A few weeks after Montgomery County passed its wide-ranging Racial Equity and Social Justice Act, council members found themselves in a pickle.
It was Dec. 3, and the council was preparing to vote on a bill establishing the county’s first-ever police advisory commission. Before it passed, Council Member Hans Riemer, the bill’s sponsor, wanted to talk about reimbursing the group’s nine public members.
As part of the racial equity bill, council members approved a $2,000 yearly stipend for eight public members of the newly formed Racial Equity and Social Justice Advisory Committee. Lead sponsor Nancy Navarro described it as in line with the intentions of the bill — removing financial barriers that might keep some residents from applying.
But it also set a precedent.
On Dec. 3, the council was divided on whether to add similar language to the police advisory commission bill, allowing volunteer members to receive money from the county. There were legal questions about eligibility requirements and debates over the practicality of providing stipends for the county’s 70-plus boards and committees — a move that Riemer said could cost the county more than $1 million.
The council decided to revisit the question, passing the bill without providing a stipend. But Council Member Craig Rice promised to come back with legislation to clarify the county’s policy, creating a clear path for future legislation.
On Tuesday, he did that, introducing a bill that would allow public members of any county board, commission, committee or task force to claim a $1,200 annual stipend.
Members could already request reimbursement for mileage and “dependent care costs” at rates determined by the county. Rice’s bill allows volunteers to request reimbursement for any expenses, or claim a stipend, but not both.
The bill wouldn’t apply to members serving as government officials or representatives from a county department, such as the police force.
“This wouldn’t be something that’s automatically given to everyone,” Rice said Tuesday. “For a lot of folks who serve on these boards and commissions, they can do so, and wouldn’t ask for reimbursement.”
In a phone interview on Wednesday, Rice said the proposed legislation wouldn’t preempt the county’s racial equity bill. Members of that commission would still receive a $2,000 annual stipend. His bill would create new allowances for both current and future bodies.
Rice said the $1,200 stipend would make it easier to cover expenses that weren’t easily reimbursable through receipts — bus fares, for instance, or hiring a babysitter.
The bill leaves it up to the individual committee member to request either reimbursement or a stipend from the county. At the council’s Dec. 3 meeting, senior legislative attorney Robert Drummer emphasized that the county couldn’t establish an eligibility requirement for select members to receive stipends.
“We couldn’t mandate that one person gets it and one person doesn’t,” Rice confirmed on Wednesday. But he wasn’t concerned that the county would suddenly be faced with a wave of stipend requests.
“Anecdotally, we know the majority of these members never apply for reimbursement,” Rice said. “If they have out-of-pocket costs, they’re paying them themselves.”
A public hearing is tentatively scheduled for Feb. 11 at 1:30 p.m.
