The County Council will return from its spring recess next week with five public hearings on the county executive’s proposed $5.1 billion budget.
The Council will begin its examination of County Executive Isiah Leggett’s recommendation with the public hearings — set for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 14, 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 15 and 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Thursday April 16.
More than 150 people are expected to testify and a limited number of speaker spots are available. To register to speak, call 240-777-7803. The deadline to sign up to testify for 1:30 p.m. hearings is 5 p.m. the day before the hearing. The deadline for 7 p.m. hearings is 10 a.m. the day of the hearing.
Leggett proposed what’s essentially a same-services budget for the next fiscal year. Spending would increase by just 1.1 percent compared to the fiscal year that ends at the end of the June.
Some notable changes that could impact Bethesda include an extra $160,000 for a six-month expansion of the Bethesda Circulator, police body cameras, a new funding structure for the downtown parking lot district, new Capital Bikeshare stations and the continuation of a program to bus private school students.
Already, Councilmember Roger Berliner has called on the Public Safety Committee to add money for pedestrian safety programs.
The Western Montgomery County Citizens Advisory Board will testify against Leggett’s proposed $130,000 cut to core services of the Bethesda Urban Partnership, while supporting the Circulator expansion.
The group of residents finalized its testimony during a meeting on Monday.
The public hearings will be televised live by County Cable Montgomery and also on the Montgomery County website.
Over the next six weeks, the Council and its six committees will analyze the recommendations and adopt the final budget in late May.
Those who don’t wish to speak at the public hearing can email their comments to county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov or mail their comments to the County Council at 100 Maryland Avenue, Rockville MD 20850.
Flickr photo via dan reed!
