Holiday Schedule for The Fourth of July

Here's our holiday schedule for the Fourth of July:

County Offices – closed
Libraries – closed
DLC Liquor & Wine Stores (DLC) – all stores will be open 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Recreation – Aquatics facilities open until 6 p.m., except the Germantown Indoor Swim Center, which will close at 3 p.m.  All other classes and programs are canceled. Administrative office, senior centers and recreation centers are closed;
Montgomery Parks  - for special programs, events and operating schedule, including Brookside Gardens, ice rinks and tennis centers, visit www.MontgomeryParks.org
Ride On – Saturday Schedule 
Metrorail – Information available at www.wmata.com
Metrobus – Information available at www.wmata.com
TRiPS Commuter Store at Silver Spring Transit Center – open
TRiPS Mobile Commuter Store – closed
County Refuse/recycling pickup – No collection. Collection will slide by one day.  For information on slide schedule go to  https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/sws/holidays/ 
The Shady Grove Processing Facility and Transfer Station –  closed
Parking at public garages, lots, curbside meters – free
State offices and courts – closed

Primary Election Day - Tuesday, June 26th, 2018 7:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Tomorrow is Primary Election Day. Polling places will be open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. You must go to your assigned polling place to cast a ballot.

Be prepared and visit  www.777vote.org to make sure your registration is current, to find your polling place, and for other useful information.

Preliminary Primary Election Returns available on County Website

Here's information to stay up-to-date with Primary Election Day information on Tuesday, June 26:

Up-to-the moment Election Day results for the June 26 Primary Election will be available after the polls close on the website of the Montgomery County Board of Elections at 777vote.org.

Votes cast during Early Voting will be counted on Election Day and released shortly after 8:00 p.m. Known, unofficial, results from Election Day will be available beginning at 9:20 p.m. and will be updated every 25 minutes. Absentee and Provisional ballots will be counted beginning June 28 with complete, unofficial results expected by July 10.

The direct link to the Board of Elections’ Election Night results page is www.777vote.org/electionresults/elec_results.html. Statewide election results will be available at www.elections.maryland.gov.

Our website, www.777vote.org, which can also be accessed at montgomerycountymd.gov/elections, is your one stop source of information about the Primary Election in Montgomery County, including an official polling place locator, a list of all candidates on the Montgomery County ballot and information on voting by mail, maps of districts and precincts, and a media kit on the election, as well as a link to the Maryland State Board of Elections.

For more information, contact Marjorie Roher at 240-777-8625, or via e-mail at margie.roher@montgomerycountymd.gov. You may also call 240-777-VOTE, visit www.777vote.org, the Maryland State Board of Elections’ website at http://elections.maryland.gov, or follow the Montgomery County Board of Elections on Facebook or Twitter.

Your Time, Your Voice, Your Vote!

Media Contact: Marjorie Roher, 240-777-8625

Council Approves Legislation to Simplify the Senior Property Tax Credit application and to include Surviving Spouses of Veterans.

Today we unanimously approved Expedited Bill 17-18, Property Tax Credit - Elderly Individuals and Retired Military Services Members – Application. This legislation streamlines the application process for elderly individuals and retired military services members to receive the property tax credit, and  removes the requirement for an individual to apply every year that the individual is eligible to receive the credit. Instead, an individual would apply for the credit the first year and would automatically receive the credit for four additional years if the individual remains eligible for the credit. 

This bill applies retroactively so that individuals who missed the April 1, 2018 application deadline for the second year of credit would still receive the credit for the tax year that begins on July 1.

Also included in this bill is an amendment I introduced to implement a recent state law. This law allows a surviving spouse of a veteran eligible for the credit to receive the property tax credit. 

You can read the Council staff report here and check the Council website regularly for updated information. I'll also post more information as it becomes available.

Vote Early - Thursday, June 14, 2018 10:00 am - 8:00 p.m. through Thursday, June 21, 2018 10:00 am - 8:00 p.m.

Here's information about early voting:

Montgomery County will open eleven Early Voting Centers from June 14 to 21, 2018, from 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. Any registered voter, or new Montgomery County resident, may cast a ballot at any one of these centers on the same voting equipment used on Election Day. Many voters find that early voting is more convenient than voting at their assigned polling place on Election Day.

Early Voting Centers are located at:

Activity Center at Bohrer Park, Gaithersburg

Damascus Community Recreation Center, Damascus

Executive Office Building, Rockville

Germantown Community Recreation Center, Germantown

Jane E. Lawton Community Recreation Center, Chevy Chase

Marilyn J. Praisner Community Recreation Center, Burtonsville

Mid-County Community Recreation Center, Silver Spring

Potomac Community Recreation Center, Potomac

Sandy Spring Volunteer Fire Department (The Oak Room), Sandy Spring NEW SITE

Silver Spring Civic Building, Silver Spring

St. Catherine Laboure Church (Claridge Room), Wheaton NEW SITE

For information on the specific locations of all Montgomery County Early Voting Centers, please visit our website at 777vote.org. To view more information during Early Voting hours of operation, such as wait times for each center - updated hourly - you may visit www.777vote.org.

Did you miss the voter registration deadline? During Early Voting you may register to vote the same day you vote. You must have a valid photo ID and proof of residency to register. Once you register, you will be issued a ballot. This opportunity is not available on Election Day – if you’re not registered yet and would like to vote, visit an Early Voting Center between June 14 and 21. You may not change your party affiliation at this time – this is only for new registrants.

For more information, call 240-777-VOTE, visit www.777vote.org, the Maryland State Board of Elections’ website at http://elections.maryland.gov, or follow the Montgomery County Board of Elections on Facebook or Twitter.

Your Time, Your Voice, Your Vote!

Media Contact: Marjorie Roher, 240-777-8625

Apply Now For County Board of Appeals - Application Deadline is Monday, July 2 at 5:00 p.m.

Get your application in by July 2. Here's the full press release:

ROCKVILLE, Md., June 11, 2018—The Montgomery County Council is seeking applicants for a four-year term on the County Board of Appeals. The term of Edwin Rosado (Unaffiliated) will expire in September 2018. He does not plan to apply for reappointment. Applications for the position must be received no later than 5 p.m. on Monday, July 2.

By law, no more than three members of the board shall be from the same political party. This position can only be filled by a Republican, a voter who is unaffiliated with a party, or a voter who is a member of another party officially recognized by the Board of Elections.

In addition to Mr. Rosado (Unaffiliated), current members of the board include Chair John Pentecost (Democrat), Stan Boyd (Democrat), Katherine Freeman (Democrat) and Bruce Goldensohn (Republican). Members of County boards, committees and commissions may not serve on more than one such group at a time.

Members of the board receive $15,365 annually, with the Chair receiving $21,715. Salaries are adjusted annually each December to reflect 50 percent of the change in the Washington Area Consumer Price Index.

Duties of the Board of Appeals include hearing and deciding requests for variances from development standards contained in the Zoning Ordinance; hearing appeals from certain administrative decisions rendered by County government agencies; and hearing oral argument on and deciding appeals from decisions of the Hearing Examiner on conditional uses. The board also considers and decides requests for modifications of special exceptions.

The board normally holds weekly hearings all day Wednesday and worksessions every other week. If necessary to accommodate an extended caseload or continued hearings, the board schedules hearings on other weekdays. Members are expected to prepare for the hearings by reading the cases to be heard and to share the workload of drafting and editing opinions or to follow-up on investigations on specific cases. Members work approximately 15-25 hours a week.

The principal jurisdiction of the Board of Appeals (concerning variances, special exceptions and conditional uses under the Zoning Ordinance) does not include the municipalities of Barnesville, Brookeville, Gaithersburg, Laytonsville, Poolesville, Rockville and Washington Grove. The normal Council practice is not to appoint residents of those municipalities to the board, however, exceptions to this practice may occur.

Letters expressing interest, including a resume listing professional and civic experience, political party affiliation, home and office telephone numbers and an email address, should be addressed to: 

Council President Hans Riemer, County Council Office, 100 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20850 or can be emailed to county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov. Applications must be received no later than 5 p.m. on July 2. It is the Council’s policy not to consider applications received after the deadline. After the application closing date, Councilmembers will review the letters of application and may select applicants to interview.

Letters of application and resumes are made public as part of the appointment process. Any interviews held are open to the public and will be televised. A financial statement of assets, debts, income and family property interests will be required of all applicants. Only the appointed candidate will be required to make the financial statement available to the public.

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