For Immediate Release: Monday, May 15, 2017
The Montgomery County Council at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, May 16, is scheduled to discuss proposed Council and County Executive grants that would be part of the Fiscal Year 2018 operating budget
Montgomery Council to discuss
Grants for FY18 operating budget
Also on Tuesday, May 16: exemptions for fuel-energy tax,
bill regarding lifeguard requirements,
BRT for Veirs Mill Road
ROCKVILLE, Md., May 15, 2017—The Montgomery County Council at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, May 16, is scheduled to discuss proposed Council and County Executive grants that would be part of the Fiscal Year 2018 operating budget.
The Council is its final week of reviewing review of County Executive Ike Leggett’s recommended FY18 operating budget. The Council is scheduled to reach agreement on the budget on Thursday, May 18, and to formally adopt the budget on Thursday, May 25. The budget will go into effect on July 1.
The Council’s session will begin at 9:30 a.m. in the Third Floor Hearing Room of the Council Office Building at 100 Maryland Ave. in Rockville. The morning and afternoon sessions, and five public hearings scheduled to run consecutively starting at 1:30 p.m., will be will be televised live by County Cable Montgomery (CCM). The channel can be viewed on Cable Channels 996 (high definition) and 6 (standard definition) on Comcast; Channels 1056 (HD) and 6 (SD) on RCN; and Channel 30 on Verizon.
The session also will be available live via streaming through the Council web site at http://tinyurl.com/z9982v8 .
The session will begin with a presentation of a proclamation to retiring high school football coach Bob Milloy. Over 47 years at four Montgomery high schools, he is retiring with more victories than any other Maryland coach and with eight state public school championships—tied for the most by any coach. He coached at Whitman, Springbrook, Sherwood and Good Counsel high schools.
During the morning session, the Council will hold a worksession on the community grants that are annually approved for non-profit providers of services to County residents. During the worksession, the Council will review 223 discretionary Community Grants recommended by the County Executive totaling $7,914,464. The Council also will discuss 11 Community Service Grants totaling $60,716 that were recommended in the Community Grants Non-Departmental Account. Also to be reviewed are 103 Council Community Grants totaling $2,659,587.
More information about the FY18 grants is available at http://tinyurl.com/m5o6pa3 .
During the morning session the County is expected to vote on amended Bill 9-17 that would exempt from the County fuel-energy tax energy that is generated by a Community Solar Energy Generating System (CSEGS). The exemption would apply to energy that is generated from a renewable source located in the same electric service territory as the subscriber using the energy and subject to a virtual net energy metering agreement (as defined in State law) with a public utility.
The lead sponsor of the bill is Councilmember George Leventhal. Councilmembers Roger Berliner, Marc Elrich, Tom Hucker, Sidney Katz, Nancy Navarro, Craig Rice and Hans Riemer are co-sponsors.
The County fuel-energy tax is imposed on every person transmitting, distributing, manufacturing, producing or supplying electricity in the County. For an electric company, the tax is applied to the net consumption used to calculate each consumer bill and is passed through to end users. Current law already exempts energy produced from a renewable source in the County and either used on the site where it is generated or subject to a net energy metering agreement (as defined in State law) with a public utility. However, this exemption only applies to the energy produced from a renewable source, such as solar panels, located on the customer's property or contiguous to the customer's property.
At a public hearing on the bill, Lisa Feldt, director of the Department of Environmental Protection, speaking on behalf of the County Executive, supported the bill as a vehicle to promote the use of solar energy and to match the fuel-energy tax exemption available to a resident with solar panels on a residence.
Bill 9-17 would apply for electricity produced by a community solar generating facility. Due to the need to establish and market the expected community solar generating systems, the Office of Management and Budget estimated the revenue loss in FY18 at $381,000. The estimated revenue loss in FY19 is $763,000 and that it would be $953,000 each year beginning in FY20.
During the morning session, Expedited Bill 16-17 will be introduced. The bill would exempt certain public pools at certain facilities from the requirement to have a lifeguard on duty present when the pool is open for use.
Councilmember Katz is the lead sponsor of the bill. Councilmembers Berliner, Elrich and Nancy Floreen are co-sponsors.
In a memo to his fellow Councilmembers on the bill, Councilmember Katz wrote:
“Presently, in Montgomery County, our 36 hotel pools may only be open for swimming if a qualified lifeguard is present and on duty. This presents a costly burden for our hospitality industry that is not faced by our jurisdictional neighbors. That is because Montgomery County is one of only two jurisdictions in Maryland that impose this requirement. Local hotels are choosing to close their pools altogether rather than upset patrons with limited hours and, when tourists are choosing where to stay, this can put our County at a disadvantage whenever guests are seeking this important amenity.
“On Tuesday, May 15, my office will introduce the attached legislation that allows registered guests to use their hotel pool when a lifeguard is not present, as long as there is appropriately posted signage that swimming is at one's own risk and an emergency alert system installed in the pool area to summon help. All hotel properties must have a CPR and First-Aid certified employee on-site at all times to provide quick intervention while awaiting rescue authorities. This proposal enhances measures that have recently passed in Anne Arundel and Prince George's counties and the bill that is pending in Baltimore County right now.
“Nearby jurisdictions that allow hotel guests to swim at their own risk have reported no increase in pool-related injuries, even in our tourist hotspot of Ocean City. Our goal with this proposal is to strike a better balance without jeopardizing the safety of our visitors. We hope you will support this sensible measure.”
A bill will be introduced during the morning session identifying the Council’s recommended alternative for the Veirs Mill Road Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project.
More information on the project and recommended alternative is available at http://tinyurl.com/m2yub9k .
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Release ID: 17-167