A report on construction costs for Montgomery County public schools, a public hearing on development impact taxes and a vote on compensation for serving on the county’s Police Accountability Board are among the items on the County Council’s agenda this week.
The council will meet at 10:15 a.m. Tuesday in the Stella Werner Council Office Building in Rockville for its regular weekly business meeting. Here’s what to expect:
Report on school construction costs
The council is set to receive an Office of Legislative Oversight (OLO) report on the cost of school construction and is expected to vote to release it to the public as part of the consent agenda. The report was requested by the council in order to reevaluate a 2017 report on the same issue and identify whether the factors contributing to rising school construction costs are the same seven years later. If the council votes to release the report, it will be available online to the public later Tuesday.
Rising costs forced the council to deprioritize certain school construction, renovation and expansion projects as part of the county’s fiscal year 2025 budget, which went into effect July 1.
Public hearing on development impact taxes
The council will hold a public hearing on the county’s development impact tax. The tax is levied on new development projects to help provide more funding for transportation and public school improvement projects.
The council is considering a bill introduced at the request of the Planning Board that would update the county’s transportation impact tax districts. It would also modify when the tax exemptions are applicable for development in certain locations the county’s growth and infrastructure policies focus on, including areas such as the Great Seneca communities, White Oak and North Bethesda that the county is working to develop.
In June 2023, the council voted to cap the development impact tax rate at 20%. The county’s impact tax rate is adjusted yearly based on inflation, in keeping with county law.
Compensation for Police Accountability Board
The council will vote on whether to approve new compensation regulations for members of the county’s Police Accountability Board, a state-mandated body that works with law enforcement agencies to address police misconduct and public complaints. The 11-member board also is involved in discipline and trials for officers accused of misconduct.
Currently, civilians appointed by the Police Accountability Board to serve on trial boards are uncompensated. If passed, this legislation would require the civilian members to receive $500 per day for each trial or training day.
The bill would also decrease the compensation of the board’s chair to $16,000 annually. Previously, the chair was also required to serve on the board’s Administrative Charging Committee and was paid $22,000. The committee reviews complaints made against officers as well as body camera footage. Now, any board member can be designated to serve on that committee and to be paid $22,000 annually. All other board members receive $10,000 annually.
Tuesday’s proclamations
Every week, councilmembers choose to recognize certain dates, events or community groups.
This week’s proclamations include:
– Proclamation Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month by the full council;
– Proclamation recognizing Disability Employment Awareness Month by councilmember Gabe Albornoz (D-At-large);
– Proclamation recognizing Breast Cancer Awareness Month by councilmembers Laurie-Anne Sayles (D-At-large), Marilyn Balcombe (D-Dist. 2) and Vice President Kate Stewart (D-Dist. 4); and
– Proclamation recognizing the Montgomery County Community Cat Coalition by councilmember Evan Glass (D-At-large).
