Per Montgomery County: The County Council will hold public hearings to receive testimony on new items introduced to the Council as follows:
Feb. 7, 2023 at 1:30 p.m.
Deadline to sign up to speak is Feb. 6 at 5 p.m.
- The Council will receive testimony on spending affordability guidelines for the FY24 Operating Budget. The Council must adopt guidelines for the next operating budget by the second Tuesday in February. The spending affordability guidelines that must be adopted are: a ceiling on the funding from ad valorem real property tax revenues, a ceiling on the aggregate operating budget, and separate budget allocations for all agencies and certain non-agency uses.
- Bill 25-22, Forest Conversation – Trees, would exclude activities in the Commercial Residential (CR) zone from qualifying for certain Forest Conservation Plan (FCP) exemptions; exclude any development that occurs within an environmental buffer from qualifying for a FCP exemption; and change the timeline for approval of a Natural Resources Inventory/Forest Stand Delineation (NRI/FSD). The bill would also increase the amount of forest required to be preserved in lower density land use categories; increase forest planting requirements in higher density land use categories; and increase reforestation ratios. Additionally, the bill would require planting of forest in all unforested stream valley buffers; amend the requirements where forest retention required by the Forest Conservation Law is not possible; broaden the terms of maintenance and management agreements to include required maintenance for areas of existing forest retained to meet forest mitigation requirements; and expand mitigation requirements for variance trees to include mitigation for variance trees located within a forest. Finally, the bill would allow landscaping to meet both reforestation or afforestation requirements in equity focus areas; update the allowable types of forest mitigation banks allowed in the County per recent amendment to the State’s Forest Conservation Act; and generally amend the law regarding forest conservation.
- Bill 1-23, Property Tax Credit – Elderly Individuals and Retired Military Services Members – Amendments, would amend the property tax credit for certain elderly individuals and retired military services members, and generally amend the law regarding property tax credits.
- Expedited Bill 2-23, Board of Investment Trustees – Membership – Amendments, would modify the membership of the Board of Investment Trustees by removing the Director of Human Resources and replacing with the Chief Labor Relations Officer as an ex-officio member and generally amend the law regarding the administration of employees’ retirement benefits.
Feb. 7, 2023 at 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Feb. 9, 2023 at 7 p.m.
Deadline to sign up to speak is Feb. 6 at 5 p.m.
The Council will receive testimony on the FY24 Capital Budget and amendments to the FY23-28 CIP for County Government, MCPS, Montgomery College, Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, Washington Suburban Transit Commission, Revenue Authority, Housing Opportunities Commission, and municipality and State projects and the FY24-29 CIP for WSSCWater. The Council will also receive testimony on supplemental appropriations to the FY23 Capital Budget as listed below:
- Amendments to the FY23-28 Capital Improvements Program and Supplemental Appropriations to the FY23 Capital Budget
- Housing Opportunities Commission, Elizabeth House Demolition (092302), $1,500,000 (Source of Funds: Current Revenue: General)
- Housing Opportunities Commission, WSSC Sewer and Storm Line Improvements at Elizabeth Square (P092301), $520,000 (Source of Funds: Current Revenue: General)
- Montgomery County Government, Department of General Services, Lactation Rooms in County Buildings (No.0362310) $412,000 (Source of Funds: Current Revenue: General and G.O. Bonds)
- Montgomery County Government, Department of General Services, EOB HVAC Renovation (No. 361103), $3,972,000 (Source of Funds: G.O. Bonds)
- Montgomery County Government, Department of General Services, HVAC/Elec Replacement: MCG (No. 0508941), $9,737,000 (Source of Funds: G.O. Bonds)
- Montgomery County Government, Department of General Services, Resurfacing Parking Lots: MCG (No. 5019914), $125,200 (Source of Funds: G.O. Bonds)
- Montgomery County Government, Department of Police, 6th District Police Station (No. 470301), $5,941,000 (Source of Funds: G.O. Bonds)
- Montgomery County Government, Department of Police, Public Safety Communications Center, Phase II, Electrical Distribution and HVAC Upgrade (No. 472102), $4,804,000 (Source of Funds: G.O. Bonds)
- Montgomery County Government, Department of Transportation, Streetlighting (No. 507055), $250,000 (Source of Funds: State Aid)
- Montgomery County Government, Department of Recreation, Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center (No.0722106) $75,000 (Source of Funds: Current Revenue: General)
- Montgomery County Government, Office of Agriculture, Ag Land Preservation Easements (No. 0788911), $2,641,208 (Source of Funds: State Aid and Ag Transfer Tax)
- Montgomery County Government, Department of Housing and Community Affairs, Preservation of Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing Fund (No. P762201), $30,200,000 (Source of Funds: Loan Repayment Proceeds)
- Supplemental Appropriations to the FY23 Capital Budget
- Montgomery County Government, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service, Apparatus Replacement Program (No. 451504), $4,234,000 (Source of Funds: Short-Term Financing)
- Montgomery County Government, Department of Transportation, North Bethesda Metro Station Area Redevelopment Infrastructure (No. 502315), $1,900,000 (Source of Funds: State Aid)
Projects in the six-year program include facilities for parks, recreation, roads, schools, community college, libraries, fire stations, mass transit, housing, police, correction and rehabilitation, general government, and other public purposes. Capital projects are primarily funded with money from future issuance of bonds. Additions, deletions, or modifications to the CIP and Capital Budget may be made subsequent to the public hearings. Council action on the WSSCWater CIP is also an update to the Comprehensive Water Supply and Sewerage Systems Plan.
Feb. 28, 2023 at 1:30 p.m.
Deadline to sign up to speak is Feb. 27 at 5 p.m.
- The Council will receive public testimony on the proposed Amendments to the Comprehensive Water Supply and Sewerage Systems Plan: Water and Sewer Category Changes.
A full list of upcoming public hearings is available at https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/council/calendar.html.
Additional documents are available at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/council.
Residents have the opportunity to testify remotely for public hearings or provide in-person testimony at the Council Office Building in Rockville.
Residents can register to speak in person or virtually at a public hearing, provide written testimony, prerecorded audio or video testimony using the online form at https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/COUNCIL/PHSignUp.html; or sent by mail to County Council, 100 Maryland Ave., Rockville, MD 20850; or residents may sign up to testify remotely by phone (call 240-777-7803 for information). To express an opinion call 240-777-7900.
The Council is recommending that residents, who choose to attend in-person Council meetings, get fully vaccinated to protect themselves and others against Covid-19. If this is not possible, virtual participation is encouraged.
Residents who would like to call in or testify at a Council public hearing need to preregister on the Council’s web page at https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/council/calendar.html. Once the public hearing sign up request form is submitted and the public hearing list is created, individuals will receive separate confirmation notifications that include the appropriate link to use or phone number to call for the public hearing.
Comments and suggestions are welcome online at http://tinyurl.com/zrbwh5v or by sending regular mail to County Council, 100 Maryland Ave., Rockville, MD 20850. For information or to express an opinion call 240-777-7900. Councilmembers continue to hold meetings in their offices by appointment.
The meeting will be televised live by County Cable Montgomery (CCM) on Xfinity channels 6 and 996, RCN channels 6 and 1056; and FiOS channel 30. Also available live via streaming through the Council website at http://tinyurl.com/z9982v8, Facebook Live (@MontgomeryCountyMdCouncil or @ConcejodelCondadodeMontgomery), or YouTube (@MoCoCouncilMD).
The Council 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.
Release ID: 23-010
Media Contact: Sara Tenenbaum
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