Montgomery County Council approves FY-2022 budget with property tax increase

Property taxes will increase for almost all Montgomery County residents in the fiscal year starting July 1, 2021, under the $6 billion FY-2022 budget approved by the County Council yesterday. The tax hike comes at a time when many residents and businesses have been struggling during the pandemic's economic downturn. 

Also hitting residents' wallets in the budget: parking fee increases in Bethesda and Wheaton, and the expansion of parking enforcement hours in Silver Spring and Wheaton, which will begin in January 2022. All nine councilmembers voted unanimously to approve the budget and tax increase.

Montgomery County Council proposes property tax increase

The Montgomery County Council has proposed a property tax increase for the fiscal year beginning this July, according to an required announcement published in local newspapers. If approved as is, property taxes would rise 4.7% in FY-2022. 

The Council has raised property taxes every year except FY-2015, when the average homeowner received a meager $12 savings, in an election year budget. FY-2017 had the highest tax increase on record; while officially 9%, due to ever-increasing assessments, it was effectively a 10 to 11% tax increase for many Montgomery County homeowners.

A property tax increase amidst the pandemic is raising eyebrows among taxpayers aware of the proposal, and in the business community. The County economy has been moribund for over a decade, according to federal government statistics, with Montgomery at rock bottom in the region by every relevant economic development measure from job creation to business growth.

Montgomery County ban on movie concessions keeping theaters dark

Montgomery County lifted its order shuttering movie theaters several weeks ago, allowing audiences at limited capacities, but almost all cineplexes remain dark across the county. What's going on? The major sticking point is that the County Council forbid the sales of food and drink at all movie theaters, requiring patrons to remain masked throughout the screening with no refreshments. Theaters make the majority of their profits from these lobby concessions sales, not from the movie tickets themselves.

The announcement that ArcLight Cinemas is closing permanently at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda brought fresh attention to the state of cinema countywide yesterday. Marquees and screens are still dark, with the notable exception of AMC's theaters at Rio Lakefront and Wheaton Plaza. Major chain theaters like Regal Cinemas, iPic and Landmark are not joining them. 

A spokesperson for Cinépolis USA, which opened a theater in the Kentlands area of Gaithersburg only a month before the pandemic hit America, confirmed Tuesday that the County order remains the barrier to reopening. When the ban on food and drink sales is lifted, the Kentlands theater will reopen immediately, the spokesperson said.

It's a dark time, indeed, for movies in Montgomery County. Bethesda is in the worst situation of all. Thanks to the County Council's decision nearly a decade ago to approve demolition of the Regal Cinemas Bethesda 10 without requiring a replacement cineplex, the closures of Regal, ArcLight and AMC Mazza Gallerie give Bethesda the rare distinction of being a large American town without a mainstream cineplex (Landmark Bethesda Row - which also remains closed - does not screen mainstream blockbusters). Some say the age of a night at the movies is over, but Godzilla vs. Kong box office numbers showed interest in movie theaters remains strong nationally, and worldwide.

Montgomery County Council bucks state advice to lift covid restrictions on business

While most of Maryland reopened for business without restrictions yesterday, the Montgomery County Council resisted Gov. Larry Hogan's call to end restrictions on business. The Council met as the Board of Health Friday, after debating its authority to rebuff Hogan's statewide lifting of limits on retail and restaurants all week. Councilmembers ultimately chose not to lift capacity limits on indoor dining and shopping, which will remain at 25% capacity (although some large retailers have been able to get a waiver for the 25% cap for months), and only rise to 50% on March 26. The updated guidelines unanimously approved by the Council include the following:

As of yesterday at 5:00 PM:

• removing local restrictions on capacity at child care facilities, which follow state requirements
• increasing outdoor gatherings to a maximum of 50 people
• increasing indoor gatherings to a maximum of 25 people
• eliminating the limit of one person per 200 square feet
• eliminating alcohol limits on food-service facilities; alcohol can be sold after 10 pm
• eliminating the restriction on buffet service for food-service facilities
• increasing the capacity for religious facilities to 50%

The following changes will go into effect on March 26:

• increasing the maximum capacity to 50% for indoor dining, retail shops, fitness centers and other businesses
• permitting arts and entertainment facilities to open at 25% capacity, provided they do not sell or permit food for consumption in the facility

The guidelines for entertainment venues as written do not immediately appear to apply to movie theaters, which serve food. Only "theaters" that don't serve concessions may reopen at 25% as of March 26. Given that concessions are key to profits for cineplexes, it seems unlikely they would forgo sales of food just to reopen.

County Executive Marc Elrich cited the low percentage of Montgomery County residents who have received a coronavirus vaccination as a primary reason to not lift covid restrictions to the degree the state did Friday. "County leaders will continue focusing on what works, listening to our public health experts and acting based on the needs of our community because public health is the key to a sustained and robust recovery for all," Elrich said in a statement yesterday after the Council vote.

Gyuzo Japanese BBQ closes at Rockville Town Square until Montgomery County indoor dining ban ends

The Montgomery County Council unanimously approved an executive order banning indoor dining yesterday. Interestingly, the Council did not put out a press release to trumpet their vote, a vote that angered many in the hospitality sector. In response, Gyuzo Japanese BBQ at Rockville Town Square was forced to immediately close for the duration of the ban, and to lay off employees ten days before Christmas. 

Due to the restaurant's concept of cooking food at your table, the impact is most severe at Gyuzo. Other restaurant tenants at RTS are soldiering on with tents and heaters, like Finnegan's Wake. Gyuzo is not alone in closing as a result of the indoor dining ban; Tastee Diner, a Bethesda institution for decades, also announced it was closing until the ban is lifted. That could potentially be spring at the earliest.

Montgomery County Council passes massive developer tax cut, now wants to cut pay for cops, firefighters

The Montgomery County Council voted 7-2 yesterday to approve a massive property tax cut for developers, estimated to cost taxpayers from $400 million to upwards of a billion dollars over the next 15 years.After overturning County Executive Marc Elrich's veto of the developer tax cut, the Council is now seeking to cut hazard pay for police officers, firefighters, Ride On bus drivers and other frontline essential employees who are at high-risk of contracting Covid-19 daily during the coronavirus pandemic.

Yesterday's vote continues two disturbing trends by the Montgomery County Council: a continued shift of the tax burden from developers (who contribute to all nine councilmembers' campaigns) to workers and homeowners, and the ongoing practice by the Council of breaking labor agreements. 

While property taxes on homeowners have risen each year except 2014 (in which the average homeowner got a $12 tax cut - gee, thanks!), large developers have enjoyed tax cut after tax cut on property and impact taxes over the last decade. It started with a $72 million developer tax cut in 2010. Remember how your energy taxes were hiked, and an ambulance fee levied, around the same time to make up for that developer giveaway? Yep.

Combined with the County's failure to attract high-wage jobs or a single major corporate headquarters in over 20 years, outsize spending by Council, and the flight of the rich due to record-high tax burdens, the developer pay-days have blown an atomic bomb-size hole in the County budget. The result is a structural budget deficit as far out as the forecasts go.

So we've known by the last decade that massive residential development results in a deficit, as the costs this new housing creates for services like schools, infrastructure and social spending far outstrips the revenue it generates. 

We also know there's little demand for luxury apartments, as a large percentage of the new units delivered since 2010 are filled with airbnb hotel guests, college students and corporate contract residents, none of whom pay full-freight rent. In fact, the Council admitted there's no demand for high-rise housing atop Metro stations when introducing the new tax cut - and they're going to bust the budget and hike your taxes to build something nobody wants, just so they and their developer sugar daddies can still make a profit on it.

And we've learned that the affordable housing "crisis" isn't actually a crisis, because the Housing Opportunities Commission was able to move hundreds of people out of The Ambassador apartments into vacant units elsewhere and demolish the building, while the owners of affordable Halpine View said they have no takers for their vacant units in Rockville. Whoops! 

The shift in revenue burden has also moved from the large, international development firms that contribute to the Councilmembers' campaigns to the mom-and-pop developers who live in the community and build or expand single-family homes. Not only did the Council hit them with new regulations and tax hikes like the recordation tax, but they've recently sought to levy an all-new "teardown tax" on these small building firms. When you know that the Council's long-term goal is to change zoning to allow urban development in existing single-family-home neighborhoods, you can understand why they're trying to clear the construction field for the big guys.

But the Council isn't done spreading the unfairness around!

Now it wants to take hazard pay away from first responders and frontline employees that is in already-negotiated labor agreements. While the Council hides at home on Zoom meetings, these police officers and firefighters are responding to calls and speaking with often-unmasked citizens on a daily basis. Ride On drivers are helping similarly-essential personnel get to work, and low-income residents get to medical appointments, while exposing themselves to the virus on every shift. 

The same Council didn't even give our police officers a sufficient supply of PPE and hand sanitizer. How interesting that the same councilmembers - Hans Riemer (D - At-Large) and Andrew Friedson (D - District 1) spearheading the $1 billion tax cut for developers yesterday are also leading the charge to cut hazard pay for cops and firefighters. 

Now, even as the councilmembers' own $140,000 paychecks increase year after year, they want to again renege on labor agreements. County employees are counting on these agreements when planning the financial future of their families. The Council wants to take food off their tables during a pandemic, and turn it into cash for their campaign donors - and into future campaign checks for themselves.

It's outrageous.

Montgomery County Council using taxpayer funds to campaign against citizen ballot questions

October 13 email sent from Montgomery County Council
government email system urging recipients to vote against
citizen-proposed ballot questions

Montgomery County residents have been receiving frequent emails from County Council members in recent weeks urging them to vote against ballot questions proposed by County residents. Just one problem: these spam political campaign emails are paid for by you, the taxpayer. If a politician wishes to campaign against a ballot question, they can form a new campaign entity or use their own campaign funds, but they cannot use taxpayer funds. This use of taxpayer-funded government email systems for political campaigning should be reviewed by the Maryland Board of Elections, and the Inspector General's office.

I personally have received two of these emails in just the last two days from Councilmembers Andrew Friedson (D - District 1) and Hans Riemer (D - At-Large). I've previously received several emails from their same government accounts, which also urged me to vote against Questions B and D. The shady and illegal tactic is simply one more reason voters should vote FOR Questions B and D, and AGAINST Questions A and C.

The October 13 County government-sent email illegally urges
recipients to vote a certain way on ballot questions

The taxpayer-funded spam email blitz is only the newest unethical tactic the Council has deployed against citizen efforts to chip away at its authoritarian power. While the citizen-petitioned ballot questions each received the support of nearly 20,000 Montgomery County residents who signed the petitions, the Montgomery County Council placed its own deceptive ballot questions with no public, democratic process. 

Content in years past to wage expensive campaigns against citizen ballot questions, the Council upped the ante and the corruption this year. With no advance warning or public process, the Council simply gaveled two identically-worded poison pill questions onto the ballot at a virtual online meeting. The scheme is intended to fool voters into voting "Yes" on all four. Legal experts have advised that if all four ballot questions are approved, they will cancel each other out, and none of the changes citizens sought will take place.

Fine print at bottom of email confirms it
was sent "on behalf of Montgomery County, Maryland Government"

Question B would eliminate the Council's ability to override the existing property tax cap, as they did in 2016 to slam homeowners with a 9% property tax increase, to cover for their mismanagement of the County budget. Question D would eliminate the At-Large seats on the Council, and reorder the Council into 9 smaller districts. Questions A and C are the Council's poison pill questions that mimic the language of B and D. 

Fine print also declares the email "is part of
the Council's newsletter software," a taxpayer-funded
government communications platform

Making taxpayers fund their corrupt schemes is nothing new for the Montgomery County Council. My investigation in 2018 found that Councilmember Hans Riemer was charging taxpayers to fund both a political website (even though each councilmember already gets a free, taxpayer-funded website on the Council's website), and to pay for his gas when he traveled to private meetings with his campaign donors.

Montgomery County Council proposes creating its own illegal police force to pull you over

Proposal is illegal under

federal and state law

The Montgomery County Council is proposing to create its own police force, to replace the Montgomery County Police Department's role in traffic enforcement. This would be illegal under both federal and Maryland law, but that's not deterring them from trying to quietly move forward. Councilmembers have floated the idea with two local reporters in recent weeks, resulting in two low-key articles, one in The Washington Post and one on NBC Washington's website. Those, and a virtual town hall being held by one councilmember tonight, have largely evaded public attention.

Who would make up this new police force remains unclear. The Post article made vague references to "civilians" somehow gaining the authority to pull over and detain motorists. NBC Washington reports that it could be County bureaucratic employees who somehow gain this authority. Unfortunately for the Council, neither group can engage in such activity under the law. Which is why such a ridiculous idea isn't currently allowed anywhere in America.

In the case of civilians, the Council may have been inspired by an idea proposed in the District to have civilians be able to use an app to enforce traffic laws in Washington, D.C. One can only imagine the potential abuses of an army of "Karens" wielding a Stasi-style reporting app, but that was largely the goal, as yet another way to harass people committing the horrific offense of continuing to drive private automobiles.

Now, imagine Karen or a random bureaucrat empowered to pull you over and issue tickets and other penalties, with no way to defend yourself against any preposterous allegation designed to fill the County's dwindling coffers. Your crime might be your race, as if racism is somehow only found among sworn police officers, or a particular religious or political bumper sticker displayed on your vehicle. Let's not forget, it was our white County Planning Board chair who repeatedly called in police officers on members of a black church peacefully protesting at board meetings.

Having non-sworn civilians pulling people over in traffic would not only be a violation of federal and Maryland law, but it would also be a danger to those making the traffic stops. Who would pull over for a non-police vehicle, especially when a non-sworn bureaucrat would have no authority to make a stop? What happens if the driver detained is a criminal and has a violent response? How would tourists know non-police could pull them over in our jurisdiction? How many accidents will be caused by the confusion of non-police vehicles trying to pull over drivers on busy roads? And traffic stops are inherently very dangerous to make, as the number of police officers hit by vehicles while making such stops each year indicates.

Montgomery County has one of the most professional and highly-trained police forces in the nation. These men and women are prepared physically and mentally for one of the most difficult and demanding jobs in the world. Bureaucrats would not have anywhere close to the same preparation and judgement as these officers possess. And if they did, why and how would taxpayers fund what essentially would be a duplicative police academy and police department?

The bottom line is that what the Council is proposing is illegal. They've offered no details on their proposal, nothing is mentioned about it on the Council website, and there is so far no public process through which we the People can yet comment on this.

If you are concerned about your Constitutional rights and tax dollars, you may want to sign up for Councilmember Will Jawando's little-advertised "virtual town hall" tonight at 7:00 PM. Given the hush-hush nature of the event beyond the Montgomery County political cartel, it's unlikely he's expecting your virtual attendance.

Would you turn to your lawyer or hairdresser to perform emergency heart surgery? Likewise, most of the general public is more comfortable with professional police officers enforcing the law than with random bureaucrats. It's about time we also had a professional County Council. Maoist fever dreams like a personal police force are yet another distraction from the Council's failure to address the multiple crises they've created over the last two decades.

Loudoun County leader blasts Montgomery County for failure of understaffed 911 call center in teen's death

Montgomery County Council has

failed to fully-fund 911 call center staffing,

leaving 54 positions vacant

The Montgomery County Council has failed to adequately staff the county's 911 call center for years, leading to call takers working overtime, and being stressed and exhausted. In recent weeks, the call center has been criticized for its response to a 911 call from the Loudoun side of the Potomac River. By the time the first rescue unit arrived at the correct location, 36 minutes had passed.

"I am baffled by how poorly Montgomery County handled this," Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Chair Phyllis Randall said, according to the Washington Post. "How do you wait 17 minutes and then keep waiving Loudoun off, and saying, 'We're taking this call?' They need to work on their 911 center."

But the Post reports that the Montgomery County Council has not only failed to fully staff the 911 center, but is now dragging its feet in investigating the 911 center's failures in the drowning incident in which a 16-year-old family friend of Randall's died. Loudoun has already completed an investigation, and developed a 77-page report. Montgomery County? A Council "briefing is expected later this month," the Post's Dan Morse reported.

It's mind-boggling to consider the tens-of-billions of dollars in wasteful spending and kickbacks to its campaign donors the Council has approved over the last decade. They also managed to have $6.7 million in taxpayer funds vanish, in an embezzlement scheme that has yet to be investigated by the FBI. 

Let's not forget Council expenditures like the $900,000 over-budget Glen Echo Heights sewer pipe, or paying $22,000 for a security camera system that costs less than $1000 retail. And countless extraneous new executive-level positions with six-figure salaries, often filled by political allies of the Council. 

Yet they've failed to spend the necessary funds to staff the 911 call center - where the 911 system itself has experienced two outages in recent years. 

It's a County Council that cannot execute the most basic functions of government. Now, competing jurisdictions aren't only whipping Montgomery County's posterior in economic development, infrastructure and schools, they're also starting to call out its incompetent and feckless elected officials. Considering the local press won't, it's about time someone did.

Nine Districts for MoCo is on the ballot - and so is a poison pill from the Montgomery County Council

“The government closest to 

the people serves 

the people best” 

- Thomas Jefferson

The citizen group Nine Districts for MoCo's petitions have been approved by the Montgomery County Board of Elections, meaning that voters will have the chance in the November election to vote to change the structure of the Council from 5 district and 4 at-large seats to 9 district seats. Two key reasons the proposed question received strong support from residents were the oversized, gerrymandered districts that sprawl across the County, and that a majority of the Council all live in the same vicinity of Takoma Park, leaving upcounty voters in particular with less representation on the Council. Fearing the ballot question would be approved, the Montgomery County Council ginned up its own ballot question on the Council structure in the dark of night, to serve as a poison pill if voters approve the Nine Districts Question D.

The Council's Question C proposes to keep the Council as it is, but add an additional two district seats, at great additional annual cost for staff and operations. On its face, it would appear to be merely a selfish attempt by the current members to preserve their seats. And it certainly is that. But the Council above all seeks to sabotage the voters' will through Question C, just as it infamously did with the ambulance fee.

Even the order of the questions has been rigged by the corrupt Council. Note that its undemocratic ballot question, which was rammed through at the end of a session with no public process, input or comment, was placed before the citizen-endorsed Nine Districts Question D on the November ballot.

The farther down the ballot an office, question or referendum is, the less likely it is to be voted upon by less diligent voters. But the Council isn't merely hoping you'll tire out before you to get to Question D.

In fact, they're not worried if you vote for both - because if their poison pill Question C and the Nine Districts Question D both get approved by a majority of voters, likely out of confusion, the matter of changing the Council structure would then go to the courts. And we all know the Montgomery County cartel almost never loses in any court within the borders of Maryland.

This is why it's essential, if you are dissatisfied with the current Council, to vote FOR Question D and AGAINST Question C.

We all know that even if the Nine Districts Question D passes, that the Council will try its darnedest to once again gerrymander the districts to ensure that only one party can possibly win. They may be shaped even more absurdly than the wacky ones splattered across the map today.

But even these gerrymandered nine new districts would, by the rules of mathematics, have to be geographically smaller. Thomas Jefferson, one of the greatest thinkers in human history, said, “The government closest to the people serves the people best.” No longer would one tiny area within the downcounty have the power to control up to six out of the nine seats on the Council. And it would be far less likely for seven of the nine councilmembers to live downcounty, as they do now.

It's virtually unprecedented in County history to have a poison pill ballot question designed to sabotage another, where a victory by both sends the entire matter into legal oblivion. But then this Council increasingly has fought an unprecedented ideological war against the very constituents it represents.

So unpopular are its policies that residents approved term limits. And when energetic protesting of Council actions (and inaction) became too embarrassing in 2016-17, the Council literally locked its constituents out of the Council building permanently, turning 100 Maryland Avenue into a secure fortress. A Council of the People, a Council not suffering from paranoia and megalomania, doesn't have to lock out the public.

If locking the People out wasn't enough, the Council took another unprecedented step - it refused to engage in the all-American, democratic process of debating its political opponents in the last election. Civic associations were successfully pressured by the Montgomery County cartel to cancel all of their general election debates in 2018. Washington Post reporters Jennifer Barrios and Robert McCartney were fully aware of this, but chose not to cover it. In fact, they mysteriously never wrote a single sentence about the general election Council races in 2018.

Democracy dies in darkness, indeed.

It is once again time for the citizens to shine a light into that corrupt darkness, by voting FOR Question D to create nine compact districts, and AGAINST Question C.

The Council is again attempting to sabotage an election, this time by confusion. Just remember this handy guide to defeat them: "D" stands for democracy. "C" stands for corruption. Vote FOR Democracy and AGAINST Corruption, by voting FOR D and AGAINST C.

Photo via National Archives

Montgomery County Council's progressive credentials on the line in Defund the Police debate

Day 1 of the Montgomery County Council tackling the nationwide call of progressive activists to Defund the Police found the Council looking out of touch with the moment to some observers. Shortly after Councilmember Andrew Friedson (D - District 1) became the first elected official to publicly state he was reviewing correspondence on the topic, the Council released a public statement about their plans regarding police reform. Their specific 3-point platform of "set a higher standard for use of force by police, outlaw certain deadly tactics such as chokeholds, and require police officers to intervene if a fellow officer is committing a crime or violating department policy," fell flat with many of their progressive constituents.

For a Council that touts itself on the cutting edge of progressive policy, many saw the proposal as being years behind the current hot topic that has arisen out of the nationwide protests in the wake of the George Floyd murder case: defunding or abolishing the police. A Zoom meeting held by several councilmembers later Monday evening was criticized by some for having the formal announced panel dominated by elected and appointed public officials. Meanwhile, residents opposed to defunding the police warned of crime surges, chaos, higher gun sales, and the prospect of fleeing Montgomery County altogether if the Council were to defund the police.

Monday was also a day that some high-level Democrats nationwide began to express second thoughts about the Defund the Police slogan. "Joe Biden does not believe that police should be defunded," a Biden campaign spokesperson said in a statement. Prominent progressives countered that phrases once considered extreme have become mainstream in a short time. "Not long ago, 'Black Lives Matter' was *also* a rallying cry for justice that politicians worried polled too poorly, was too 'divisive' & required 'too much explanation,'" U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D - NY-14) tweeted. "Now Mitt Romney is saying it. Progress is a process. It’s normal to work through discomfort along the way."

It will be interesting to see which way the Council breaks on the issue. Montgomery County has clearly broken far to the left of establishment Democrats like Joe Biden in recent elections. Twitter was not low-volume in providing feedback to the Council on Day 1.

Montgomery County Council weighs defunding the police

A day after the Minneapolis City Council vowed to dissolve its police department, the Montgomery County Council is now examining whether it should "defund the police." Councilmember Andrew Friedson (D - District 1) says the Council has received almost 700 emails from constituents "advocating for defunding police, reforming police, reallocating resources to mental health services, housing initiatives, restorative justice, and more." The Councilman said on Facebook that "[w]e have many important conversations ahead."

The all-Democrat Council has been mostly silent on the nationwide issues of dissolving the police or defunding the police to this point. Progressives in Minneapolis quickly turned against very progressive Mayor Jacob Frey, who has pressed through radical reforms like ending single-family-home neighborhood zoning, when he declined to support the City Council plan to abolish its police department Saturday. With Montgomery County and Maryland veering sharply left in the last decade, it will be interesting to see how the County Council addresses these issues with progressive voters, who are now the decisive factor in Democratic primaries.

Judge denies restraining order for Montgomery County check program, but orders 25% of funds frozen until he rules on merits

A U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland judge has denied Montgomery County residents' request for a temporary restraining order to stop the County's controversial Emergency Assistance Relief Payment (EARP) cash distribution program that primarily benefits illegal immigrants. But Judge Peter J. Messitte said plaintiffs Sharon Bauer and Richard Jurgena are still likely to succeed on the strong merits of their case. For that reason, Messitte has ordered the County to freeze 25% of the $10 million in the EARP fund until he can rule on the merits of the case.

Messitte wrote in his opinion that Bauer and Jurgena are likely to prevail on the question of whether the County Council violated federal law, which states that illegal immigrants are not eligible for any state or local public benefit that is not authorized by a law passed by the state legislature. He said Montgomery County does not deny, and that no one could credibly argue, that the EARP payments are not a public benefit.

Bauer and Jurgena will also suffer irreparable harm from the EARP program, Messitte agreed. He said that the County has distributed the EARP checks so quickly to recipients that there is virtually no way to recover those funds. Messitte said the cost could end up raising the property taxes of Bauer and Jurgena, and that the court can provide no relief or compensation to offset their higher taxes.

Messitte did find that the EARP program is in "the public interest." Based on Montgomery County's description of the program, he wrote, the beneficiaries are in severe financial distress due to the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown. Messitte said the funds are likely to go to urgent needs like food and housing.

The judge will rule on the merits of the case at a later date. But under his preliminary opinion,  the County cannot spend the remaining 25% of the $10 million fund until Messitte issues his ruling in the case. That fund became even more controversial after the County Council quietly appropriated an additional $5 million more than the public was notified of in the beginning. 

The case was brought by right-wing government watchdog group Judicial Watch, and is Sharon Bauer, et al v. Marc Elrich et al.

Did Montgomery County really add 500 hospital beds for coronavirus patients?

A week after declaring surge 

capacity met, County now says 

there aren't enough beds to

reopen Montgomery County

Montgomery County officials attempted to address growing concerns over their lack of defined strategy for ending the coronavirus lockdown yesterday. In a streamed Zoom meeting, County Executive Marc Elrich said he thought the current statistics might point toward reopening the county in one or two weeks. But one number that Health Director Travis Gayles expressed concern about was ICU hospital bed capacity, and that four of the county's hospitals were at-capacity for ICU beds over the last week. This would make it difficult to handle a surge in new patients if a new wave of Covid-19 infections were to break out a few weeks after the Stay-at-Home order would be lifted.

Now, you may remember the county was 500 beds short of the projected need when the coronavirus pandemic began. On April 1, with great fanfare from their friends in the local media, the Montgomery County Council declared it was appropriating $10 million for county hospitals to add those 500 beds. Keep in mind, this is several hospitals' worth of beds.

To those more skeptical than our local press, this sounded like a hefty degree of magical thinking. If you know anything about construction, the regulatory hoops alone would have tied such expansion up for months. Permits would have to be processed, construction work would have to pass inspection. Not to mention that the work would have to be put out for bid, contractors selected, etc. The very expensive beds themselves - and all related equipment that is needed for each bed, particularly in an ICU setting - have to be ordered and shipped.

Just last week, Gayles told Bethesda Magazine in an email that - incredibly - this David Copperfield act had been magically pulled off. In only 41 days, Gayles wrote, Montgomery County hospitals had added all 500 beds. Interestingly, with all of the news cameras hanging out at local hospitals these days, we never saw footage of these new rooms or wings being opened on the TV news.

Ten days ago, we were told we had enough beds to handle a coronavirus surge. Yesterday, still under lockdown before any such surge has even taken place, we were told that a lack of bed capacity is now a primary reason the County cannot reopen its economy.

Something doesn't add up here.

Photo courtesy Hill-Rom

Petition to create 9 Montgomery County Council districts can now be signed electronically online

An effort to create better representation for residents on the Montgomery County Council has gotten a new jolt of energy. Nine Districts for MoCo, a grassroots organization, has been collecting signatures to place a question on the November ballot that would eliminate the At-Large seats on the Council. Instead, the Council would have 9 seats that each represent a smaller district of the county. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Board of Elections has given the group permission to collect signatures online. Registered voters can now sign the petition electronically, through the organization's website.

The At-Large seats are seen as a way for developers and special interests to get 4 votes to override parochial neighborhood concerns. Needless to say, the Montgomery County political cartel is not pleased about the Nine Districts for MoCo effort. At one public hearing by the Charter Review Commission, four commissioners tried to prevent Nine Districts for MoCo Chair Kimblyn Persaud from testifying on a fictional technicality, before realizing they didn't have the votes to stop her from speaking.

I strongly endorse this effort. Unlike past proposals, this does not reduce the number of Council members in a County that is rapidly growing in population. What it does do is create smaller, more manageable districts, and Councilmembers who will literally be closer to their constituents and their neighborhood issues. 

Growing discontent over Montgomery County's data-free coronavirus reopening strategy

Montgomery County's "roadmap" for reopening
doesn't define any targets to be met

There has been growing concern over the last few days about Montgomery County's blueprint for reopening, after most of the state entered a phase one reopening last Friday, while the Montgomery County Council passed an indefinite extension of Stay-at-Home orders. Prominent business leaders like David Blair, business owners, and even some municipal elected officials have asked what Montgomery officials' precise plan and data measurements are. The issue is separate from the question of whether or not a continued lockdown is wise; the point of controversy for many is that there is currently no roadmap or metric for reopening the economy.

With a new wave of mass layoffs hitting the county, discontent with the rudderless direction is rising in many quarters. After receiving some blowback, Montgomery County Councilman Evan Glass posted a Powerpoint-style graphic (shown above) on Facebook and Twitter. "Here's the roadmap," Glass declared authoritatively. But the "roadmap" only gave a vague wishlist of trends, not the specific targets that would be met, nor the specific length of time those targets would have to be met to reopen. Five different "sustained decrease" trends are listed, but unlike federal and state plans, the time-span of "sustained" is only defined for one ("new cases in an environment of increased testing" - and what qualifies as "an enviroment of increased testing" is undefined).

Glass promised a dashboard of County-level coronavirus statistics heretofore withheld from the public would be online later this week. But that is a totally separate issue. Raw data doesn't tell us what the plan is, and what the data needs to show us in what timeframe, to reopen.

Again, that's not to say it is wise or unwise to reopen now. But it would be wise to have an actual plan with targets that can be met or not met. After all, we may be facing a devastating second wave of hospitalizations in about three weeks, if Gov. Larry Hogan was premature in loosening Stay-at-Home orders last Friday. Maryland did not meet all of the federal criteria for reopening, so there is a risk.

The future is uncertain. But we need leadership to tell us how we are going to tackle the problem, which is the only certainty we can have at this point.

Montgomery County $5 million check program quietly doubles to $10M, court filing reveals

County in legal jeopardy over program 

it says has already disbursed $1M

Montgomery County officials told the public that they had appropriated $5 million to disburse as cash payouts to residents who do not qualify for federal coronavirus relief funds. But a new court filing shows that the program has quietly doubled to $10 million without public knowledge. The explosion in size of the check program has only come to light in a letter from County Attorney Marc P. Hansen filed yesterday in U.S. District Court. This letter was in response to the lawsuit right-wing government watchdog group Judicial Watch recently filed against the County, which alleges that the check program is in violation of federal law because Maryland has never passed legislation to allow Montgomery County to disburse cash payments to residents who are illegally present in the United States.

Hansen's letter states that "[i]t has come to our attention that the County has appropriated ten million dollars for the challenged EARP program." The County never publicly announced an appropriation of another $5 million for the program since its original press release. Hansen also confirms that "one million dollars has been disbursed as of this time." The money will be moving quickly out the door, according to Hansen: "It is anticipated that the balance of the appropriated funds will be distributed by the end of the first week of June," he writes to U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messite.

Photo via WhiteHouse.gov

Montgomery County Councilman called out for violating MD Stay at Home order

Largely-Republican protesters rallying to defy their states' Stay-at-Home orders across the nation this weekend had an unlikely Democratic ally in Montgomery County. County Councilmember Evan Glass ventured far from his Silver Spring neighborhood to join a gathering of hundreds outside Suburban Hospital Saturday morning. The crowd was there to see a flyover by the U.S. Navy Blue Angels and Air Force Thunderbirds that was actually meant to thank frontline medical personnel at the hospital, who watched from a hospital rooftop.

The gathering was not only in violation of Maryland's Stay at Home order, but the Pentagon had explicitly directed the public to watch the jets from their homes, and not to travel to the hospitals where pilots would fly over to thank healthcare professionals - not elected officials from Montgomery County. Councilmember Andrew Friedson was also in attendance, but said in a Facebook post that he remained on the other side of the hospital away from the crowd.

The Pentagon's official announcement explicitly told
the public to stay home, and "refrain from traveling
to see the flyover." (Photo: Chip Py/Facebook)

One constituent took Glass to task over his violation of the Stay at Home order on Facebook. "Council Members are putting others at risk by attending this non essential event that wasn’t supposed to be attended. Great example y’all," wrote Chip Py. "Guilty," Glass wrote in reply.

According to Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan's March 30 Stay at Home order, "no Maryland resident should leave their home unless it is for an essential job or for an essential reason, such as obtaining food or medicine, seeking urgent medical attention, or for other necessary purposes." In issuing his order, Hogan said, "This is a deadly public health crisis—we are no longer asking or suggesting that Marylanders stay home, we are directing them to do so. No Maryland resident should be leaving their home unless it is for an essential job or for an essential reason such as obtaining food or medicine, seeking urgent medical attention, or for other necessary purposes."

The Pentagon's own statement directed the public to "observe the flyover from the safety of their home quarantine...refrain from traveling to see the flyover. Stay home!"

Oops.

The Councilmen put the health and lives of their constituents at risk by illegally traveling for starters, and then joining in an illegal gathering, despite being warned by Maryland and federal officials not to do so. Had police on the scene enforced Hogan's directive, Glass and Friedson could have faced "imprisonment not exceeding one year or a fine not exceeding $5,000 or both," according to the text of the Stay-at-Home order.

Beyond the serious health and safety implications, there was the attempt to hijack a moment recognizing health heroes at Suburban Hospital for political gain by the Council. This was the doctors' and nurses' moment, not the Council's.

Interestingly but predictably, no local media reports pointed out the councilmen had broken the law by traveling to and attending the flyover gathering. The Montgomery County cartel's control of the local press again proves beneficial to elected officials convinced our laws don't apply to them. I must admit, the flyover wasn't anywhere close to as exciting for those of us who obeyed state and federal orders to watch from home as it was for our wayfaring County politicians.

Elected officials have to be held to a higher standard. Councilmembers breaking the Stay-at-Home order not only put themselves, Suburban's staff, and all of us at risk, but undermine the spirit of the public to continue to follow Stay-at-Home and social distancing guidelines. Covid-19 cases continued to rise steadily, a number of negative records were set, and Montgomery County went to Blue Alert with critical care beds "mostly filled" on the same weekend the Council crashed the Suburban flyover.

It turns out that having a bursting bag of developer campaign cash, and local media allies eager to amplify your imagined exploits in office, don't necessarily translate into possessing common sense or basic leadership skills.

Heckuva job, Brownie!

Montgomery County health officer orders face masks required in stores starting Monday for coronavirus

Once again a government official has had to step in to act during the coronavirus crisis while the Montgomery County Council dithered. Last evening, County Health Officer Dr. Travis Gayles issued an order requiring customers to wear masks when inside grocery stores, pharmacies and "large chain retail establishments," effective Monday, April 13, 2020. The order also requires these stores to limit the number of customers allowed in at any one time, and to facilitate social distancing through the use of floor markings.

Giant had already announced it would begin limiting the number of customers in its stores prior to Gayles' order being issued.

Gayles also ordered the affected businesses to provide clean restrooms stocked with soap and hand sanitizer for their employees, and to allow them to wash their hands every 30 minutes. He did not mandate face coverings for employees, but ordered that employers allow them to be worn. Physical barriers between customers and employees should be erected, Gayles said, and widely-used equipment like shopping carts should be cleaned, and wipes provided for customers to use to clean them.

Face masks are expected to be largely improvised or homemade at this point, as even cloth masks are selling out online and in what few stores carried them. Surgical and N95 masks were sold out online and in stores four weeks ago, and Gayles discouraged their use by non-medical professionals.

However, cloth masks, bandannas, t-shirts and other improvised masks do not have the same filtration and moisture controls that professional-quality surgical masks provide. Only N95s provide maximum protection in direct contact with individuals infected with covid-19.

Federal officials have repeatedly lied about masks from the beginning of the crisis. First, they falsely claimed that surgical masks would not reduce your chances of catching the virus. Now they claim going into stores looking like a bank robber provides the same protection as a professional surgical mask, again for the sole reason of not wanting to force mask manufacturers to produce enough for the general public and medical professionals. The government has known since 2002 that a pandemic like this was coming, and yet failed to stockpile and domestically produce enough masks to protect its taxpayers despite nearly two decades to prepare.

Cloth masks are good if you fancy
yourself a train robber in the Old West.
Protecting you from covid-19...not so much

The County mask order, as a result, is simply an additional step that will reduce the spread of the virus, by reducing the airborne droplets generated by infected customers. Cloth masks will not hold in or keep out bacteria, viruses and contaminants to the degree that a surgical mask would. They are also heavier and more uncomfortable than lightweight surgical masks. And they become petri dishes themselves, as they have no moisture-retardant material like a medical grade mask.

"I fully support the County health order requiring people wear face coverings in grocery stores, pharmacies, and large chain retail establishments," County Executive Marc Elrich said after Gayles issued the order. But, in light of the limitations I referenced in the previous paragraph, Elrich urged residents to stay home as much as possible, and not forgo social distancing measures while wearing a mask.

This is yet the latest case of a government official having to take immediate action to protect the public while the County Council slept at the switch during the pandemic. Councilmembers spent so many days trying to get on television to promote themselves via their proposed mask bill that they had no time to actually pass the bill. Gayles finally stepped in to immediately issue the order. Last month, the Council and Montgomery County Public Schools leaders hemmed and hawed about whether or not to close schools, primarily for political and ideological reasons. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan then stepped in and ordered schools closed statewide.

Hogan, Elrich and Gayles have taken leadership roles during the crisis. The Council has "led from behind," struggling to stay relevant as other officials have effectively run the county for the last six weeks in their absence - an absence that began with a two-week Council vacation, just as the pandemic began in February.

Montgomery County Council proposes property tax hike

The Montgomery County Council is proposing to raise property taxes in the FY-2021 budget. No councilmember has announced this publicly, but the planned tax hike was revealed in a newspaper announcement the Council is required by law to publish before raising taxes.

A 4.5% property tax increase has been proposed. The Council recently criticized County Executive Marc Elrich for proposing a tax increase, but now are proposing one themselves. A public hearing on the tax increase has been scheduled for 1:30 PM on April 21, 2020.

Despite the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation's guidelines to allow residents to testify live by telephone, the Council is currently not allowing residents to do so, despite the Council having used videoconferencing to promote themselves this week. Residents may only send written or emailed comments on the tax increase, or recorded audio/video statements, and have been banned from entering the Council Office Building since the coronavirus outbreak began in the county.

No one can yet predict the full economic impact of the coronavirus shutdown, but it certainly will be significant. Raising everyone's tax bills is certainly a bold move amidst a worldwide pandemic and economic collapse.

The Council has raised property taxes every year this past decade except in 2014, when they gave a paltry $12 average tax cut during an election year. In 2016, the Council raised property taxes a whopping 9%, which translated to 10 or 11% for a large number of residents, due to rising assessments. But the tax hike failed to generate the expected revenue. In fact, revenue is now declining, after many wealthy residents fled to lower-tax jurisdictions in the region.

Earlier this year, the Council sought new taxing powers from the Maryland General Assembly. They hope to be able to raise income taxes beyond the current limit allowed, and to add additional property taxes based on what category of property you own.

Montgomery County Republican Party Chair Alexander A. Bush called the proposed tax increase "obscene," noting the flood of unemployment claims being filed by County residents, and the many coronavirus-related business closures. Bush strongly urged the Council to allow testimony by telephone at the public hearing.