For Immediate Release: Wednesday, February 2, 2022
Committee will review the Spending Affordability Guidelines for the FY23 Operating Budget and public campaign finance law
The Government Operations and Fiscal Policy (GO) Committee will meet on Thursday, Feb. 3, at 9:30 a.m. to discuss Spending Affordability Guidelines for the FY23 Operating Budget and review Bill 45-21, Elections – Public Campaign Financing – Restrictions.
The members of the GO Committee include Chair Nancy Navarro and Councilmembers Andrew Friedson and Sidney Katz.
More detail on each agenda item is provided below.
Spending Affordability Guidelines for the FY23 Operating Budget
Review: The GO Committee will review the Spending Affordability Guidelines for the FY23 Operating Budget. The Montgomery County Code requires the Council to specify the following when adopting the Spending Affordability Guidelines for the operating budget: a ceiling on the funding from ad valorem real property tax revenues; a ceiling on the aggregate operating budget; and separate budget allocations for Montgomery County government, the Montgomery County Board of Education, Montgomery College, the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, debt service and current revenue funding of capital projects. As part of this process the Council should consider the condition of the economy, the level of economic activity in the County, trends in personal income and the impact of economic and population growth and projected revenues. The Council must adopt guidelines for the next operating budget by the second Tuesday in February.
Those expected to attend and provide information include Chris Mullin, Office of Management and Budget and David Platt, Department of Finance.
Expedited Bill 45-21, Elections – Public Campaign Financing – Restrictions
Review: The Committee will review Bill 45-21, Elections – Public Campaign Financing – Restrictions, which would amend the County’s public campaign finance law to permit certain limited in-kind donations, equivalent to $10,000 or less, from state or County central committees to publicly financed candidates.
The purpose of the bill is to permit the central committees to display or distribute the literature of publicly financed candidates under certain conditions. Currently, the central committees are precluded from displaying or distributing literature for publicly financed candidates.
The lead sponsors are Council Vice President Glass, Councilmembers Katz and Riemer and Council Vice President Albornoz. Councilmembers Navarro, Rice and Hucker are cosponsors.
Those expected to attend and provide information include Jared DeMarinis, director, Division of Candidacy and Campaign Finance, Maryland State Board of Elections; Kathleen Boucher, deputy director, Office of Intergovernmental Relations; Ed Lattner, chief, Government Operations Division, Office of the County Attorney; and David Crow, acting controller, Department of Finance.
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 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 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: 22-048