For Immediate Release: Friday, September 16, 2022
The Education and Culture (E&C) Committee will meet on Monday, Sept. 19, at 1:30 p.m. to review a resolution which would approve categorical transfers of $1.17 million for the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) FY22 Operating Budget and more than $2.5 million for FY22 Grant Funds, as requested by the Board of Education.
The members of the E&C Committee include Chair Craig Rice and Councilmembers Will Jawando (Lead for Libraries) and Nancy Navarro.
The Transportation and Environment (T&E) Committee will also meet at 1:30 p.m. to receive briefings from the Department of Transportation (DOT) on the program to construct new sidewalks and from the Planning Board on Predictive Safety Analysis.
The members of the T&E Committee include Chair Tom Hucker, Council Vice President Evan Glass and Councilmember Hans Riemer.
More detail on each agenda item is provided below.
FY22 MCPS Operating Budget and Grant Funds Categorical Transfer Requests
Review: The E&C Committee will review a resolution which would approve a categorical transfers of $1.17 million for the MCPS FY22 Operating Budget and more than $2.5 million for FY22 Grant Funds, as requested by the Board of Education.
The Board has requested authorization to make an FY22 categorical transfer to align budgeted appropriations with actual expenditures. The request would offset deficits in Category 8, Health Services, and Category 10, Operation of Plant and Equipment, by transferring a surplus from Category 3, Instructional Salaries.
The deficit in Health Services is due to expenses related to COVID-19 vaccination clinics. The deficit in Operation of Plant and Equipment is due to increased expenses in temporary part-time salaries and the higher cost of utilities.
In addition, the requested FY22 categorical transfer of grant funds is needed to align budgeted appropriations with actual expenditures in the categories. The appropriate categories for grant expenditures must be anticipated in the budget, and transfers are necessary to reflect actual expenditure requirements of the grants projects when they differ from the budgeted projections.
The FY22 Year-End Financial Report and categorical transfer request was approved by the Board of Education on Aug. 23, 2022. The Board approved the categorical transfer of grant funds on June 28, 2022.
Briefing: The T&E Committee will receive a briefing led by DOT to review the programs that construct new sidewalks in Montgomery County. The briefing is being conducted at the request of Vice President Glass.
The main project for funding new sidewalks in the County is the Sidewalk Program – Minor Projects, for which the Council has provided more than $21.9 million as part of the project's Capital Improvements Program. In addition, there are more than 30 other projects that fund the construction of sidewalks or shared use paths within their scope.
State Highway Administration (SHA) staff will also brief the Council on its program to construct new sidewalks along state highways in the County. The Draft FY23-28 Consolidated Transportation Program (CTP) includes funds for sidewalks or shared use paths along Forest Glen Road, Scott-Veirs Drive and North Stonestreet Avenue, as well as contributions to the County’s MD 355-Clarksburg Shared Use Path and Falls Road Bikeway and Pedestrian Facility projects.
Briefing: The T&E Committee will receive a briefing from representatives of the the Planning Board and DOT about the predictive safety analysis, which is a new transportation adequacy test that would evaluate accident experience as part of a proposed development. The test predicts the number of crashes per year at a location as a function of exposure, land use and roadway or intersection characteristics.
In the draft of the 2020-2024 Growth and Infrastructure (G&I) Policy, the Planning Board proposed including the test; however, the tool was still under development at the time and the Council did not include this test as part of the adopted G&I policy. The Board is not recommending a G&I Policy amendment at this time, but it may include it as a proposal in the 2024-2028 update. The tool would be used by Planning staff in developing master plans and other recommendations.
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.
The Council recommends that residents, who choose to attend in-person Council or committee meetings, get fully vaccinated to protect themselves and others against COVID-19. If this is not possible, virtual participation is encouraged.
Council and committee meetings are 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: 22-321