A Preview: MoCo Council Meets April 9

The Montgomery County Council will receive a briefing on remediation plans for the Silver Spring Transit Center at 11 a.m. on April 9.

David Dise, director of the county’s Department of General Services, will make a presentation to the Council.

At 7 p.m. the Council will hold the first of five public hearings scheduled for this week on County Executive Isiah Leggett’s recommended Fiscal Year 2014 operating budget. The Council will adopt the budget in late May.

The Council’s regular weekly session will begin at 1 p.m. in the Third Floor Council Hearing Room of the Council Office Building at 100 Maryland Ave. in Rockville. The special morning briefing, the general session and evening public hearing will be televised live by County Cable Montgomery (CCM—Cable Channel 6 on Comcast and RCN, Channel 30 on Verizon). The broadcast will be available via streaming through the county web site at www.montgomerycountymd.gov.

During the general session, two resolutions will be introduced that seek to reduce the increases in the county’s fuel/energy tax rates that were adopted in 2010. The County Executive has recommended keeping the tax rates at their current levels.

Council President Nancy Navarro will introduce a resolution to amend the tax rate increases adopted in 2010 by 5 percent in 2014. The resolution states the Council President “Intends that this resolution serve as a placeholder for any action the Council ultimately takes on the rates of the fuel/energy tax.” The Executive’s recommended budget estimates $222.3 million in FY14 revenue from the tax. The resolution would reduce the tax by an estimated $5.8 million.

Councilmember Phil Andrews will introduce a resolution to reduce the 2010 fuel/energy tax rate increases by 10 percent ($11.6 million).

Public hearings on both resolutions are scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 30.

During the afternoon session, proclamations will be presented to county residents Maria Gomez and Terry Shima. They were among 19 people recently awarded 2012 Presidential Citizens Medals by President Obama.

Ms. Gomez founded Mary’s Center, located in Silver Spring, and whose mission is to build better futures through the delivery of health care, family literacy and job training. Mr. Shima has been among the most ardent World War II veterans who, over the past seven decades, has sought to ensure the remarkable achievements of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team—his unit composed entirely of Japanese-Americans—are never forgotten. The 442nd became the most decorated unit in U.S. military history.

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