The Montgomery County Council will hold public hearings on Tuesday, July 7, 2020 at 1:30 p.m. on the following Special Appropriations:

1. Special appropriation to the County Government’s FY21 Operating Budget, Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County Non-Departmental Account (NDA) - $3,250,000 for Arts COVID-19 Relief Fund to mitigate the impact to creative professionals and arts and humanities programs and nonprofit organizations. Source of funds: Federal Grant Funds.
2. Special Appropriation to the County Government’s FY21 Operating Budget, Economic Development Fund - $14,000,000 for Support for COVID-19 Response Reopen Montgomery. Source of funds: Federal Grant Funds and Unused Public Health Emergency Grant Funds. This grant program will be administered by the Department of Finance through the Economic Development Fund and will provide reopening grants for County businesses that incur expenses to meet State and County health regulations to operate following the COVID-19 health crisis.
3. Special appropriation to the County Government’s FY21 Operating Budget, DHHS - $592,202 for Mobile Crisis Response. Mobile crisis response to certain emergency and non-emergency calls for service can reduce the need for police response or can assist police in deescalating and addressing from a health and human service perspective situations that arise from an underlying behavioral health issue. Source of funds: General Fund Reserves.

The Montgomery County Council will hold a public hearing and vote on Tuesday, July 7, 2020 at 1:30 p.m. on the following Special Appropriation:

Special Appropriation to the County Government’s FY21 Operating Budget, Office of the County Executive, Non-competitive award for Maryland Tech Council, Support for COVID-19 Response - $250,000 for Business Continuity Task Force. Source of Funds: Federal Grant Funds. The subject resolution supports the Maryland Tech Council’s creation of a Business Continuity Task Force (BCTF). The BCTF will assist tech and life science entrepreneurs in Maryland that are navigating the economic downturn due to the health crisis.

Documents and information are available at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/council.

NOTE: During the Covid-19 state of emergency, the public is not able to be physically present in the Council Hearing Room. Residents who would like to call in to testify at a Council public hearing need to preregister on the Council's web page at https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/council/calendar.html . Once the public hearing sign up request form is submitted and the public hearing list is created, individuals will receive separate confirmation notifications that include the appropriate phone number to call for the public hearing.

Community members also have the option to provide audio, video and written testimony to the Council using a recently developed online testimony form on the Council's web page which can be found at https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/COUNCIL/PHSignUp.html . The testimony provided with the online option carries the same weight as testimony given at a public hearing. Councilmembers consider all comments as part of their deliberations.

Comments and suggestions are welcome online at http://tinyurl.com/zrbwh5v; via email at county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov; by sending regular mail to County Council, 100 Maryland Ave., Rockville, MD 20850. For information or to express an opinion call 240-777-7900.

The meeting will be televised live by County Cable Montgomery (CCM) on Xfinity channels 6 and 996, RCN channels 6 and 1056; and FiOS channel 30. Also available live via streaming through the Council website at http://tinyurl.com/z9982v8, Facebook Live (@MontgomeryCountyMdCouncil or @ConcejodelCondadodeMontgomery), or YouTube (@MoCoCouncilMD).

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