County Council Committees to Receive Briefings on Police Use of Force and Home Ownership Equity and Affordability on March 6

Per Montgomery County: The Public Safety (PS) Committee will meet on Monday, March 6 at 9:30 a.m. to receive a briefing on police use of force and discuss the FY23 Capital Improvements Program (CIP) amendments for the Outdoor Firearms Training Center and the Public Safety Training Academy (PSTA) academic building complex. The members of the PS Committee include Chair Sidney Katz and Councilmembers Dawn Luedtke and Kristin Mink.

The Transportation and Environment (TE) Committee will also meet at 9:30 a.m. to discuss category change requests to the Comprehensive Water Supply and Sewerage Systems Plan, Bill 3-23, Environmental Sustainability – Montgomery County Green Bank and the FY22 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System Permit (NPDES-MS4) Financial Assurance Plan. The members of the TE Committee include Chair Evan Glass and Councilmembers Marilyn Balcombe and Kate Stewart.

The Planning, Housing and Parks (PHP) Committee will meet at 1:30 p.m. to receive a briefing on homeownership equity and affordability in Montgomery County. 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.

Police Use of Force
Briefing: The PS Committee will receive a briefing on police use of force in Montgomery County. In 2020, the Council passed a Bill 27-20, which limits lawful uses of force through internal police department policy changes and Bill 45-20 added reporting requirements to provide data on the use of force. These changed strived to make policing safer for the community, particularly for communities of color, who have historically been subject to disproportionate uses of force.

The discussion is expected to include information about the the recently created force training unit in the Police Academy, details on the Integrating Communications, Assessment, and Tactic (ICAT) de-escalation training program within the department and the impact that guns on the street have on the need or choice of police officers to use force.

FY23-28 CIP Amendments – Outdoor Firearms Training Center and Public Safety Training Academy Academic Complex 

Review: The PS Committee will discuss and make a recommendation to the Council on CIP amendments for the Outdoor Firearms Training Center and the PSTA academic building complex. For the PSTA project, the recommended FY24-29 CIP change reduces expenditures by $1.2 million to reflect project savings.

The Outdoor Firearms Training Center project was originally included in the FY07-12 CIP to provide upgrades and improvements to the 40-year-old outdoor firearms range located in Poolesville. However, the project was delayed due to fiscal constraints at that time. For the FY13-18 CIP only minor upgrades were constructed under existing appropriation authority. The total project cost is more than $5.4 million and is scheduled to begin the design phase in FY26 with construction complete in FY30.

Amendments to the Comprehensive Water Supply and Sewerage Systems Plan: Water and Sewer Category Change Requests

Review: The TE Committee will discuss and make recommendations on seven category change requests to the Comprehensive Water Supply and Sewerage Systems Plan within the Potomac Subregion Master Plan area. The requests involve consideration under the Potomac Peripheral Sewer Service Policy.

Bill 3-23, Environmental Sustainability – Montgomery County Green Bank

Review:  The TE Committee will review Bill 3-23, Environmental Sustainability – Montgomery County Green Bank, which would make climate change mitigation and adaptation a prominent focus of the Montgomery County Green Bank’s mission and would authorize the Green Bank to engage in resilience-related activities, should it be advantageous to the County. The bill does not commit the Green Bank to engage in any specific resilience activities, nor does it require the County to commit any resources to the Green Bank in support of resilience activities.

The lead sponsor is the Council President at the request of County Executive.

FY22 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System Permit Financial Assurance Plan

Review: The TE Committee will discuss the NPDES-MS4 Financial Assurance Plan. The plan demonstrates that the County has sufficient funding to complete the impervious surface restoration plan as required in the 2021 Maryland Phase I NPDES-MS4 Permit. In addition, the plan demonstrates that the County has dedicated revenues, funds or sources of funds to continue to meet requirements associated with improving water quality in the County.

Maryland law requires that each NPDES Phase I MS4 jurisdiction submit a Financial Assurance Plan to the Maryland Department of the Environment every two years. The County submitted its FY20 plan in April 2021. The FY22 plan was completed by the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection based on the Approved FY23 Operating Budget and the Approved FY23-28 CIP.

Homeownership Equity and Affordability in Montgomery County

Briefing: The PHP Committee will receive a briefing on homeownership equity and affordability in Montgomery County. The briefing will include an overview of local and regional homeownership data, with a focus on racial disparity. In addition, the committee will hear from two panels of speakers on the economics of homeownership and on public resources for homebuyers in Montgomery County.

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.