For Immediate Release: Friday, July 1, 2016
County Councilmember Sidney Katz
to be featured guest TODAY on
‘Tuned In’ Radio America show
At 2:30 p.m. on WACA 1540 AM, focus will be on
programs to help immigrants, changes in school budget,
need for more mental health programs
ROCKVILLE, Md., July 1, 2016—Montgomery County Councilmember Sidney Katz, who services on the Council’s Public Safety Committee and on its Government Operations and Fiscal Policy Committee, will be the featured guest at 2:30 p.m. TODAY, Friday, July 1, on En Sintonía con el Concejo del Condado de Montgomery (Tuned In with the Montgomery County Council), a weekly show on Radio America (WACA 1540 AM). Among the topics he will address are programs the County has to help newly arriving immigrants and the County’s Fiscal Year 2017 budget that will include important changes in the Montgomery County Public Schools budget.
The Council in May approved the new County budget, which takes effect today. The budget includes funding for numerous programs directed toward specific communities in the County, such as health initiatives. Prior to being elected to the County Council, Councilmember Katz served as mayor of Gaithersburg, which is one of the County’s most diverse jurisdictions.
The show also will focus on the increased funding in the new budget for public schools. The increased funding will be directed toward new programs and to the hiring of additional staff, which will reduce class sizes in many schools.
Councilmember Katz, who is the Council’s lead member for behavioral health, also will discuss the need for increased mental health services. The County is considering creating a Mental Health Court that would provide sentencing alternatives for people arrested for certain crimes, but who are in serious need of mental health services.
The show will be co-hosted by Julie Rios Little and Andrea Sarralde. They will devote part of today’s show to the continued discussion about the County’s minimum wage, which increased again today. Legislation already approved will eventually increase the minimum wage to $11.50 per hour, but a more recent proposal now under consideration would increase the County minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2020.
The Montgomery County Council and Radio America have entered into a partnership that provides the Latino community with key information on issues and programs. The partnership also provides a forum for residents to express views and ask questions. The partnership includes the weekly one hour show each Friday on the Washington Region’s most popular Spanish language station.
Each week, the show features guests talking about important issues before the Council and occasionally the show provides information about programs offered by the County to help residents.
In addition to the radio broadcast, the show can be heard via the Internet at: http://radioamerica.net/en-vivo/ . Video links with a summary of the show are available each week at the County Council's newly-redesigned, mobile friendly web site at: www.montgomerycountymd.gov/council .
# # # # Release ID: 16-211