For Immediate Release: Wednesday, April 14, 2021
Committees to review FY22 Operating Budgets and FY21-26 CIP Amendments for Montgomery County Police Department and WSSC Water and review operating budgets for Fleet Management Services and non-departmental accounts
The Public Safety (PS) Committee will meet Thursday, April 15 at 9:30 a.m. to review the Montgomery County Police Department’s (MCPD) FY22 Operating Budget and FY21-26 CIP Amendments. The Transportation and Environment (T&E) Committee will meet at 1:30 p.m. to review the WSSC Water FY22 Operating Budget and FY21-26 CIP Amendments.
The T&E Committee will also review the operating budgets for Fleet Management Services and several non-departmental accounts including Utilities, Climate Response, Homeowners Association Road Reimbursement, the Rockville Parking District and Vision Zero.
The members of the Public Safety (PS) Committee include Chair Sidney Katz, Council Vice President Gabe Albornoz and Council President Tom Hucker.
The members of the Transportation & Environment (T&E) Committee include Chair and Council President Tom Hucker and Councilmembers Evan Glass and Hans Riemer.
FY22 Operating Budget and FY21-26 CIP Amendments - Police
Review: The PS Committee will review the recommended $283 million MCPD FY22 Operating Budget and Capital Improvements Program (CIP) Amendments. Personnel costs comprise 84.44 percent of the budget and operating expenses account for the remaining 15.56 percent.
The recommended budget abolishes the same 27 sworn positions as recommended in the first FY21 Savings Plan. The recommended budget also adds two sergeant positions in the Internal Affairs Division. The budget report examines MCPD work, staffing and funding through both racial equity and police reform lenses.
Those expected to attend and provide information include Marcus Jones, chief, MCPD, Wade Holland, program coordinator, Vision Zero and other MCPD and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) staff.
FY22 Operating Budget and FY21-26 CIP Amendments – WSSC Water
Review: The T&E Committee will review the WSSC Water FY22 operating budget. The total Recommended FY22 Operating Budget is $852.1 million, an increase of $2.4 million or 0.3 percent from the approved FY21 operating budget. The proposed rate increase is 5.9 percent, which is consistent with the approved Spending Control Limits approved last fall.
The budget highlights include additional funding for critical information technology projects, maintenance and repairs at critical facilities, hydraulic dredging at the Triadelphia reservoir, water tank rehabilitations and the Drinking Water Treatment Master Plan Study.
WSSC Water's General Manager and CEO Carla Reid, Steve Shofar, division chief, Intergovernmental Affairs, Department of Environmental Protection, Rafael Murphy, fiscal and policy analyst, Office of Management and Budget are expected to attend the meeting as well as multiple representatives from WSSC Water.
Operating Budget Consent Items
The Committee will review the FY22 General Services’ Division of Fleet Management Services (DFMS) budget. DFMS maintains the County's fleet of motor vehicles, buses and heavy equipment in support of the transportation and service delivery needs of all County departments.
The total recommended FY22 Operating Budget for DFMS is $83.5 million, which is a decrease of nearly five percent from the FY21 Approved Budget. Funding for three key initiatives is highlighted in the proposal, including a pilot program to evaluate the use of electric vehicles in the County fleet, an accelerated transition to a zero emissions fleet and construction of a large solar array system over the Brookville Bus Depot parking lot.
The Committee will review the $23.7 million FY22 Utilities NDA. The recommended budget is a decrease of six percent from the FY21 budget. The Department of General Services manages the payment for more than 1,500 separately metered utility accounts for County facilities, streetlights and traffic control signalized intersections.
The proposed budget includes a net increase of $382,546 to establish a resilient micro-grid at the Brookeville Bus Depot to provide electric charging capability to the County’s fleet of electric buses. Net decreases in the proposed budget reflect energy cost savings as a result of the completion of efficiency projects and savings realized from the County’s ongoing conversion of standard streetlights to more efficient LEDs.
The Committee will review the $2.9 million FY22 Climate Response NDA. This program supports the County's mission to provide an effective and efficient transportation system to ensure the safe movement of individuals, bicycles and vehicles throughout the County in response to snow and severe wind and rain events.
Budget funds for this program support the costs for the Department of Transportation and the Department of General Services when expenditures exceed their individual snow removal and storm cleanup budgets.
Homeowners Association Road Reimbursement NDA
The Committee will review the $62,089 FY22 HOA Road Maintenance Reimbursement NDA, which includes funding for partial reimbursement to homeowners’ associations for maintenance on certain privately owned roadways.
Rockville Parking District NDA
The Committee will review the recommended $418,000 FY22 Rockville Parking District NDA, which includes funds for the cost of library employee parking and the County's capital cost contribution for the garage facility as agreed in the general development agreement.
The Committee will review the recommended $180,171 FY22 Vision Zero NDA, which includes funding for the planning and implementation of efforts to reduce the number of traffic-related fatalities to zero.
Vision Zero activities include targeted enforcement of aggressive and distracted driving, educational campaigns to increase driver awareness of pedestrians and bicyclists and working on roadway design to enhance safety.
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.
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, Fios 30, and on the CCM live stream.
Release ID: 21-156