Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Plan aims to improve business competitiveness by reducing raises for county employees.
Montgomery County Councilman Philip M. Andrews on Tuesday introduced a plan to reduce the 2010 increase in Montgomery County’s energy tax by 10 percent. The county's energy tax was raised by 155 percent on homeowners and by nearly 60 percent on businesses and nonprofit organizations in 2010, according to a County Council news release. A 10 percent reduction would reduce county revenues by $11.4 million in fiscal 2014, which begins July 1. Andrews (D-Dist. 3) of Gaithersburg proposes paying for the energy tax reduction by slashing the pay increases for county employees over the next two years. Andrews, who is running for Montgomery County Executive in next year's election, criticized the agreement struck between the county employees unions …
Thursday, March 14, 2013
County lawmakers question how raises will affect the $134 million budget hole in fiscal 2014.
Montgomery County police officers could notice a bump in their pay come July 1. Officers would get a 2.1 percent pay raise, their first in four years, under an agreement with the county ratified by the county police union. The Fraternal Order of Police announced the new contract Monday, The Washington Examiner reported. The announcement follows a pay raise tentatively secured recently by the county firefighters, the report said. All firefighters would receive 2.75 percent salary increases. Raises were also announced in February for county government employees who are members of the Municipal and County Government Employees Organization, the report said. Those county employees would receive a 6.75 percent pay raise. The County Council must …
Sunday, March 10, 2013
New study cites abuse and lax management as reasons for inflated figures.
The Montgomery County Office of Legislative Oversight released a report Tuesday that found that the majority of more than $63 million in county overtime costs from January 2011 to June 2012 was paid to police and fire agencies and that a significant amount of the extra pay was the result of sick-leave abuse. The study, "Employee Work Hours and Leave in Montgomery County," revealed the county paid $63.3 million in overtime to 6,789 county employees. Click here to read the full report. Montgomery County Councilman George L. Leventhal (D-At Large) of Takoma Park described the findings as a “wake-up call to management” and told The Washington Post “someone has to rein in those costs." The study found that approximately 70 percent of the …
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Notable outcomes include eased regulations for accessory apartments, passing of the disabled hiring bill and evaluation of potential affordable housing locations.
The Montgomery County Council met Tuesday, Feb. 5. Notable outcomes from the meeting include: County Eases Rules for Accessory Apartments The Montgomery County Council passed a zoning amendment and bill Tuesday that will make it easier for homeowners to add an accessory apartment to a single-family home, The Washington Examiner reported. After almost 10 years of policy discussion, homeowners who want to add a small apartment for an aging parent, a caretaker or a renter can now do so in 90 to 110 days, versus a process that previously took a minimum of five to six months, The Washington Post reported. Residents opposed to the change were concerned it might lead to overcrowding of neighborhood schools, according to The Washington Post, but "…
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
The Silver Spring Councilwoman joins Councilmembers George Leventhal and Phil Andrews, former County Executive Doug Duncan as Democratic candidates, The Washington Examiner reported.
Montgomery County Councilwoman Valerie Ervin, of Silver Spring, announced plans to join an already crowded Democratic field for the 2014 county executive race, The Washington Examiner reported. Ervin joins County Councilmen George Leventhal (At Large) and Phil Andrews (Gaithersburg/Rockville), along with former County Executive Doug Duncan in the race, according to the report. Current County Executive Ike Leggett could still announce a run for re-election. Ervin, 55, said she'd had "serious discussions" with multiple community members, pollsters and media consultants about starting her campaign, according to the report. Read the full story on The Washington Examiner.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
"Police officers are ticketing speeders aggressively,” Montgomery County Councilman Phil Andrews said, according to a report by The Gazette.
Speeders beware, police are ticketing the Intercounty Connector at a high rate. Over the last three months, police officers on the ICC "issued about 10 speeding citations and warnings per day," The Gazette reported, including a total of 887 citations and warnings issued for speeding between October and December. Montgomery County Councilman Phil Andrews (D-Dist. 3) of Gaithersburg said he's heard from constituents that “police officers are ticketing speeders aggressively” on the ICC, according to the report. The ICC is patrolled by the Maryland Transportation Authority Police, according to the report. Andrews has been vocal on ICC issues of late, calling the road overpriced and underused in December. The road's 55 mph speed limit has also …
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Montgomery County Council Member Phil Andrews proposes a cut in ICC tolls to get more drivers to use the road, NBC Washington reports.
Montgomery County Council Member Phil Andrews says a deep cut in tolls would increase traffic on the Intercounty Connector and he's calling on the state to do it, NBC Washington reported. Andrews says the $8 round-trip rush-hour toll is among the highest in the nation. He would propose "at least a trial period of several months, if not, a year when the tolls would be...cut in half, in hopes of doubling the traffic," according to the report. A decision on the toll rate is up to the Maryland Transportation Authority. A spokeswoman for the MTA told The Washington Post the ICC is meeting both traffic and revenue projections. The road was designed to carry traffic volumes projected for 2030, according to the report. Andrews said he hopes that …
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Former County Executive Doug Duncan met today with pollster and political advisers, according to CenterMaryland.org.
Will Doug Duncan—Montgomery’s longest-serving county executive—return for a run at an unprecedented fourth term? Duncan's political future came into clearer focus Tuesday after he met with advisers in Gaithersburg to mull the 2014 election, Josh Kurtz writes in CenterMaryland.org. The closed meeting hashed over the results of a new poll “that supposedly showed Duncan handily defeating every other potential Democratic candidate,” according to Kurtz. Speculation has long swirled that Duncan—who served as Montgomery’s executive from 1994 to 2006 before a gubernatorial campaign that ended with him dropping out, citing clinical depression—is primed for a return to county politics. If so, he would be joining a field that already has two …
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Future North Potomac Community Center, Travilah Fire Station,
schools and november ballot questions are on the agenda
Montgomery County Councilmembers Phil Andrews and Craig Rice are expected to address the North Potomac Community Association tonight, county officials announced this afternoon. The meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Quince Orchard High School in Gaithersburg. Discussion topics include at the planned North Potomac Community Recreation Center, the future Travilah Fire Station, school-related issues and key questions that will appear on the November ballot. Andrews (D-dist. 3), of Gaithersburg, and Rice (D-dist. 2), of Germantown, will take questions from the audience.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Officials say the new law complicates enforcement, The Washington Post reported.
New state rules aimed at protecting motorists from predatory towing clash with existing Montgomery County rules, making already complicated regulations even tougher to enforce, The Washington Post reported. Confusion over which rules are more stringent—and therefore should take precedent—has officials unsure how to meet an Oct. 1 deadline for implementing the state rules, The Post reported. The new state rules, in part, require large warning signs in parking lots, limit towing fees and “require wreckers to quickly notify drivers when their vehicles are towed,” The Post reported. But it also would do away with practices such as posting 48-hour warning notices on vehicles violating parking rules. The new state law was the subject of a …
BB
11:14 pm on Wednesday, April 10, 2013
VOTE NO!!! for Phil Andrews!!!! "Andrews, who is running for Montgomery County Executive in next year's election," VOTE NO FOR ANDREWS!!! VOTE NO FOR ANDREWS!!! more ›