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.