Friday, April 26, 2013
County Council panels vote to back pay bumps for government and public safety workers.
A freeze in cost-of-living raises for Montgomery County government and public safety employees may be thawing out. The Montgomery County Council’s Government Operations and Fiscal Policy committees voted unanimously Thursday to back a proposal to raise county employees’ salaries by up to 3.25 percent. County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) negotiated the raises as part of new two-year contracts with employees’ unions and included them as part of his $4.8 billion budget proposal for fiscal 2014, which begins July 1. If approved as part of the county budget, the 3.25 percent raise for county government workers would go into effect in September. Police officers would see a 2.1 percent bump in July. Fire and rescue personnel would see a 2.75 …
Monday, April 15, 2013
Montgomery County Council's Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment Committee reviews the request on Monday morning.
The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission is proposing a 7.25 percent rate increase for water and sewer use in Montgomery County, according to a news release from the county council's office. On Monday, April 15, at 9:30 a.m., the Montgomery County Council's Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment Committee, chaired by Councilmember Roger Berliner, will review WSSC's operating budget request. Councilmembers Nancy Floreen and Hans Riemer are also on the committee. The budget request comes as an investigation examines the cause of a massive water main break on Connecticut Avenue in Chevy Chase on March 18. Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission engineers still do not know what caused the break, but they say that the fiber …
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Plan aims to improve business competitiveness by reducing raises for county employees.
Montgomery County Councilmember Phil Andrews introduced a plan on Tuesday to reduce the 2010 increase in Montgomery County’s energy tax by 10 percent. The county's energy tax was raised by 155 percent on homeowners and by nearly 60 percent on businesses and nonprofit organizations in 2010, according to a County Council news release. A 10 percent reduction would reduce county revenues by $11.4 million in fiscal 2014, which begins July 1. Andrews (D-Dist. 3) of Gaithersburg proposes paying for the energy tax reduction by slashing the pay increases for county employees over the next two years. Andrews, who is running for Montgomery County Executive in next year's election, criticized the agreement struck between the county employees unions …
The fiber optic monitoring system meant to warn WSSC of impending breaks in the water main did not fail, WSSC engineers said, Bethesda Now reported.
Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission engineers still do not know what caused the massive water main break on March 18 at the intersection of Connecticut Avenue and Chevy Chase Lake Drive, but they say that the fiber optic monitoring system installed in the pipes in 2010 did not fail, Bethesda Now reported. But what use is a monitoring system that works, but fails to warn you that a break is coming? That was a key question WSSC engineers faced at a Monday morning meeting of the Montgomery County Council’s Transportation and Environment Committee. WSSC chief engineer Gary Gumm said that the design of the pipe segment that broke "affects 700 to 800 other pieces of pipe throughout Montgomery and Prince George’s counties," The Washington …
Monday, April 8, 2013
The Montgomery County Council will hold five public hearings on April 9, 10, and 11 for the county's budget. Find out how you can participate.
Saturday, April 6, 2013
County government disseminates information via social media. Patch brings it to you.
The Montgomery County government has gotten with the times. Elected officials and county offices are using Twitter and Facebook to communicate. That's a smart strategy, as that's where residents spend much of their time online. Patch will look to find interesting information posted via social media and share it with you. Today, we'll start with the county's page, which lists the Twitter accounts for County Council members, county government departments and other agencies. You can choose whom you'd like to follow on Twitter, or you can monitor the whole list at this link.
Friday, April 5, 2013
On Monday, at 9:30 a.m., the Montgomery County Council's Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment Committee will be briefed on what has been learned so far about the water main break at Chevy Chase Lake Drive and Connecticut Avenue.
As cleanup continues around the crater formed by March 18's massive water main break at Connecticut Avenue and Chevy Chase Lake Drive, many questions have arisen about how the water main break—from which 60 million gallons of water were lost, necessitating mandatory water restrictions in two counties—could have happened. This Monday, April 8, at 9:30 a.m., the Montgomery County Council's Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment Committee will be briefed on what has been learned so far about the break, according to an email statement from Neil Greenberger, spokesperson for the Montgomery County Council. The Washington Post reported that a Chevy Chase resident noticed "water squirting up from an opening in a circular metal …
Friday, March 29, 2013
Find out ways you can comment on the budget proposals.
The Montgomery County Council will hold five public hearings in April on the county's operating budget for fiscal year 2014, which begins July 1. County Executive Isiah Leggett's $4.8 billion budget proposal, which he unveiled on March 15, would add more than 100 new jobs in public safety and libraries. Leggett also proposed a slight increase in aid for Montgomery County Public Schools to meet Maryland's maintenance of effort law, which requires that counties fund schools at the same level or greater from year-to-year or face a fine. The County Council will analyze these recommendations and adopt the budget in late May. Read more about the budget: The public hearings will be held in the Third Floor Hearing Room of the Council Office …
Monday, March 18, 2013
Takoma Park’s Thomas Perez is Obama’s pick to succeed Solis.
President Barack Obama nominated Takoma Park resident and former Montgomery County Councilman Thomas E. Perez as U.S. Secretary of Labor on Monday, CBS News reported. Perez served as secretary of the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation under Gov. Martin O’Malley from 2007 until his confirmation in October 2009 as an assistant attorney general heading the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. Perez “knows what it's like to climb the ladder of opportunity,” Obama said in a video of Monday’s announcement posted on CBSNews.com. “He's the son of Dominican immigrants. He helped pay his way through college as a garbage collector and working at a warehouse. He went on to become the first lawyer in his family…
Ever wanted to be on the county planning board? Now's your chance!
For anyone who's ever dreamed of serving on the planning board of a fast-growing county, your chance is here: The Montgomery County Council is seeking applicants to fill a vacancy on the Montgomery County Planning Board. Planning Board member Marye Wells-Harley's term expires on June 14, 2013, and she has "indicated her intent to apply for reappointment to a second term," according to a statement from the office of the county council. Want to run for the $30,000-a-year, council-appointed position? Submit a letter expressing your interest and a resume "listing professional and civic experience, political party affiliation, home and office telephone numbers and an email address" by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 17, according to the statement. (…
Sean R. Sedam
2:49 pm on Monday, April 29, 2013
@CityRat2013: Thanks for the note. The original published version of the article mentioned that police had gone four years without a raise. That is true for fire and rescue and for county employees as well—a fact that was omitted due to an editing error (mine). It's there now, along with a note at the bottom to clarify. more ›