Council Committee Meetings on April 12

For Immediate Release: Friday, April 12, 2019

Council Committee Meetings
on April 12

The following committee meetings are scheduled for Friday, April 12. Individuals interested in attending a committee meeting should confirm the information on the day of the meeting by visiting the Council’s web page at tinyurl.com/CountyCouncilMeetings or by calling the Council’s Communications Office at 240-777-7931. All meetings are held in the Council Office Building (100 Maryland Ave., Rockville, Md.), unless otherwise noted.

Meeting: Education and Culture (E&C) Committee
Time: 9:30 a.m.
Location: Seventh floor hearing room
E&C Committee: Councilmembers Craig Rice (Chair), Will Jawando (Lead for Libraries) and Council President Nancy Navarro
Topics:
Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20) Operating Budget and Capital Improvements Program (CIP) Amendments—Community Use of Public Facilities
The E&C Committee will meet to discuss the FY20 Operating Budget for the Community Use of Public Facilities (CUPF), which provides community users and public agencies with access to public facilities for services, programs and events. The FY20 Recommended Operating Budget for CUPF is $11,959,269.

The Council staff report can be viewed here.

FY20 Operating Budget and CIP Amendments—Non-departmental account: Montgomery Coalition for Adult English Literacy (MCAEL)
The E&C Committee also will discuss the FY20 Operating Budget for MCAEL, which is a community coalition consisting of individuals and organizations that have come together to strengthen and promote adult English literacy services in the County. The FY20 Recommended Operating Budget for MCAEL is $1,757,058.

The Council staff report can be viewed here.

FY20 Operating Budget and CIP Amendments—Montgomery College
The E&C Committee will discuss the FY20 Operating Budget for Montgomery College, a public, fully-accredited community college with campuses in Rockville, Takoma Park/Silver Spring and Germantown. The College’s FY20 Recommended Operating Budget is $310.4 million which is $3.1 million below the Montgomery College Board of Trustee’s request.

The Council staff report can be viewed here.

FY20 Operating Budget and CIP Amendments—CIP: Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) FY 19-24 CIP Amendments
The E&C Committee will review amendments to the Fiscal Years 2019-2024 (FY19-24) CIP for MCPS.

• Amendment to the FY19-24 CIP and transfer of unexpended project balances within FY19 Capital Budget, $7.5 million from the MCPS Local Unliquidated Surplus Account to Current Revitalizations/Expansions (Seneca Valley High School)
  The E&C Committee will close out its meeting with a review of an amendment to the FY 19-24 CIP and the transfer of unexpended project balances in MCPS’ FY19 Capital Budget from the MCPS Local Unliquidated Surplus Account in the amount of $7.5 million to Current Revitalizations/Expansions (Seneca Valley High School). On March 8, the Council received a request from the Board of Education to transfer $7.5 million from several projects to the Current Revitalizations/Expansions project to provide funding for the build-out of space for the Career and Technology program at Seneca Valley High School as part of its Current Replacements/Modernizations Project.

The Council staff report can be viewed here.

Meeting: Public Safety (PS) Committee
Time: 9:30 a.m.
Location: Third floor conference room
PS Committee: Council Vice President Sidney Katz (Chair), Councilmembers Gabe Albornoz and Tom Hucker
Topics:
FY20 Operating Budget and CIP Amendments—Liquor Control
The PS Committee will meet to review the FY20 Recommended Operating Budget for the Department of Liquor Control (DLC). The DLC is the County government agency responsible for being the wholesaler or beer, wine and other alcoholic beverages. The FY20 Recommended Operating Budget for DLC is $64.2 million.

The Council staff report can be viewed here.

FY20 Operating Budget and CIP Amendments—Emergency Management and Homeland Security
The PS Committee also will review the FY20 Recommended Operating Budget for the Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (OEMHS). OEMHS is responsible for emergency preparedness in the County. The FY20 Recommended Operating Budget for OEMHS is $2,374,768.

The Council staff report can be viewed here.

FY20 Operating Budget and CIP Amendments—Office of Consumer Protection
The PS Committee also will review the FY20 Recommended Operating Budget for the Office of Consumer Protection (OCP), which enforces consumer protection laws prohibiting unfair and deceptive business acts to ensure a fair marketplace for consumers and businesses. The FY20 Recommended Operating Budget for OCP is $2,387,851.

The Council staff report can be viewed here.

Bill 1-19, Police-Officer Involved Death-Independent Investigation
The PS Committee will close out its meeting by continuing its review of Bill 1-19, Police–Officer Involved Death–Independent Investigation, also known as the Law Enforcement Trust and Transparency (LETT) Act. Councilmember Will Jawando is the lead sponsor. All other Councilmembers are cosponsors. Bill 1- 19 would do the following:

• require an independent investigation of an officer involved death of an individual;
• establish qualifications for an independent investigation of an officer involved death;
• require the independent investigators to submit a final written report to the State’s Attorney;
• make the written report public under certain circumstances; and
• amend the law governing investigations of an officer involved death.

The goal of this bill is to provide transparency in these investigations and to help promote public confidence in the Montgomery County Police Department. At the March 25 PS Committee meeting Councilmembers reviewed Bill 1-19 and raised some issues, which are addressed in the Council staff report.

Key search terms for Bill 1-19 on the Council’s website include: LETT Act, officer involved death and police investigation. #LawEnforcementTransparency is being used for this item on social media.

The Council staff report can be viewed here.

Meeting: Health and Human Services (HHS) and Education and Culture (E&C) Committee
Time: 2 p.m.
Location: Seventh floor hearing room
HHS Committee: Councilmember Gabe Albornoz (Chair), Evan Glass (Lead for Homelessness and Vulnerable Communities) and Craig Rice
E&C Committee: Councilmembers Craig Rice (Chair), Will Jawando (Lead for Libraries) and Council President Nancy Navarro
Topics:
Discussion on unaccompanied minors and new immigrant families
The joint HHS and E&C Committee will have a discussion on unaccompanied minors and immigrant families. The focus of the discussion will be on the following:

• receive updates from Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) on enrollment trends for foreign-born students and ESOL enrollment;
• receive updates from the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Community Partnerships and Recreation on trends in programs that serve new immigrant children and families;
• receive an update on the County’s Children Fleeing Violence Workgroup; and
• hear observations and have a discussion with various community partners regarding the situation facing unaccompanied minors and families entering the United States at the Mexican border and how they are providing services and supporting immigrant children and families locally.

The Council staff report can be viewed here.

The Council committee meetings 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 meetings also will be available live via streaming through the Council web site at: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/COUNCIL/ondemand/index.html.

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Release ID: 19-126
Media Contact: Sonya Healy 240-777-7926, Juan Jovel 240-777-7931