 Wednesday, March 22, 2023
I am hosting a Public Safety Town Hall TONIGHT at the Upcounty Regional Services Center from 7 - 8:30PM. Commanders Ed Pallas and Liz Hattenburg from the Montgomery County Police Department will be joining me to answer constituent questions and address public safety concerns in District 2. The event will be recorded and available for viewing at a later date.
If you have any questions about the town hall, please reach out.
Flyer advertising Councilmember Balcombe's Public Safety Town Hall
Spanish language flyer advertising Councilmember Balcombe's Public Safety Town Hall
Let's break down what that means and what is coming next.
The County Executive transmitted his proposed operating budget on March 15th and the County Council will be reviewing it according to the chart below. You can read more about the County's budget process here.
 A graphic outlining the Montgomery County budget process.
Operating Budget Public Hearings
The Council is holding four public hearings about the operating budget. The hearings will be held at 1:30PM and 7PM on both April 11th and April 13th. You can sign up to testify for a public hearing here. General information about testifying can be found here.
Economic Development (ECON) Committee
The ECON committee held several meetings over the last two weeks, two of which were joint sessions. On March 13th, we met to discuss the Department of Permitting Services' permitting and application review process.
- You can view the committee agenda here and watch a recording of the session here.
We met later in the day for a joint session with the Public Safety committee to discuss Bill 7-23, Consumer Protection - Gasoline Signage. I cosponsored this important legislation which would require gas stations to openly and accurately display cash and credit card prices on state-required signage.
- You can view the committee agenda here and watch a recording of the session here.
On March 14th, the ECON committee met with the Planning, Housing, and Parks and Public Safety committees for a very timely and necessary briefing about fire inspections.
- You can view the committee agenda here and watch a recording of the session here.
Transportation and Environment Committee
The TE committee met on March 20th to work on a number of important priorities. We reviewed the FY23-28 CIP amendment related to streetlights, went over CIP amendments about transportation, and received a briefing from the Maryland Transit Administration and Maryland Transit Solutions on the Purple Line project.
- You can view the committee agenda here and watch a recording of the session here.
Council Legislation
I cosponsored Bill 15-23, Landlord-Tenant Relations - Anti-Rent Gouging Protections.
 A graphic that lists the highlights of Bill 15-23.
Upcoming Public Hearings
Below is a list of upcoming public hearings which may be of interest to you. You can find the full list of public hearings here. The deadline to sign up to testify for 1:30PM hearings is 5PM the day before the hearing. For 7PM hearings, the deadline to sign up is 10AM on the day of the hearing.
March 28th
April 11th
April 13th
I spent last Friday visiting a few Poolesville and Beallsville hubs, and then ended my day volunteering with my team at the Manna Food Center in Gaithersburg.
The team at Monocacy Cemetery invited me to visit their historic site as the cemetery nears its 150 year anniversary. You can learn more about Monocacy Cemetery at its website.
Councilmember Will Jawando and I visited Poolesville ES and Poolesville HS together and had the opportunity to speak with staff, students, and some parents about what they love most about their communities and what they would like to see change.
 We were able to tour the construction site at Poolesville HS. The school's new building is much needed and I will do all that I can to ensure that the project stays on track for a timely opening.
My day ended with a volunteer shift at the Manna Food Center in Gaithersburg where my team and I packed about 100 boxes of food for those in need. Manna has been distributing food in Montgomery County for over 40 years and I am proud to support the center's efforts to eliminate hunger. I encourage you to learn more about the Manna Food Center and volunteer if you can.
 With my wonderful team at Manna Food Center!
If you would like to get in touch with me regarding anything mentioned in this newsletter or any other concerns you may have, please email me at Councilmember.Balcombe@montgomerycountymd.gov or call my office at 240-777-7940.
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