On the Agenda: Bill Curbs County Executive’s Power

A bill that would give the Montgomery County Council more say on the sale of certain county-owned properties heads to committee Wednesday.

The Government Operations and Fiscal Policy committee is scheduled to discuss expedited bill 11-12 during its 12:30 p.m. work session.

Introduced by Councilman George Leventhal in March, expedited bill 11-12 would amend county code, giving the council final say on the sale of county-owned property worth more than $100,000 and leases that last at least three years or have an option to buy.

But since the bill was introduced, Councilmembers Craig Rice, who represents Germantown, and Hans Riemer, a co-sponsor, drafted an amendment that would scale back some of the council's oversight.

The amendment would allow council members 30 days to comment on the terms of land deals and to require the county executive to sell land at fair market value unless the council waives the requirement.

But the amendment would not give the council the authority to approve the terms of a sale. 

The bill was drafted in response to costly real estate deals executed by County Executive Isiah Leggett, Those deals include:

• A $20 million commitment to build a parking garage for the Universities at Shady Grove
• The fates of the soon-to-be vacant police station and library in downtown Silver Spring
• An economic development award that dealt the county’s police headquarters in Rockville to a biotech firm according to a reassessment that valued the land at $3.2 million—down from the $9.2 million the council had for years been told the property was worth.

Points of contention centered on whether the transfer of county property was purely an act of executive function.

The county executive’s office said the bill was problematic because it would give the council control over contractual details, the ability to enact “legislative veto” over contracts the county executive negotiates, which breaches the county charter, .

The bill's other co-sponsors are Council President Roger Berliner and Councilmembers Phil Andrews, Marc Elrich and Nancy Navarro.

The GO committee members are Council Vice President Navarro, chair; Councilwoman Valerie Ervin; and Councilman Riemer.