A full list of upcoming public hearings is available on the Council Calendar. Review the public hearing frequently asked questions for additional information.
To testify in-person or remotely during a live public hearing at the Council Office Building, residents need to preregister on the Council’s web page. Residents may also choose to provide pre-recorded testimony in written, audio or video formats or submit testimony by mail.
Per Montgomery County: Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, along with the County’s regional services offices and community partners will host 10 Community Conversations from September through December to seek input on the Fiscal Year 2025 Operating Budget. The first conversation will be from 7-8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 14, at the Mid-County Recreation Center in Layhill. The official address of the Mid-County Recreation center is 2004 Queensguard Road in Silver Spring.
Seven of the 10 conversations will be conducted in English, including one focusing on issues for older residents and another focusing on issues of importance to Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) members. For a County first, one of the forums will be conducted in Amharic. Two other non-English language forums will be held, with one in Spanish and another in Chinese. A select number of Community Conversations will be held online so that residents have the option to participate remotely.
Per Montgomery County: Montgomery County businesses looking to grow through partnerships with organizations overseas could be eligible for grants of up to $5,000 for qualified travel or marketing expenses through the Maryland Department of Commerce’s ExportMD program. Applications to receive grants must be submitted by Thursday, Sept. 7.
The grants would reimburse expenses for companies seeking customers, suppliers, manufacturers or academic partners to support the growth of their business. Montgomery County is organizing a delegation of business, academic and government leaders traveling to Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bengalaru, Saigon/HCMC and Hanoi in late October to November. Businesses interested in joining the delegation can apply for an ExportMD grant to support this travel.
Per Montgomery County: The Montgomery County Council will hold its third annual African Heritage Month commemoration hosted by Councilmembers Will Jawando, Laurie-Anne Sayles, and Council President Evan Glass on Tuesday, Sept. 12 at 11:30 a.m. The theme of this year’s event will focus on Celebrating African Changemakers who are redefining Culture and Community.
“This year the Council continues its tradition of commemorating African Heritage Month, honoring the many cultures within the African diaspora and recognizing their contributions locally and globally,” Council President Glass said. “I’m proud to serve on the most diverse Council in our County’s history, where we value and celebrate the rich diversity that makes Montgomery County so unique.”
Per Montgomery County: Montgomery County Councilmember Gabe Albornoz will be joined by County Executive Marc Elrich, Dr. Monifa McKnight, the Office of Food Systems Resilience, the Montgomery County Food Council and community partners to unveil key recommendations from the Montgomery County Strategic Plan to End Childhood Hunger. The event will take place on Wednesday, September 6 at 10 a.m. at Highland Elementary School.
The Montgomery County Strategic Plan to End Childhood Hunger was spearheaded by Councilmember Albornoz, chair of the Health and Human Services Committee, in conjunction with the Department of Health and Human Services in 2022 to combat rising rates of childhood food insecurity in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Per Montgomery County: In recognition of National Preparedness Month in September, the Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (OEMHS) and Montgomery County Recreation have teamed up to help educate older adults on the importance of preparing for natural disasters, catastrophic events and other emergency situations. The County’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) will also participate in the events.
The annual National Preparedness Month, sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), aims to raise awareness about ways to prepare for an emergency. This year’s focus is “Preparing for Older Adults.” Older adults often face greater risks during extreme weather events, especially if they live alone, are low-income, have a disability or live in rural areas.
Per Montgomery County: Bicycles that are no longer being used by some can make a big difference for others. The Montgomery County Department of Transportation’s annual Bicycle Donation Drive will be held on Friday, Oct. 20. The event will make it easy to donate previously owned bikes and ensure they will have a continued impact.
From 7 a.m.-2 p.m. on Oct. 20, bikes will be collected (rain or shine) outside of the Montgomery County Council Office Building Garage at East Jefferson and Monroe Street in Rockville. Bicycles should be in good working condition or in need of only minor repairs. Donations will be refurbished and MCDOT will match the bikes with residents in need through the Bike Match program.
The committee supports the Board’s efforts to engage the inspectors general and echoes their request to investigate the reported allegations following Jackson Lewis’ initial investigation. The committee will hold a meeting on this matter on Sept. 28, 2023. All committee meetings are open to the public and available to stream online. A detailed agenda and link to view will be released in advance.
The Montgomery County Board of Education issued a letter updating the Montgomery County Council’s Education and Culture Committee, confirming their intent to address community concerns for a “transparent, thorough, fair and expeditious process.” The full letter can be seen below:
“Dear Councilmembers Jawando, Albornoz, Mink,
Per Montgomery County: The Montgomery County Government, and programs that impact County residents, will have schedule and program changes for Labor Day on Monday, Sept. 4.
For Montgomery Parks information, visit www.MontgomeryParks.org. Additional details:
Montgomery County’s Anti-Hate Task Force will hold its third meeting tonight, August 29, at 7pm. The Anti-Hate Task Force is made up of community and faith leaders and was created to “engage Montgomery County residents in developing recommendations to inform policies that promote safety and combat hate crimes in Montgomery County.”
On Monday, the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington (JFGW) shared a photo of antisemitic graffiti that was found in North Bethesda. Councilmember Evan Glass, who spearheaded the task force, tweeted: “I’m disgusted by the antisemitic graffiti sprayed under the Josiah Henson parkway bridge in North Bethesda. The county is working to remove this hate speech,” and “This is an unfortunate reminder of the important work being done by the Anti Hate Task Force, which will meet virtually on Tuesday 8/29 at 7pm with a presentation from the Jewish members.”