County Council to Hold Another CIP Hearing and More

The Montgomery County Council at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 6, will hold the third session of a public hearing on County Executive Isiah Leggett’s proposed Fiscal Year 2015 Capital Budget and his proposed FY 2015-20 Capital Improvements Program (CIP). The CIP is a six-year plan for funding major projects.

The public hearing will be held in the Third Floor Hearing Room of the Council Office Building at 100 Maryland Ave. in Rockville. It will be televised live by County Cable Montgomery (CCM—Cable Channel 6 on Comcast and RCN, Channel 30 on Verizon). The broadcast also will be streamed through the County Web site at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/council/ondemand/index.html .

Approximately 45 speakers were scheduled to testify today during the first two sessions of the public hearing.

At 9:30 a.m. on Thursday in the Seventh Floor Council Hearing Room, the Health and Human Services (HHS) Committee, which is chaired by George Leventhal and includes Councilmembers Nancy Navarro and Craig Rice, will receive an update on the implementation of the Affordable Care Act in Montgomery County and Maryland.

County Department of Health and Human Services Director Uma Ahluwalia will be present at the worksession.  She will refer to a report from the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange. That report states that, as of Jan. 25:

·       144,904 Marylanders have created identity-verified accounts

·       26,832 Marylanders have chosen to enroll in private health plans through the web site

·       95,318 Marylanders in Primary Adult Care (PAC) were converted to Medicaid

·       42,302 individuals were newly enrolled in Medicaid

The HHS Committee also will be updated on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which was previously known as the Food Stamps program.

In November, Councilmember Riemer asked Committee Chair Leventhal to hold a session on SNAP to discuss the impacts of the reductions to SNAP recipients when stimulus funding levels were allowed to expire.

At 1:30 p.m. in the Third Floor Council Conference Room, the Government Operations and Fiscal Policy Committee, which is chaired by Nancy Navarro and includes Councilmembers Riemer and Cherri Branson, will interview applicants who are seeking appointment to the County’s Merit System Protection Board.

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