Committee Will Look at Snow Removal in January

Happy holidays, everyone. I know many of you are traveling around the holidays, so I wanted to offer a few words about snow.

Although overall, the County received good marks for its snow removal operations following a storm of this magnitude, I am concerned that some residents may not have received the level of service that they expected. I think a briefing from representatives of the County’s Department of Transportation on their general procedures—and what went right and what went wrong this past week—will help us understand the operation. I also think a briefing will help improve snow removal procedures throughout the County. Council Vice President Valerie Ervin and Councilmember Roger Berliner also have asked that we to look into how the County responded to the winter storm of Dec. 19-20. The storm dumped amounts of snow ranging from 16 to 24 inches around the region.

Therefore, I am going to invite County transportation officials to appear before the Council’s Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment Committee—which I chair—soon after the Council returns in January from our winter recess.

County's Holiday Schedule

Have a happy holiday season, everyone. For your reference, here's the county's holiday schedule:

Montgomery County government will observe the following holiday schedule for Christmas Day on Friday, December 25 and New Year’s Day on Friday, January 1:
County Offices -- closed
Libraries -- closed
County liquor stores – closed
Ride On – Sunday schedule; (Christmas Eve – late evening service will be limited
to service departing before or at 10 p.m.)
Metrobus – Sunday schedule
Metrorail – Sunday schedule
Parking at public garages, lots, curbside meters – free
Refuse/recycling pick-up – no collection*
Transfer Station – closed
MCPS Administrative Offices – closed
State offices & courts – closed
*collection provided one day later for remainder of week (last collection day is Saturday)

Stressing Priorities at Legislative Breakfast

Yesterday I spoke spoke at the Committee for Montgomery’s annual legislative breakfast. A virtual “who’s who” of state and local politics, the breakfast traditionally kicks off local preparations for the upcoming General Assembly.

I joined guest speakers Maryland House of Delegates’ Speaker Michael Busch, U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, U.S. Congressmen Chris Van Hollen and Donna Edwards, and County Executive Ike Leggett.

My remarks were as follows:

Thank you, Charles, for that warm and gracious introduction. Let me also give a shout out to our Master of Ceremonies, Henry Hailstock for your steadfast commitment to this community. Let’s give it up for Henry.

I am really honored to be standing here as the President of the Montgomery County Council, at such a critical juncture in our community’s history.

It is always moving to attend this breakfast where Montgomery County comes together to send a unified and decisive message to our representatives in Annapolis about our pressing priorities.

Let me personally thank Speaker Mike Busch for recognizing Montgomery County’s importance by being here today and giving us his insights on how next year’s challenging legislative session will unfold. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I strongly concur with our County Executive’s bold call for political action. We must aggressively step up our efforts in Annapolis, and with solidarity, we can become a powerful force for safeguarding our county’s fiscal future. And as public officials that should be our foremost obligation.

I am especially pleased to be here with my colleagues on the County Council—Council Vice President Valerie Ervin, George Leventhal, Phil Andrews, Roger Berliner, Nancy Navarro, Mike Knapp and Duchy Trachtenberg. Please will my colleagues—both members and staff please stand. I don’t think anyone in this room appreciates how hard Montgomery County Council members and their staffs work on behalf of the county.

I am extremely confident that working closely together in 2010 we will do everything as the front-line legislative body to safeguard our nearly 1 million residents and keep our county on track.

Every year it is essential that our voice be heard loudly in Annapolis, but this year it is paramount and exceedingly urgent that we all speak as one.

As you see every day across our diverse communities, our county is facing a stark reality check.

Like never before, our residents have much less with which to pay their bills, so we have much less revenue to pay for needed County services.

And this diminishing revenue cycle (call it a double-whammy) continues unabated. This is what scares us all!

Faced with these growing and severe fiscal constraints, we have extremely tough, almost unacceptable choices, to consider.

But in this painful process we will not lose sight of our community’s bedrock priorities.

We must keep our county’s economy stable and growing and ensure that it remains as the indispensable engine driving our state’s economy.

We must keep our school system strong and vibrant, now a model for the nation.

We must have a reliable transportation network that moves people today and will move future generations.

We must keep our families safe and secure and protect Montgomery County’s wonderful quality of life—the envy of so many.

And, finally, we must continue to provide a critical lifeline to our residents in need.

But first things first!

I’ve never been known for mincing my words. I try to call it as I see it. And this is how I see it.

We are going to have to engage in some very difficult and frank conversations at the federal, state and local level.

We “kicked the can down the road” on so many financial decisions that we have run out of road.

We must get our financial houses in order, in the state and right here in Montgomery County.

Every tax dollar we receive is an act of trust by our residents. How we spend that dollar defines whether we are worthy of that trust.

With the county facing a nearly 610 million dollar gap next year and the state contending with a 2 billion dollar shortfall, we will all be forced to make some tough calls.
Everything will be on the table.

That doesn’t even include the 64 million dollars Montgomery County will have to save out of our current budget to balance this year’s books. Nothing will be simple this year.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND JOBS

Without question, my top priority as County Council president will be to restart our economic engine and make sure it stays ignited.

Nothing else works without a dynamic and dependable economy. Right now our economy is stalled. If we don’t act now, we will face catastrophic consequences.

Here’s a startling fact: In the last 12 months, 14,000 Montgomery County residents have lost their jobs. Let me repeat: 14,000!

Our unemployment rate is higher than it has been in recorded history, and that number excludes those who have given up looking for a job or are underemployed.

This is a devastating blow, and it creates negative ripple effects across our county. We cannot afford to let jobs leave Montgomery County.

To keep our engine humming, we must find ways to attract and retain businesses that provide solid careers and good paying jobs for our residents. As part of the metropolitan Washington area, we’re competing with some top-notch jurisdictions for coveted industries.

You also may be stunned to hear: our county is next to last in the region in job growth this decade, while Fairfax County has added nearly 43,000 jobs since 2001. We have too many assets in our county to let Fairfax or any of our neighbors beat us when it comes to offering attractive job opportunities.

We have to become more competitive to entice the type of biotechnology, clean energy, defense, and government jobs, given our advantageous strategic location. That can stimulate our economy over the next few emergency years and establish vital business sectors for the long-term.

We currently have initiatives underway to address these unprecedented economic problems, much to the credit of the County Executive and his able Economic Development Director.

But many more aggressive steps need to be taken, across our economy and in full concert with our extraordinary business community.

That is why I am proposing that we create a completely new Economic Development Authority, on a magnitude and design that has not been aggressively pursued before in Montgomery County.

Dire times require bold solutions.

We need an infusion of new investments. We need to stabilize certain vital sectors, like retail and the construction industries. We need the banking community to reliably supply capital to small businesses.

We need to partner with the federal and state governments for building-block grants in such growth areas as health care, IT and energy. Our universities need to align their research and applied enterprises with the county’s long- term economic development priorities.

We have to formulate workable enterprise zones for maximizing the entrepreneurial spirit. And our scientific laboratories should be ahead of the curve in uncovering the next wave of cutting-edge and market-ready technology.

And of course we need new funds and creative incentives to effectively to do this, all configured within this Authority concept.

Fundamentally, I am talking about a uniquely public-private partnership, which leverages the best minds, resources and institutions--all aimed at spring boarding our economy forward.

For the Montgomery County Economic Development Authority to be successful we need to empower it with decisive capability and have it led by business leaders.

But all innovative ideas and best practices will be thoroughly examined. I will be meeting very soon with the Executive staff, my Council colleagues and leaders from our business community to develop the best approach.

EDUCATION

Our future economic vitality depends in large part on our diversified and well-trained work force, and that is where our world-class school system enters the picture.

Montgomery County Public Schools has long been recognized as one of the best school systems in the nation.

The success our students are achieving is nothing short of remarkable. The graduation rate is tops in the nation, according to the reputable Education Week.

MCPS is focused on doing what it takes to get every child ready for college and the world of work. And we’re going to need every one of these children to keep our county strong.

This County Council and this community have been totally committed to the success of our students. We have always invested heavily in our schools. We know its money extremely well spent. Our commitment to public education will never change.

This year we’re facing the unfortunate reality that even funding a bare bones budget will be a real challenge.

We face an extraordinarily difficult problem with the “maintenance of effort” issue. I do not believe our school system – or the county government and its taxpayers – should face a stiff penalty because we failed to make “maintenance of effort” this year.

The State Board of Education will do itself a huge disservice if it penalizes us for failing to spend money that was not needed by the school system.

Montgomery County schools are the model system for the entire state in so many ways. If you penalize us for being the leader and doing the right thing, what does that say to every other school system?

TRANSPORTATION

To strengthen our economy, we must invest in transportation infrastructure. Businesses can’t thrive in Montgomery County if their employees are stuck in traffic. This jeopardizes commerce, operations and productivity.

That means enhanced transit options and a better road network.

Working effectively with our federal and state representatives, we need maximum funds to build two of the best light rail systems in the country, the Corridor Cities Transitway and the Purple Line.

We are looking forward to increased economic opportunities and jobs from the Base Realignment and Closure Commission’s decision to merge Walter Reed and Naval Medical. But it will not be successful without commensurate infrastructure support.

We received good news last week about a 4.4 million dollar federal funding commitment to upgrade the roads around NIH and the Naval Medical Center. Thank you Members of Congress Chris Van Hollen and Donna Edwards and Senators Ben Cardin and Barbara Mikulski.

We will also be vigilant and vocal in making sure Metro doesn’t fall into further disrepair. And similarly, we must move forward on widening I-270.

We feel so strongly about keeping people and commerce moving that Montgomery County took the unprecedented step of using millions of County dollars to keep several state transportation projects on schedule.

We can’t afford to keep doing this – not with the kind of red ink we are staring at for the foreseeable future.

PUBLIC SAFETY, ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIAL SAFETY

We often take for granted our outstanding public safety forces in Montgomery County. Every day, the brave men and women who make up our police and fire rescue departments are keeping us safe and secure.

How confident we are when facing an emergency that with just a phone call help will instantly be on the way? That is a priceless security blanket. Even with these unsettling budget woes, our exemplary public safety services will be protected.

Our character as a community is often determined by how we care for our most needy and for our surrounding natural resources.

Few communities can match our dedication to building an underlying social service safety net for vulnerable residents.

And as stewards, we see the wisdom of pursuing strong environmental protections for future generations.
Yes, it true that we’ll likely see cuts across the board, but we are committed to these objectives.

As I close this morning, I ask you to consider these challenges and the opportunities before us.

We have always done our part in providing resources from Montgomery County to fund needs for other parts of the state. In fact, for every dollar we send to Annapolis, we only get back 18 cents.

That means the State’s success greatly depends on Montgomery County’s success. Solving our county’s budget crisis is in everyone’s best interest around the state.

Our county is resilient and we will emerge from this downturn poised for great achievements.

I look around this room.

I see successful people in business.

I see powerful advocates for residents and communities alike.

I see public officials who have made an enormous difference with their leadership.

I see so many of you who have overcome great challenges and are powerful success stories that make folks across this country proud.

Together, we are at a juncture when all of our extraordinary experiences, knowledge, talents, energy and fortitude must be focused on getting Montgomery County back on track.

I am inherently an optimist about the future ahead, and you should be too.

Winston Churchill said it best: “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”

Won’t you join me in the Optimist’s Club?

Thank you.

Bringing Biotech to Montgomery

Today the Montgomery County Biosciences Task Force released its recommendations to position Montgomery County as a “globally recognized leader in advancing bioscience research and development, and in translating scientific discoveries into commercially available products that benefit human health.” It notes that Montgomery County is the region’s undisputed biotech leader, but that it is not growing at a rate commensurate with its inherent potential. It is time for that to change.

As the state’s economic engine, Montgomery County must attract and retain businesses that provide good jobs to our residents. As a part of the metropolitan Washington area, we’re competing with some top-notch jurisdictions for coveted industries—including and especially biotechnology. We need the industries that represent our economic future, and we’re going to have to fight hard to get them.

As the newly elected Council President, I’m making jobs my top priority. Fourteen thousand fewer Montgomery County residents have jobs right now than had jobs at this time last year. By putting our muscle behind biotechnology, we can not only get more jobs in the county, but we can get good jobs for our residents.

Conditions in the past have required us to look at different priorities other than economic development. But now, we’re putting economic development first in order to get Montgomery County back on track.

My hat is off to the Biosciences Task Force, and I’m looking forward to putting its good ideas to work.

Appearing on Political Pulse

Tune in to the Political Pulse talk show on t.v. channel 16 this weekend. I’ll talk about the recent election of County Council president; the County’s budget deficit; transportation and traffic issues; and the County’s plan to attract new employers.

Air times:
Thurs, December 10th, at 9:00 p.m.
Fri-Sun, December 11th-December 13th, at 6:00 p.m.
Tues, December 15th, at 9:30 p.m.

Appearing on Kojo Nnamdi's Politics Hour

Tune in to Kojo Nnamdi’s Politics Hour tomorrow at noon. I will talk about my vision as the newly elected Council President, including our budget challenges, master plans and jobs. The show airs on WAMU 88.5 FM at 12:00. I’m the second guest, so you’ll hear me around 12:30.

My Priorities for the Coming Year

I'm humbled and gratified by having been elected Council President yesterday. With Valerie Ervin as Vice President, this is the first time since the 1995-96 term that the Council has had two female officers. I was sworn in immediately after the vote and will serve for one year.

I plan to focus on the economy as my top priority, as the County now faces a reality check. Our unemployment rate is higher than it has been in our recorded history. Our citizens have less with which to pay their bills, so we have less revenue to pay the County's bills. Anybody who balances a checkbook knows that we must make sacrifices and tighten our belts.

To achieve that, I will focus on three priorities this year. First, we need the County Executive to send us an aggressive cost cutting plan for the rest of the fiscal year. We have wonderful programs, but we can only provide those that the taxpayers, our bosses, can pay for. Second, I ask all of my colleagues to make sure that for every piece of legislation we consider, we carefully examine its fiscal costs and the economic impact on our residents. No new regulation is "free" or without some burden on taxpayers. Third, we need to engage in a full court press on advancing the County 's economic development goals.

At the entrance to my office, I keep a plaque with my favorite Winston Churchill quote, "Never, never, never give up." That speaks to me of the spirit and guts that our citizens bring to their lives every day. But Churchill was not just tough. He was also smart. So I pledge to follow another one of his observations, "Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen."

On that note, I encourage you to let me know your thoughts as we move into the new year. You can e-mail me at councilmember.floreen@montgomerycountymd.gov. Yes, our challenges are big this year, but they aren't bigger than our commitment and our ability to solve them if we all work together. I know we can keep Montgomery County on track as the great place it is to live and work.