Make sure your phone is charged, and that you have fresh batteries in your flashlight. Keep a battery-powered radio nearby, and retrieve any objects that might be blown around by winds from your yard or balcony.
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| Jessica Lewis, Director of Procurement for the City of Rockville |
Information sessions, exhibits and strategy sessions with city employees will help you find out if your services or products are needed by the city. You'll also receive advice on how to most effectively to bid on procurement opportunities, and how to use the city's online vendor collaboration portal.
A continental breakfast will be served during the event. If you cannot attend, the event will be available online. You can register for the virtual option on the same page as the in-person registration.Minority-, female-, disabled- or veteran-owned businesses are especially encouraged to attend the event. Seating will be limited, so don't delay in registering.
“Chief Goldstein has given this County so much since he first started with the Kensington Volunteer Fire Department in 1987,” County Executive Marc Elrich said in a statement this morning. “We have leaned on his expertise and skills as a leader and watched the department grow under his leadership. Over the past few years, Chief Goldstein has worked with me and other County leaders to make this a smooth transition and I thank him for his service to the men and women of MCFRS and the people of this County.”
Goldstein has accepted the Fire Chief position for Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue in Kelso, Washington and will begin serving in that post July 17. “It is my honor and pleasure to be part of this great department and to have the opportunity to serve as your fire chief,” Goldstein said in a statement.
Bill 18-23, co-sponsored by Councilmember Dawn Leudtke (D - District 7), would create a new office, called the Community Zoning and Land Use Resource Office. It would completely gut the functions of the People's Counsel that made it beneficial for residents, but a pain for development interests. The "officer' of the new office would no longer be an attorney. They would no longer be allowed to participate or advocate for the public in administrative proceedings. That would be a big win for developers, as the People's Counsel as currently defined in County code can introduce evidence, call and cross-examine witnesses, and point out when the County or a developer is in violation of County code and regulations.
The reason this is happening is that County Executive Marc Elrich (D) has made a firm point of wanting to have funding for the Office of the People's Counsel finally restored in the FY-2024 operating budget. Much like the bait-and-switch soundalike bills on expanding the Council size and rent stabilization, which sounded like what advocates wanted but prevent the substantive change of the competing proposals, the "Community Zoning and Land Use Resource Office" is as much like the Office of the People's Counsel as the German Democratic Republic was democratic.
In short, Bill 18-23 is a totally-cynical move to kill off the People's Counsel permanently, as it is getting harder and harder for the Council to explain year after year why it is not funding an office that exists solely to help residents. As you can imagine, it's difficult to publicly announce that you don't want to fund an office that exists solely to help your constituents and protect their interests. Thus the bait-and-switch. A public hearing on Bill 18-23 is currently scheduled for April 18, 2023 at 1:30 PM.
