Council President's Update: March 18

Dear Resident,

As we welcome spring, we at the Montgomery County Council are also welcoming a time of frenzied activity and deeply important work on behalf of our residents. Let’s take a look at what we have before us.

Standing with our Muslim community

At Tuesday’s Council meeting, I will introduce a resolution reaffirming the Council’s support of the Muslim community in light of the terrorist attack on the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Centre in Christchurch, New Zealand that took place last Friday. Over the weekend myself and several of my Council colleagues visited the Islamic Center of Maryland in Gaithersburg where we gathered in solidarity and love to uplift our Muslim community following this senseless tragedy.

Building the operating budget

County Executive Marc Elrich delivered his Fiscal Year 2020 Recommended Operating Budget to the Montgomery County Council on Friday, and my fellow Councilmembers and I have had the chance to review it and share our initial reactions. You can see my full remarks here and see the recommend budget here. More general information about the County’s budget processes is available at the Council’s budget page and the Office of Management and Budget’s page.

Over the next two months it will be the job of the Council to carefully balance the need for important County services and pressures on our taxpayers. Our focus will be on prioritizing funding for core services such as education and public safety, protecting our safety net services that serve our most vulnerable residents and making strategic investments for our County’s economic and fiscal future.

You can get involved in the budget process in several ways, including signing up to testify at our public hearings on the budget on April 8, 9 and 10.

Racial Equity and Social Justice: A starting place

Last Wednesday my fellow Councilmembers and I, the County Executive, representatives of the Council’s Office of Legislative Oversight and other staff were joined by an incredibly diverse group of hundreds of residents at the Silver Spring Civic Building for a community conversation on developing a Racial Equity and Social Justice Policy for Montgomery County. I cannot emphasize enough how proud I felt of our residents for their courage and selflessness in coming together to have tough – even uncomfortable – and rewarding conversations and share concrete changes they want to see. This was the first of many such conversations that will occur in the coming months, and we have developed a toolkit, survey and other resources to help any and all willing residents to organize their own conversations. Look for more information on this immensely important intersectional work in future newsletters and on my and the Council’s social media accounts.

Tuesday’s Council meeting

Here are a few items coming before the Council tomorrow, Tuesday, March 19:

•Bill 8-19, Erosion, Sediment Control and Stormwater Management - Asphalt Sealing Products
The Council will introduce Bill 8-19. Councilmember Craig Rice is the lead sponsor. Bill 8-19 would prohibit the use of a sealant to cover an asphalt or concrete surface, including a driveway or parking area, in the County that contains more than 0.1 percent Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH). You can read more here.
•Expedited Bill 3-19, Administration - Executive Branch - Non-Merit Positions
The Council will vote on Expedited Bill 3-19. I am the lead sponsor, at the request of the County Executive. This bill and its accompanying Executive Regulation would designate certain positions in the Executive Branch as non-merit positions. You can read more here.
•The Council will hold a discussion on leveraging the County’s assets to attract and retain businesses with representatives of the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation. You can read more here.
•For a list of upcoming public hearings, click here.

As always, you can view Tuesday’s full agenda here, read our Council Coming Attractions for an overview of everything that’s coming up, or visit our Council meeting portal to stream Council and Committee meetings live or after the fact.

Thank you, and have a wonderful week.