Montgomery County Council Committee Meetings on Oct. 18, 2023

Per Montgomery County: The ad-hoc Executive Director Recruitment Committee will meet in a proposed closed session on Wednesday, Oct. 18 at 11 a.m. to evaluate the role and responsibilities of the Council’s executive director position and make decisions about the recruitment process. The members of the ad-hoc Executive Director Recruitment Committee include Council President Evan Glass, Chair Vice President Andrew Friedson and Councilmembers Gabe Albornoz, Kate Stewart, Marilyn Balcombe and Kristin Mink.

The joint Public Safety (PS) and Government Operations and Fiscal Policy (GO) Committee will meet at 2 p.m. to review a $350,000 supplemental appropriation to the FY24 Operating Budget for the Drone as First Responder Pilot Program within the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD). The members of the GO Committee include Chair Stewart, Council Vice President Friedson and Councilmember Sidney Katz. The members of the PS Committee include Chair Katz and Councilmembers Dawn Luedtke and Mink.

More detail on each agenda item is provided below.

Executive Director Recruitment Committee 

Proposed Closed Session: The ad hoc Executive Director Recruitment Committee intends to meet in closed session to discuss the appointment, employment, assignment, promotion, discipline, demotion, compensation, removal, resignation or performance evaluation of appointees, employees or officials over whom it has jurisdiction, under Maryland Code, General Provisions Article §3-305(b)(1)(i); and to discuss, before a contract is awarded, a matter directly related to a negotiating strategy or the contents of a bid or proposal under Maryland Code, General Provisions Article §3-305(b)(14). The topics will be the appointment of an employee over whom the Council has jurisdiction and the consideration of bid proposals for professional services before a contract is made.

The purpose of this ad hoc Council committee is to evaluate the role and responsibilities of the Council’s executive director position and make decisions about the recruitment process. The work of this temporary committee coincides with Council Executive Director Marlene Michaelson’s decision to leave her post in February 2024.

Supplemental Appropriation #24-21 to the FY24 Operating Budget Montgomery County Government Department of Police Drone as First Responder Pilot Program, $350,000

Review: The joint PS and GO Committee will review a $350,000 supplemental appropriation to the FY24 Operating Budget for the Drone as First Responder Pilot Program within MCPD. The department is examining the use of drone technology to prevent and respond to crime in a more efficient manner. The pilot program is needed to better understand its potential impact on public safety. This one-time appropriation would fund an unmanned aircraft system pilot program in the Silver Spring and Wheaton police districts. The Council’s public hearing on this supplemental appropriation was held on Oct. 17.