Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Councilman Philip Andrews, a vocal opponent of the raises, was the only dissenting vote.
All but one member of the Montgomery County Council voted to approve pay raises for county government, police and fire and rescue employees Tuesday. It will be the first raise for government employees in four years. Councilman Philip M. Andrews (D-Dist 3) of Gaithersburg, was the only dissenting vote. County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) negotiated the pay increases in his $4.8 billion budget proposal for fiscal 2014 as part of new two-year contracts with employees’ unions. Fiscal 2014 begins July 1. Most county employees will receive two raises this summer: a cost-of-living increase and a step increase. A step is a pay raise for one year of service. Police officers will receive an increase equal to one-and-a-half steps and firefighters …
Friday, April 26, 2013
County Council panels vote to back pay bumps for government and public safety workers.
A freeze in cost-of-living raises for Montgomery County government and public safety employees may be thawing out. The Montgomery County Council’s Government Operations and Fiscal Policy committees voted unanimously Thursday to back a proposal to raise county employees’ salaries by up to 3.25 percent. County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) negotiated the raises as part of new two-year contracts with employees’ unions and included them as part of his $4.8 billion budget proposal for fiscal 2014, which begins July 1. If approved as part of the county budget, the 3.25 percent raise for county government workers would go into effect in September. Police officers would see a 2.1 percent bump in July. Fire and rescue personnel would see a 2.75 …
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Storm warning lifted; SHA continues to urge caution on roads.
Update, 5 p.m.: Snow emergency responses wound down, as the National Weather Service canceled the winter storm warning for the Washington metropolitan region Wednesday afternoon. The Maryland State Highway Administration urged motorists to continue to drive with caution, especially after sundown as visibility drops and roads could freeze. SHA encouraged drivers to dial 511 or go to www.MD511.org for traffic, weather alerts and road conditions. Road conditions, live traffic cameras and a variety of information to help with travel decisions and planning are available at www.roads.maryland.gov, SHA said in a news release. The Montgomery County government said its 311 call center would close at 7 p.m. and reopen at 6 a.m. Thursday. Pepco …
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Changes affect bus routes and numbers serving Rockville's periphery.
Ride On bus riders take note: Routes and bus number changes went into effect Sunday. The changes mean some communities around Rockville will be better served, but also mean longer rides on some routes and the elimination of others as the county tries to better serve new locations. Expanded routes include daily service to Park Potomac, Seven Locks Road, Interstate 270 and Montrose Road. The changes, effective Sunday, are part of a larger expansion of Ride On routes across the county. Southwest of Rockville's city limits, a new route, Route 42, will run between the White Flint Metro station and Westfield Montgomery, with service to the Park Potomac mixed-use development at Seven Locks and Montrose roads. Route 47 also now follows its …
Monday, January 14, 2013
In the wake of Pepco's most recent request for permission to raise electricity rates, the county tasked an assistant county attorney to focus solely on utility issues.
Montgomery County now has an in-house attorney dedicated to utility issues. "[Lawyer] Lisa Brennan moved from the Office of Consumer Protection, where she dealt frequently with utility issues, to the Office of the County Attorney where utilities will now dominate her time," Montgomery County spokesman Patrick Lacefield told The Gazette. So far, the county has hired outside attorneys as well as using in-house ones to fight against Pepco's rate increase requests. Dedicating one in-house attorney to utility issues, rather than paying for outside counsel, should save the county some money, The Gazette reported. The county's move to consolidate its efforts to ensure that county residents are paying fair prices for quality utilities comes in …
Monday, January 7, 2013
Montgomery County's Office of Consumer Protection director will field questions.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Forums scheduled across Montgomery County in January and Feburary.
Montgomery County residents can have their say regarding the county's fiscal 2014 operating budget priorities at five public forums in January and February. The forums, sponsored by County Executive Isiah Leggett, begin at 7 p.m. on: • Jan. 10 at Mid-County Community Recreation Center, 2004 Queensguard Road, in Silver Spring; • Jan. 24 at BlackRock Center for the Arts, 12901 Town Commons Drive, in Germantown; • Jan. 28, at Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Service Center, 4805 Edgemoor Lane, in Bethesda; • Jan. 29, Silver Spring Civic Building, One Veterans Plaza, in Silver Spring; and • Feb. 4, Eastern Montgomery Regional Services Center, 3300 Briggs Chaney Road, in Silver Spring. Leggett (D) will unveil his recommendations March 15 for the…
Montgomery County's Office of Consumer Protection director will field questions.
Confused about condo fees? Got a question about the covenants of your homeowners association? Eric Friedman, director of Montgomery County’s Office of Consumer Protection will field questions about condominiums and homeowners associations during a live online chat from noon to 2 p.m. Jan. 10. The chat is part of the department’s “Consumer Ed Café … Food for Thought” series and will focus on the department’s Office of Common Ownership Communities, which handles disputes between residents and condominium or homeowners associations. Residents can submit questions in advance or participate live by going to www.montgomerycountymd.gov/consumer and clicking on Live Discussion. Questions and answers will be posted during and after the chat. Past …
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Find your neighborhood on the collection map and consider these tips before you rake.
Grab a rake or leaf blower! A final round of leaf collection is about to begin in the City of Rockville and in parts of unincorporated Rockville served by Montgomery County. In the City of Rockville The final leaf collection of the year is scheduled to begin Monday in the southern central part of the City of Rockville, according to a city news release. The final collections are scheduled to begin: Click here for a map of collection areas in the city. The city also vacuums leaves once in April. Call 240-314-8570 between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. for more information. In unincorporated Rockville/Montgomery County’s collection district The first round of county leaf collection is wrapping up and signs are being posted alerting neighborhoods of …
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Whether to reserve existing lanes for buses is among the issue for planners.
On Monday, Patch gave you a chance to “Speak Out” on bus rapid transit in Montgomery County. Meanwhile, County Executive Isiah Leggett told The Washington Examiner the proposed system is too expensive. Now, planners from the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission want to hear from you. Planners will present their preliminary plans for a BRT system on the county’s main roads and hear public input on the plan at three meetings around the county beginning Tuesday evening. One of the topics: Should existing travel lanes be used or are new lanes needed for the network of high-speed buses? Exhibits will be on display between 6:30 and 9 p.m., with a formal presentation at 7 p.m. each night as follows: Click here for more …
jag
11:30 am on Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Well, at least you got the part about you being a dick right. All of those "parasit[ic]" police officers and fire fighters and teachers and domestic abuse counselors and code enforcement personnel and librarians and public defenders, etc. that you're *obviously* better and more important than are the ones who haven't seen an increase in several years (a period when incomes have in fact risen in … more ›