is taken to preserve the safety of the general public and uphold the integrity of the system.

This process is also found in a situation depending on the severity of the charges, in our criminal court system. The suspect is taken before a commissioner for a bail hearing prior to the trial in order to review many factors in whether to assess a bond amount, or in certain cases the denial of that bail.

Graham, there is one point that I have to take issue with you in your comments regarding this quote: "... then it is the states responsibility to catch it. Simple. it seems to me.". There is some truth in your comments that the state should be aware of these potential conflicts. There is also culpability on the part of the applicant if they are aware, or should be aware of the laws they are being paid to interpret.

Yes there are some tough comments on this matter but as the saying goes -- "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."

That is the reality of life.

Graham, your overlooking the obvious. He broke the county charter, not the states, therefor it is a county issue. Secondly, he is an adult, don't blame the state, he knew what he was doing and was hoping he wouldn't get caught

Mack, there isn't much that slips by the Dundalkwatchdog. He's got it covered.