Sunday, April 28, 2013
Four Montgomery County Councilmembers agreed that the one-year-old tax was not appropriate for non-food businesses.
A sweeping measure that aimed to reduce plastic bag consumption and litter in Montgomery County may see its days numbered, at least in the current iteration. County councilmembers Roger Berliner (D-Bethesda), Craig Rice (D-Germantown) and Nancy Floreen (D-At Large) proposed Tuesday to limit the scope of the county's 5-cent bag tax to only apply to food stores, not retail businesses or take-out restaurants. Councilman George Leventhal (D-At Large) decided to co-sponsor the bill during the council meeting. "There are things we need to clean up with this bill," said Rice, noting that he has heard the tax was challenging for clothing retailers. Since the bill went into effect last January, the county has raked in more than $2 million in bag…
Friday, April 26, 2013
Letter addresses communication breakdown between Montgomery County Council and County Executive Isiah Leggett
The Montgomery County Council, surprised by news reports of Metro looking for a way out of its agreement regarding the Silver Spring Transit Center, sent a letter to County Executive Isiah Leggett Friday, asking him to appear before the council on Wednesday at 2 p.m. with an explanation. Haven't been following along? Get caught up on the Silver Spring Transit Center.
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, April 10, 2013
Plan aims to improve business competitiveness by reducing raises for county employees.
Montgomery County Councilman Phil Andrews introduced a plan Tuesday to reduce the 2010 increase in Montgomery County’s energy tax by 10 percent. The county's energy tax was raised by 155 percent on homeowners and by nearly 60 percent on businesses and nonprofit organizations in 2010, according to a County Council news release. A 10 percent reduction would reduce county revenues by $11.4 million in fiscal 2014, which begins July 1. Andrews (D-Dist. 3), of Gaithersburg, proposes paying for the energy tax reduction by slashing the pay increases for county employees over the next two years. Andrews, who is running for Montgomery County Executive in next year's election, criticized the agreement struck between the county employees unions and …
Monday, March 18, 2013
Takoma Park’s Thomas Perez is Obama’s pick to succeed Solis.
President Barack Obama nominated Takoma Park resident and former Montgomery County Councilman Thomas E. Perez as U.S. Secretary of Labor on Monday, CBS News reported. Perez served as secretary of the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation under Gov. Martin O’Malley from 2007 until his confirmation in October 2009 as an assistant attorney general heading the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. Perez “knows what it's like to climb the ladder of opportunity,” Obama said in a video of Monday’s announcement posted on CBSNews.com. “He's the son of Dominican immigrants. He helped pay his way through college as a garbage collector and working at a warehouse. He went on to become the first lawyer in his family…
Monday, March 11, 2013
Montgomery County lawmakers will leave Rockville March 13 to answer resident questions.
Sunday, March 10, 2013
New study cites abuse and lax management as reasons for inflated figures.
The Montgomery County Office of Legislative Oversight released a report Tuesday that found that the majority of more than $63 million in county overtime costs from January 2011 to June 2012 was paid to police and fire agencies and that a significant amount of the extra pay was the result of sick-leave abuse. The study, "Employee Work Hours and Leave in Montgomery County," revealed the county paid $63.3 million in overtime to 6,789 county employees. Click here to read the full report. Montgomery County Councilman George L. Leventhal (D-At Large) of Takoma Park described the findings as a “wake-up call to management” and told The Washington Post “someone has to rein in those costs." The study found that approximately 70 percent of the …
Monday, March 4, 2013
Montgomery County lawmakers will leave Rockville March 13 to answer resident questions.
Catch up with local lawmakers later this month at a town hall meeting with the Montgomery County Council at AFI Silver Theatre in downtown Silver Spring on March 13. In an effort to visit different communities, the council made the rounds to Potomac last November and hosted a student town hall in Rockville last October. “The County Council takes much pride in being open and accessible to our residents,” said Council President Nancy Navarro. “We realize that, because many of our meetings are conducted in downtown Rockville during the work day, they are not convenient for many people to attend." Councilmembers expect to talk about development and business in downtown Silver Spring, as well as schools, public safety and transportation. If …
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Monday, February 18, 2013
Montgomery County Councilman Phil Andrews says Leggett’s pay raise proposal is 'excessive, unsustainable and irresponsible.’ Do you agree?
Montgomery County Councilman Phil Andrews is calling the pay raise agreement between County Executive Isiah Leggett and the Municipal and County Government Employees Organization (MCGEO) “excessive, unsustainable and irresponsible.” Andrews, D-Gaithersburg, who is planning to run for county executive, released a statement Friday. At issue is an agreement for fiscal 2014 and 2015 that includes provisions for 3.5 percent increment increases and 3.25 percent COLAs for most county government employees, according to information provided by a County Council spokesman. Patrick Lacefield, the county executive’s spokesman, told The Gazette that employees could not receive a step and a longevity increases but some county workers could receive either…
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Montgomery County legislators approved Tuesday a ban of smoking on most county-owned or county-leased property.
Need a cigarette break? Better be careful where you go to have that smoke. The Montgomery County Council approved Tuesday a ban of smoking on most county-owned or county-leased property. The ban was approved with the following recommended amendments from the Health and Human Services Commission: The bill will allow the Director of Health and Human Services to designate outdoor smoking areas on certain county properties. “There is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke,” Councilwoman Nancy M. Floreen (D-At large) of Garrett Park said in a statement. “We are stewards of public health. The passage of [the smoking ban] will help us to protect our residents, employees and visitors from dangerous exposure. I applaud my colleagues for…
Dan
1:53 pm on Sunday, April 28, 2013
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