For Immediate Release: Wednesday, September 29, 2021
The committees will meet virtually to review legislation that would extend the County’s Minority, Female and Disabled-Owned Business Program by two years, review spending affordability guidelines for the aggregate capital budget and review water and sewer category change requests
The Government Operations and Fiscal Policy (GO) Committee will meet on Thursday, Sept. 30 at 9:30 a.m. to review Expedited Bill 29-21, Contracts and Procurement - Minority Owned Businesses – Sunset Date - Amendments and spending affordability guidelines for the FY23 Capital Budget and the FY23-28 Capital Improvements Program. The members of the GO Committee include Chair Nancy Navarro and Councilmembers Andrew Friedson and Sidney Katz.
The Transportation and Environment (T&E) Committee will meet at 1:30 p.m. to review amendments to the Comprehensive Water Supply and Sewerage Systems Plan: water and sewer category change requests. The members of the T&E Committee include Chair and Council President Tom Hucker and Councilmembers Evan Glass and Hans Riemer.
More detail on each agenda item is provided below.
Review: The GO Committee will review Expedited Bill 29-21, which is companion legislation to a $700,000 special appropriation to the County’s FY22 Operating Budget, for a disparity study for the County’s Minority, Female and Disabled-Owned Business Program. The bill would extend the program for two years, providing until July 1, 2023 for the director of the Office of Procurement to submit a report to the Council and the County Executive on the need to continue the program and extend the sunset date of the program until Dec. 31, 2023.
Expedited Bill 29-21 was introduced by the full Council to assist minority-owned businesses in contracting with Montgomery County Government.
Those expected to attend and provide information include Ash Shetty, director of procurement, Office of Procurement and Grace Denno, manager, Office of Procurement.
Review: The GO Committee will review spending affordability guidelines for the aggregate capital budget. These guidelines limit certain types of debt that may be programmed for expenditures in the Capital Improvements Program (CIP). These guidelines also set the Council’s voting thresholds for the capital budget each year. By evaluating and setting appropriate debt levels every two years, the Council preserves the County’s fiscal health and manages the amount of general funds required for debt service. The Council must adopt these guidelines by the first Tuesday in October in each odd-numbered calendar year.
Those expected to attend and provide information include Mary Beck, capital budget manager, Office of Management and Budget (OMB); Veronica Jaua, budget analyst, OMB; Anita Aryeetey, budget analyst, OMB; David Platt, chief economist, Department of Finance (Finance); Jackie Carter, debt manager, Finance; Mike Riley, director, Montgomery Parks (Parks); Miti Figueredo, deputy director, Parks; Andrew Frank, division chief for parks development, Parks; and Carl Morgan, CIP manager for parks development, Parks.
Review: The T&E Committee will review amendments to the Comprehensive Water Supply and Sewerage Systems Plan: water and sewer category change requests. On July 6, the County Executive transmitted a package of three water and sewer category change requests including two sites at the intersection of Travilah Road and Glen Road—one for the proposed Old White House Country Inn at the location of an existing single-family home and the other for redevelopment of the existing Potomac Oak Center shopping center. The third is for property located at 13417 Valley Drive in Rockville for a single-family home and accessory dwelling unit.
Those expected to attend and provide information include Casey Anderson, chairman, Montgomery County Planning Board; Gwen Wright, director, Montgomery County Planning Department; Robert Kronenberg, deputy director, Montgomery County Planning Department; Patrick Butler, Chief, Upcounty, Montgomery County Planning Department; Donnell Zeigler, supervisor, Upcounty, Montgomery County Planning Department; Katherine Nelson, environmental planner coordinator, Montgomery County Planning Department; Steve Shofar, chief, Intergovernmental Affairs Division (IGAD), Department of Environmental Protection (DEP); Alan Soukup, senior planner, IGAD, DEP; George Dizelos, environmental planner III, IGAD, DEP.
The Committee meeting schedule may change from time to time. The current Council and Committee agendas, Council staff reports and additional information on items scheduled for Council review can be viewed at: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/COUNCIL/ondemand/index.html.
The Council and Committees are meeting via Zoom this fall because of ongoing construction and technology upgrades in the Council's Hearing Room and the inability to conduct meetings in a socially distant way in other areas of the Council Office Building with television broadcast capacity. Councilmembers will continue to hold meetings in their offices by appointment.
The virtual Council and Committee meetings will be streamed live on the Council’s web page via YouTube and on Facebook Live and can be watched on County Cable Montgomery on Xfinity/RCN 6 HD 996/1056, Fios 30, and on the CCM live stream. Release ID: 21-381