Monday, April 8, 2013
Pay raise will be discussed Monday.
Rockville’s mayor and council should be getting paid more, according to the city’s Compensation Commission’s most recent report. Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio and the council are expected to discuss the report’s recommendations on Monday. The report is posted at the city’s website, rockvillemd.gov. The Commission says the mayor and council should be paid more than the approved $26,581 for mayor and $21,265 for council members for fiscal years 2015 and 2016 in order to keep up with cost of living increases. City budget years begin in July. The council has not had a raise since 2006, according to the report. While the report didn’t offer specific amounts, it mentioned that the mayor and council members would be getting paid closer to $30,000 and $…
Monday, April 1, 2013
Results of Rockville’s 2012 Citizens Survey will also be presented
A hearing on the city’s fiscal year 2014 budget and discussion of the 2012 Citizens Survey results top the Rockville City Council’s agenda for Monday. The council meets at 7 p.m. at City Hall. The meeting will be broadcast live on Rockville 11. Closed Session The Rockville mayor and council will meet in closed session at 6:15 p.m. to consult with counsel to obtain legal advice regarding the Maryland Public Information Act. Public Hearing: 2014 Fiscal Budget The council will hold the first of three public hearings on the city’s proposed fiscal year 2014 operating and capital budgets, which would take effect July 1. City staff presented the proposed budget at the March 18 council meeting. The proposed operating budget is $112 million. The …
Friday, March 15, 2013
The plan holds the line on property taxes and schools aid and boosts aid for public safety.
A $4.8 billion county operating budget plan unveiled by Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett on Friday holds the line on property taxes and schools spending and adds more than 100 new jobs in public safety and libraries. Leggett (D) presented his budget plan for fiscal 2014, which begins July 1, at a news conference in Rockville. The plan would keep property taxes within the limit allowed by the county charter and below the rate of inflation. Average monthly property taxes would increase by $6.67. Tax-supported government spending would increase by 3.9 percent—less than half the increase in fiscal 2013—to $1.3 billion. Leggett also proposed a slight increase in aid for Montgomery County Public Schools to meet Maryland's maintenance of…
The Montgomery County Executive explained his proposal to increase spending on public safety and hold the line on property taxes.
Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) on Friday unveiled his budget proposal for fiscal 2014, which begins July 1. Related Content:
Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Joshua Starr said he is disappointed in the County Executive's budget plan.
The amount of aid for county schools proposed by Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett in his fiscal 2014 county budget plan falls short of what's needed, Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Joshua Starr said Friday. Leggett's plan calls for a schools budget of $2.23 billion—an increase of $65.8 million, or 3 percent more than the budget approved for the current school year. "The County Executive's recommendation would fund 100 percent of the [school board]'s request," according to Leggett's budget proposal. Click here to read more on Leggett's fiscal 2014 budget plan and here to hear the County Executive discuss the proposal. The proposal is a slight increase in spending for MCPS, to the level required by the state's …
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Fiscal year 2014 budget would delay some planned projects in the 2013-2018 Capital Improvements Program.
Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett released his fiscal year 2014 capital budget this past week, and recommended that a number of planned projects in the six-year, $4.37 billion Capital Improvements Program be delayed. Leggett's proposal was released by the county's community relations department. Leggett spoke on the issue of the CIP, stating that "reducing CIP growth and debt service payments is an essential part of my ongoing strategy to ensure that our fiscal house is in order." Regarding the debt service, Leggett explained his recommendations as being limited to "previously established guidelines of $295 million a year in each of the six years in this CIP." Transportation-related projects that would be affected by the amended …
Monday, January 14, 2013
The Montgomery County Council meets at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in Rockville.
The Montgomery County Council will hold a public hearing regarding an amendment to fiscal 2013-18 Capital Improvements Program and supplemental appropriation to the fiscal 2013 capital budget that will provide an additional $1 million to development of the Rapid Transit System. "The funds would provide for additional studies as precursors to full-fledged project planning studies for certain bus rapid transit (BRT) lines identified by the County Executive's Transit Task Force to be built in a first phase," according to County documents. The studies, according to the County, will include: The full information packet for the public hearing is available online and the hearing is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. Other agenda items of note …
Monday, January 7, 2013
The council returns from a three-week holiday on Monday.
A budget discussion of costs and revenue associated with new development and a vote on city contracts, and the bidding process for contracts, are on the Rockville City Council’s agenda for Monday. The council meets at 7 p.m. at City Hall. The meeting will be broadcast live on Rockville 11. The council’s first meeting of 2013 includes a consent agenda vote on: The council also is scheduled to discuss costs and revenue associated with new development. It will be the last of six discussions in preparation for the council’s fiscal 2014 budget deliberations. Other discussions have explored biennial budgeting and what it means to cut costs. The council is expected to adopt in late May the budget for fiscal 2014, which begins July 1. A …
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Hearings on Stonestreet bridge, Town Center plans and financial board are on Jan. 14 agenda.
Discussions with the city’s Board of Supervisors of Elections and about the city’s budget, a review of the city’s ethics ordinance and a vote on various city contracts are on the tentative agenda for the Rockville City Council’s first meeting of 2013 on Monday. The Council’s second meeting of the year, on Jan. 14, will include public hearings on the proposed reconstruction of the Stonestreet pedestrian bridge, Town Center zoning and the creation of a Financial Advisory Board. The pedestrian bridge connecting South Stonestreet Avenue and Veirs Mill Road was demolished in 2011 after an inspection revealed structural deficiencies. The estimated cost for the bridge replacement is $1.2 million—much higher than anticipated. The hearing will …
Friday, November 30, 2012
Van Hollen was unanimously re-elected Thursday to serve as ranking member of the House Budget Committee by the House Democratic Caucus.
The U.S. House of Representatives' Democratic Caucus unanimously re-elected Christopher Van Hollen Jr. on Thursday to serve as ranking member of the House Budget Committee. "It has been a privilege to serve as ranking member of the Budget Committee for the last two years, and I am honored that my colleagues have re-elected me to continue to serve in the 113th Congress," Van Hollen (Dist. 8) of Kensington said after his reelection. The House Budget Committee is chaired by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI). In the 112th Congress (2011 to 2012), the committee comprised 22 Republicans and 16 Democrats. As ranking member, Van Hollen is the most senior member of the committee from the minority party. "Over the last two years our House Democratic Caucus …
Fred Foo
10:27 pm on Sunday, March 17, 2013
It's not as simple as you say. It's important to recognize that while good schools attract people, high taxes repel people. And the people who can most easily afford the taxes can also afford to send children to private schools. more ›