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 …
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Germantown campus offers free food and fun Sunday to mark awareness month.
The “Montgomery Choose Respect” Program holds a fun and informative event for students Grades 6 to 12, their parents and people who work with youth from 1 to 4:30 p.m. today at Montgomery College—Germantown. The fourth annual conference, held in conjunction with National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month, focus on the goal of the county’s Choose Respect Program: Helping teens avoid abusive dating relationships. Activities will be conducted in both English and Spanish at the free conference, which will include free pizza, snacks, drinks and music by the rock band Ivy Rose. Toby Knapp, a DJ from radio station Hot 99.5, and Jackie Benson, a reporter from NBC News4, will emcee. Montgomery County Councilman Philip M. Andrews…
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Montgomery County's controversial bag tax brought in more than double the anticipated revenue, The Washington Examiner reported.
Montgomery County's 5-cent tax on shopping bags has brought in more than $2 million in its first year, The Washington Examiner reported. The $2.1 million total through November could be pushed to $2.2 million once December numbers come in, County spokesperson Patrick Lacefield told The Washington Examiner. Projected revenues for the bag tax were based on Washington, DC's, first year (2011) with the tax, according to the report. DC's system has brought in less money than expected as people brought their own bags to stores. The Montgomery County bag tax took effect on Jan. 1, 2012, and was intended to reduce the number of plastic bags in county waterways. The county expected to earn up to $1.5 million from this tax in the first year. Read …
Friday, January 4, 2013
Montgomery County's Office of Consumer Protection director will field questions.
ROCKVILLE—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 …
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 …
Monday, October 29, 2012
Declaration means the county could receive federal aid for storm costs.
County Executive Isiah Leggett declared a state of emergency for Montgomery County on Monday, making the county eligible for federal aid as it responds to Hurricane Sandy, a county spokeswoman said. The declaration allows the county to call upon staff to respond to the storm as needed, Mary Anderson said. “It’s mainly a human resources [measure] in terms of getting people to work,” Anderson said. “It changes pay structures and it’s also useful in seeking federal reimbursement later on." States of emergency were declared in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC. Howard County Executive Ken Ulman also signed an emergency declaration for that county. The declaration makes the county eligible for federal reimbursement for overtime hours …
Don't travel these routes.
Updated 10:05 a.m., Tuesday, Oct. 30: At 8:10 a.m., Montgomery County reported that the following roads were partially or entirely closed due to flooding or downed trees or wires. The county is urging residents to avoid traveling today as wind and flooding still could create hazardous road conditions. Note: Roads may reopen faster than the county updates this list. A Patch editor reported that he traveled the length of Quince Orchard Road and Montgomery Village Avenue this morning and did not encounter any closures. If you have information about closed or reopened roads to relay to neighbors, please add it to the comments below. If you see a tree touching a power line, stay clear of the tree and call Pepco at 1-877-737-2662. Call 911 in …
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
$319 million in county-issued bonds will go on sale next week.
Montgomery County bonds have again been deemed the soundest investment possible, one of the few county governments nationwide to receive a AAA bond rating from all three rating agencies, officials announced last week. The top-tier rating means the county will find better interest rates on its capital borrowing. The announcement comes after County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) and County Council President Roger Berliner (D) met with representatives of the bond rating agencies in New York last month, reported Bethesda Now. Fitch, Standard & Poor's and Moody's cited the strength of the county’s economic base, as well as steps taken to right the fiscal imbalance that emerged as revenues fell off during the most recent recession, according to a …
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 ›