For Immediate Release: Tuesday, May 2, 2023
The Planning, Housing and Parks (PHP) Committee will meet on Wednesday, May 3 at 1:30 p.m. to discuss the FY24 Operating Budgets for the Office of Zoning and Administrative Hearings, the Board of Appeals, the KID Museum Non-Departmental Account (NDA) and the Office of the People’s Counsel.
The members of the PHP Committee include Chair Andrew Friedson and Councilmembers Natali Fani-González and Will Jawando.
More detail on each agenda item is provided below.
Office of Zoning and Administrative Hearings
Review: The PHP Committee will review the recommended FY24 Operating Budget for the Office of Zoning and Administrative Hearings, which is $755,988. This is an increase of $50,987, or a 7.2 percent from the FY23 Approved Operating Budget. The offices’ FY24 recommended budget includes personnel and technical adjustments to reflect updated personnel costs from the approved FY23 and proposed FY24 compensation agreements, retirement adjustments and printing and mail costs. The office conducts due process hearings in land use and other administrative matters in a manner that protects the rights of the participants and provides a complete record of the decisions rendered.
Review: The committee will also review the recommended FY24 Operating Budget for the Board of Appeals, which is $644,915. This is an increase of more than $40,106, or 6.6 percent from the FY23 Approved Operating Budget. The Board assists the public in understanding and conducts hearings to decide inquiries and applications that arise for variances, administrative appeals of certain decisions of County agencies and for oral argument on conditional use decisions or modification of special exceptions.
The Board’s FY24 recommended budget includes personnel and technical adjustments to reflect updated personnel costs from the approved FY23 and proposed FY24 compensation agreements, retirement adjustments and printing and mail costs. The Board of Appeals collects revenue via filing fees, which vary year-to-year as a function of the number and type of applications received. The office collected $182,620 in zoning fees in FY22 and $179,251 in FY21. Approximately two-thirds of this revenue is passed through from the Department of Permitting Services as a portion of the special exception administration fee.
Review: The PHP Committee will review the recommended FY24 Operating Budget for the KID Museum NDA, which is more than $1.8 million. This is an increase of more than $264,798, or a more than 16 percent increase from the FY23 Approved Operating Budget. This NDA provides general operating support for the KID Museum, which is a learning space that provides hands-on learning that incorporates STEM, art, culture, creativity and critical thinking. The museum first opened in 2014 at the County’s Davis Library branch in Bethesda.
The approved FY23 budget included more than $7.7 million in income, including more than $1.6 million through this NDA. The FY23 County contribution through this NDA was approximately 20.7 percent of the total income budgeted for this organization. The FY23 forecast of projected income is 2.6 percent less than budgeted. In FY24 total income total income for the Kid Museum is expected to grow by 24.9 percent with notable projected growth in corporate and foundation contributions over the FY23 budget. The recommended FY24 contribution through the NDA would be 20.6 percent of the KID Museum’s total operating income.
Office of the People’s Counsel
Review: The committee will also review the recommended FY24 Operating Budget for the Office of the People’s Counsel, which is $246,375. The Office of the People’s Counsel was last funded in 2010 with a budget of $246,520. If funded in FY24, the mission of the office would be to protect the public interest in land use hearings by promoting a full and fair presentation of relevant issues to achieve balanced administrative records and provide technical assistance to residents in the County’s land use control processes.
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.
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.