A Greater Baltimore? Prospects for a regional city-county government

Today on Midday, guest host Jayne Miller explores the prospects for adopting a regional approach to governing Baltimore City and Baltmore County, and possibly reunifying them under a single regional government... Since the mid 1800s, when the Maryland legislature split Baltimore City and Baltimore County into two jurisdictions, the two have operated more or less independently, each with its own local government, agencies, and tax system. Today, Baltimore City is one of just two "free-standing" cities in the country, unable to access resources of its wealthier surrounding county. Why did the split happen? What shared governance is already in place? Is it time to end this separation and unite the region into a single jurisdiction, a "Greater Baltimore?" Joining Jayne in Studio A to explore these questions are two keen observers of the Baltimore metropolitan region: Ron Cassie is a veteran Baltimore writer, journalist and senior editor at Baltimore Magazine. He's also the author of If You Love Baltimore, It Will Love You Back: 171 Short But True Stories," his 2020 collection of a decade's worth of articles he'd written covering the city and its environs. Jennifer Vey is an urban policy expert and a Senior Fellow with Brookings Metro and director of the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Center for Transformative Placemaking. She focuses on way to make communities more vibrant, connected and inclusive.Email us at [email protected], tweet us: @MiddayWYPR, or call us at 410-662-8780.