The Baltimore County Council released a report last week recommending that it initially expand to nine members, and tie further expansion to population growth, according to a draft published last Thursday.

A county coalition, composed of voting rights organizations, political clubs, and advocacy groups, say the council appears to have circumvented public opinion by releasing the report ahead of two meetings this month where the public will give input.

The council released an 18-page draft report last week recommending that the council put forth a November 2024 ballot initiative to expand the legislative body to nine members from its current total of seven; increase pay; make council members full-time employees instead of part-time; and increase the number of council staff.

The council has been exploring the issue of expansion since last fall, when it appointed 11 people to a workgroup that is expected to produce a final report with recommendations by the end of March.

The coalition VOTE4MORE! Baltimore County — which for two years has advocated for expanding to 11 members — says the council has effectively circumvented the public by suggesting a two-member expansion in its report before the public input meetings. Linda Dorsey-Walker, the chair of VOTE4MORE!, appeared at a news conference in Towson on Wednesday alongside groups including Indivisible Towson, the Baltimore County NAACP and the ACLU of Maryland.

Dorsey-Walker criticized the council for suggesting in the draft report that the county adopted an “automatic trigger” rule that would tie the increase or decrease of council members to fluctuations in the county’s population. The council suggested adding more members when Baltimore County reaches 900,000 residents in order to ensure each member had between 78,000 and 100,000 residents in their district. The county currently has around 847,000 residents, which works out to about 122,000 people per district.

Dorsey-Walker said the trigger rule would add an even heavier burden to the group’s goal of reaching 11 council members.

“We’d have to wait decades upon decades to go from nine [members] to 11,” she said.

The council said in the report that the trigger rule would allow policy changes to go into effect without requiring additional government action.

“Automatic triggers can preserve the intent of a policy by allowing the policymaker to think about the changes necessary to adapt to future circumstances without the pressure of a crisis,” the report says. “They can also reduce conflict or blame surrounding future reforms by removing uncertainty and lessen political pressure by giving long-term guidance.”

Baltimore County first adopted its charter-style government in 1956, which allowed for seven members on the county council to represent about 490,000 residents. The charter does not mention expansion.

Other coalition members, like Baltimore County NAACP president Danita Tolson, said allowing for 11 council members would allow the legislative body to better reflect the county population, which is now 52.4% women and 47% people of color, according to Census data.

The council is currently all-male, and four of its seven members are Democrats. Councilman Julian Jones, a Black Democrat from Woodstock, is the council’s only person of color.

“We would like to see some women, get some diversity on the council,” Tolson said.

Dorsey-Walker also said this would allow for more “diversity of thought” and “diversity of parties” on the council.

Potentially expanding the council has bipartisan support among council members who voted 6-1 in October to create the work group studying expansion. Republican Todd Crandell of Dundalk cast the dissenting vote.

The work group scheduled two meetings this month to take public testimony before issuing a final report with recommendations by March 31.

The first takes place March 14 at the White Marsh branch of the Baltimore County Public Library, at 6 p.m. . The second will take place at the Woodlawn library branch on Wednesday, March 20, at 6 p.m.