For Immediate Release: Monday, February 1, 2021
Also on Feb. 2: Two new bills will be introduced to build positive law enforcement relationships in schools and create a Revenue Estimating Group; OLO will provide briefing on Report 2021-1, Labor Agreements with Montgomery County Police Officers
The Council will meet virtually on Tuesday, Feb. 2 at 9 a.m. and will begin with two proclamation presentations. The first proclamation will recognize Library Lovers Month and be presented by Councilmember Will Jawando. The second proclamation will honor the life of Blanca Kling and her years of service to Montgomery County residents and families across the Washington metropolitan region and will be presented by Councilmember Nancy Navarro, Council Vice President Gabe Albornoz, Council President Tom Hucker and County Executive Marc Elrich.
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 meeting schedule may change from time to time. The current Council agendas can be viewed at: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/COUNCIL/ondemand/index.html.
On the guidance of Health Officer and Chief of Public Health Services Dr. Travis Gayles, there is currently no public access to the Council Office Building. The virtual Council meeting 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 and Fios 30.
Council Agenda Items
Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) and County Public Health Planning
At 9:30 a.m. the Council will sit as the Board of Health to receive an update on the County’s ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its recovery and vaccination efforts. The Council will be joined by Dr. Travis Gayles, County health officer and chief of the Department of Health and Human Services’ (DHHS) Public Health Services; Dr. Earl Stoddard, director, Office of Emergency management and Homeland Security; and Dr. Raymond Crowel, director, DHHS. Montgomery County is dependent on the State of Maryland for their supply of the COVID-19 vaccines. DHHS is generally notified each Saturday about the quantity of the vaccine doses it will receive for the following week. County leaders continue to advocate for additional vaccine doses for Montgomery County residents.
The Council staff report can be viewed here.
Bill 6-21, Finance - Revenue Estimating Group – Established
Lead sponsor Councilmember Andrew Friedson and cosponsors Councilmembers Nancy Navarro and Sidney Katz will introduce Bill 6-21, which would establish a Revenue Estimating Group to review and forecast County revenues and provide for the membership and duties of the group. The group would consist of staff members from the Department of Finance, the Office of Management and Budget, Council central staff, the Office of Legislative Oversight and the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer. The group would be required to report their revenue projections to the County Executive and the Council on a quarterly basis. This legislation is based on a similar group formed to provide revenue forecasts for the State of Maryland, which is the Consensus Revenue Monitoring and Forecasting Group. A public hearing is scheduled for Feb. 23 at 1:30 p.m.
The Council staff report can be viewed here.
#ConsensusRevenues and #BetterForecasting are being used for this bill on social media.
Bill 7-21, Building Positive Law Enforcement Relationships Within Schools (B-PLERS)
Lead sponsors Councilmember Craig Rice and Sidney Katz will introduce Bill 7-21, which would authorize the chief of police to assign a law enforcement officer to work as a school resource officer in a County school upon the request of the superintendent of schools; require enhanced training for a school resource officer; and require the County to enter into a memorandum of understanding with Montgomery County Public Schools governing the assignment of a school resource officer. The goal of this legislation is to enhance school safety and build trust with law enforcement. A public hearing is scheduled for Feb. 23 at 1:30 p.m.
The Council staff report can be viewed here.
#BuildingPositiveRelationshipsSROS is being used for this bill on social media.
Merit System Protection Board
The Council will conduct interviews for the Merit System Protection Board (MSPB). The Council received five applications for the MSPB from residents seeking to fill the partial term of Angela Franco. The Council will interview Barbara Fredericks, C. Scott Maravilla and Amit Sharma who are qualified voters in the County to fill the partial term. In addition to Ms. Franco's open seat (Republican), the other members of the Board are Harriet Davidson (Democrat) and Sonya Chiles (Democrat).
The Council staff report can be viewed here.
The Council is scheduled to vote on the following bills:
Expedited Bill 2-21, Taxation - Development Impact Taxes for Transportation and Public School Improvements - Amendments - Effective Date
The Council is scheduled to vote on Expedited Bill 2-21, which would change the effective date of Chapter 37, Laws of Montgomery County 2020 (Bill 38-20). Bill 38-20, Taxation - Development Impact Taxes for Transportation and Public School Improvements – Amendment was enacted with an effective date of Feb. 26, 2021. The revised impact tax rates and the rates for the new Utilization Premium Payment tax were all set to take effect on February 26 as well. Due to the County Executive’s veto of Bill 38-20, it did not take effect until the Council overrode the County Executive’s veto on Dec. 8. The bill is now set to take effect on March 9. Under Charter Section 112, a non-expedited bill takes effect 91 days after it becomes law. The full Council is sponsoring this legislation.
The Council staff report can be viewed here.
#Transportation&SchoolImprovements is being used for this bill on social media.
Expedited Bill 36-20, Forest Conservation and Planning Board Regulation - Proposed 2018-2020 Changes to Forest Conservation – Trees Regulation
The Council is scheduled to vote on Expedited Bill 36-20, which, among other things, would do the following: apply the forest conservation law to two or more platted contiguous lots that collectively total at least 40,000 square feet under certain circumstances; modify provisions related to the preferred sequence for afforestation and reforestation, forest mitigation banks, and in lieu fees to conform with state law; and exempt agricultural activities from the forest stand. Councilmember Sidney Katz, who was serving as Council president when the bill was introduced, is the lead sponsor, at the request of the Planning Board. The Transportation and Environment (T&E) Committee recommends enactment with amendments. A vote is also expected on Planning Board Regulation – Forest Conservation – Trees Regulation, which is necessary to implement Bill 36-20.
The Council staff report can be viewed here.
#ForestConservation is being used for this bill on social media.
Office of Legislative Oversight: OLO Report 2021-1, Labor Agreements with Montgomery County Police Officers
The Council will receive a briefing on OLO Report 2021-1. The Council asked OLO to prepare a report that describes the terms and conditions of the County Government’s collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with County police officers. In Montgomery County, police officers are represented for collective bargaining purposes by the Fraternal Order of Police, Montgomery County Lodge 35, Inc. (FOP). This OLO report summarizes the provisions in the County’s CBA with the FOP and discusses the degree to which the content of the collective bargaining agreement documents between Montgomery County and the FOP is accessible and understandable by a third-party reader.
The Council staff report can be viewed here.
The following public hearings will be held at 1:30 p.m.:
Supplemental Appropriation to the County Government’s FY21 Capital Budget and Amendment to the FY21-26 Capital Improvements Program, Department of Technology Services - $1,434,000 for County Radio Replacement and Related Equipment
The Council will receive public testimony on a supplemental appropriation of more than $1.4 million to replace radios and related equipment for the County’s Department of Transportation and the Department of Correction and Rehabilitation, to ensure compliance with the County’s new 800 MHz radio system. The Council staff report can be viewed here.
Expedited Bill 1-21, Growth and Infrastructure Policy - Renamed - Expedited Development Approval Excise Tax - Repealed
The Council will receive public testimony on Expedited Bill 1-21, which would rename the Subdivision Staging Policy the Growth and Infrastructure Policy and repeal the Expedited Development Approval Excise Tax. The goal of this legislation is to change references in the code to the Subdivision Staging Policy to the Growth and Infrastructure Policy to make the document more accessible to the public and repeal the obsolete Expedited Development Approval Excise Tax. The Council staff report can be viewed here.
#GrowthPolicy2020 is being used for this bill on social media.
Special Appropriation to the County Government’s FY21 Operating Budget, Children’s Opportunity Fund Non-Departmental Account (NDA) - $3,600,000 for COVID-19 Educational Equity and Enrichment Hubs and Amendment to FY21 Operating Budget Resolution 19-472, Section G, FY21 Designation of Entities for Non-Competitive Contract Award Status: Greater Washington Community Foundation
The Council will receive public testimony and vote on a special appropriation of $3.6 million for the continued operation of Educational Equity and Enrichment (EEE) Hubs through March 2021, while Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) remains in a distance learning mode. The EEE Hubs offer before, during and after school childcare services to students from low- income families while MCPS is meeting virtually. The EEE Hub services provide supervision and support for children as they navigate online learning. The Council staff report can be viewed here.
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Release ID: 21-035