• Advisory ID: 10-010
• Advisory Date: 1/25/2010
• Contact: Neil H. Greenberger  240-777-7939 or Jean Arthur240-777-7934
• From: Council Office

Montgomery Council to Receive Report Comparing Montgomery, Fairfax Counties

Also on Tuesday, Jan. 26: White Flint Financing Issues, Regulation Giving Hiring Preference to Persons With Disabilities

ROCKVILLE, Md., January 25, 2010—The Montgomery County Council on Tuesday, Jan. 26, will receive a unique report from its Office of Legislative Oversight (OLO) containing comparative data on Montgomery and Fairfax counties. The Council will hold a worksession on the report immediately afterward.

The OLO report will be released and then discussed during the Council’s regular session that begins at 10:30 a.m. in the Third Floor Hearing Room of the Council Office Building at 100 Maryland Ave. in Rockville.

Tomorrow afternoon, a joint meeting of the Council’s Management and Fiscal Policy (MFP) Committee and its Planning, Housing and Economic Development Committee will continue its discussions on financing issues concerning the proposed White Flint Sector Plan. The MFP Committee also will address Bill 46-09 that would establish a hiring preference for certain qualified persons with disabilities who apply for an initial appointment to a County merit system position.

The joint committee meeting on White Flint will be at 2 p.m. in the Seventh Floor Hearing Room. The MFP Committee on Bill 46-09 will begin at 3:30 p.m. in the Third Floor Conference Room.

The regular Council session and the committee meeting on White Flint will be televised live by County Cable Montgomery (CCM—Cable Channel 6 on Comcast and RCN, Channel 30 on Verizon). The live broadcast also can be viewed via streaming through the County Web site at www.montgomerycountymd.gov. The broadcast will be repeated at 9 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 29.

The report, “Comparative Data on Montgomery County and Fairfax County,” was requested by Councilmember George Leventhal. Report authors Craig Howard and Sarah Downie wrote, “Montgomery County and Fairfax County are cited frequently as regional peers and competitors. The two jurisdictions are often compared, contrasted and similarly touted as the ‘best’ place to live and work in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.”

The report includes comparisons on subjects such as demographics, tax rates, economic development, transportation, housing, public schools, public safety and public health.

After it is released Tuesday morning, the complete report will be available at http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/olo.

In regard to the committees’ attention to the proposed redevelopment of the White Flint area, there appears to be a consensus among the County Executive, the County Planning Board and stakeholders that the revised White Flint Sector Plan should not decide how to finance the many public facility improvements that will be needed to sustain the intensive land development that the plan would encourage. However, almost every possible financing mechanism would require some kind of Council action—legislative, budgetary or both—relatively soon after the plan is approved. Tuesday’s worksession will enable Councilmembers, the Planning Board and interested parties to review the financing mechanisms that can be used to realize the plan's goals.

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