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Montgomery County Charter Review Commission to Hold Virtual and In-Person Public Listening Sessions on Three Potential Charter Amendments

For Immediate Release: Friday, October 22, 2021

Rockville, Maryland, Friday, Oct. 22, 2021 — The Montgomery Charter Review Commission will hold five listening sessions with the public between Nov. 3, 2021 and Feb. 9, 2022 to receive input as to three potential Charter amendments. Additional detail on the potential amendments is provided below.

The first three listening sessions in November and December 2021 will be held virtually. The last two sessions are tentatively scheduled to be held in person during January and February 2022. However, should circumstances change due to inclement weather or the COVID-19 pandemic, notice will be provided that the in-person sessions will change to virtual sessions.

The Montgomery County Charter is the constitution of the Montgomery County government. As provided in the Charter, the Charter Review Commission is an eleven-member body appointed by the County Council to study and recommend changes to the Charter. These recommendations may lead to proposed amendments being placed on the ballot to be voted upon by registered voters.

The Commission has tentatively considered and seeks public input on the following amendments:

  • Whether to amend Section 206 of the Charter regarding the removal of a County Executive for the additional reasons of serious misconduct in office or willful neglect of duty, provided that the willful neglect of duty must be demonstrated to have occurred for 180 consecutive days. The proposed amendment would additionally require an affirmative vote of not less than 80 percent of the County Council, in lieu of the current threshold of six of nine members of the Council. The Commission is also interested in hearing whether to amend Section 118, applicable to Councilmembers, to provide similar provisions for removal.
  • Whether to amend Section 203 of the Charter so as to increase the length of time that an individual must reside in the County in order to qualify to serve as County Executive, from the current requirement of one year to a three-year residency requirement. Similarly, the Commission tentatively considered, subject to review following the listening sessions, to recommend that Councilmembers meet the same three-year residency. There is currently no requirement.
  • Whether to amend the Charter to clarify what occurs when two questions on the ballot are both approved by the voters but are irreconcilable, as was possible in the 2020 election when two diametrically opposing proposals as to the composition of the County Council were on the ballot. The Commission has tentatively proposed, subject to revision after the listening sessions, that in such an instance only the amendment that receives the higher number of favorable votes would take effect.

Three remote virtual listening sessions will be held on the following dates and times:

If you would like to pre-register to speak at the virtual listening sessions, please sign up using the links for Nov. 3 (sign up here), Nov. 14 (sign up here) or Dec. 11 (sign up here). 

In addition, two in-person listening sessions will be held at the following times and locations, subject to being changed to virtual sessions due to inclement weather or should buildings be closed due the Covid 19 emergency:

If you would like to pre-register to speak at the in-person listening sessions, please sign up using the links for Jan. 19 (sign up here) or Feb. 9 (sign up here). 

If you have a prepared statement, which is not necessary, please bring courtesy copies to share with the Commissioners or email the statement to charterreview.commission@montgomerycountymd.gov.

If you would like to participate in one of the three remote virtual sessions, you must preregister at least 2 business days in advance of the listening sessions scheduled on Nov. 3 (sign up here), Nov. 14 (sign up here) or Dec. 11 (sign up here), or you may call 240-777-7905.  If you have not preregistered, the Commission cannot guarantee that you will be able to speak at the session.

All speakers will be provided 3 minutes each to speak. If one has spoken at a previous listening session, he or she will be placed at the end of the queue to speak again.

Members of the public also are welcome to submit written comments to the Charter Review Commission at charterreview.commission@montgomerycountymd.gov . 

If a listening session is canceled due to inclement weather, please submit your written comments to the above email address. Emergency closure information is available at https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/cupf/info-cupf/emergency.html. Release ID: 21-421
Media Contact: Stephen Mathany