First fiscal 2017 budget forum – County Executive Ike Leggett is scheduled to host the first of five fiscal 2017 budget forums at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Eastern Montgomery Regional Services Center, 3300 Briggs Chaney Road, Silver Spring. The event will provide the public with the opportunity to provide input on what could be a controversial budget that will dictate county spending from July 1 to June 30, 2017. Leggett has said he may pursue a sizable tax increase this year to offset declining tax revenues and costs associated with the Supreme Court’s decision in the Wynne case. Four other budget forums will take place later in January, including one in Bethesda and two more in Silver Spring.
School board to host operating budget forum – The Montgomery County Board of Education is scheduled to host a forum Thursday on its operating budget proposal. The hearing is scheduled to take place at 7 p.m. at the Carver Educational Services Center auditorium, 850 Hungerford Drive, Rockville. The hearing will be an opportunity for the public to weigh in on the school system’s $2.4 billion fiscal 2017 budget request—a 4.5 percent increase from the fiscal 2016 budget.
Planning board to hold Downtown Bethesda Plan work session – The Montgomery County Planning Board is scheduled to discuss updates to the Bethesda sector plan Thursday afternoon. The agenda calls for discussions about the area surrounding Arlington Road as well as the area near Battery Lane. This is the sixth of nine work sessions the board is scheduled to hold as part of its work on the plan. The last work session is scheduled for Feb. 25, when a vote on the draft plan is possible.
Cold start to the week, but more mild weather predicted – Monday and Tuesday are going to be cold. The National Weather Service predicts a high of 36 degrees Monday followed by 33 degrees Tuesday, with nighttime lows dropping into the upper-teens. However, don’t expect the freeze to continue; temperatures are expected to be in the mid- to upper-40s Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, with nighttime lows dropping to around 30 degrees. Wednesday and Thursday are expected to be sunny and mostly clear, while rain is likely Friday, according to the weather service.
