State of The City Address Full Of Facts
Jun 15, 2010 16:59 - 8 Comments
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I don’t usually mention the list of dignitaries at public gatherings. However, today’s State of the City address attracted a fairly large crowd in this election year. Since the address was given in the Glenview Mansion Dining Room, people were standing in the back entrances and sitting outside on the patio, which made an exact count difficult but obviously more than 80 had responded to the invitation. The introduced guests included Senator Jennie Forehand, Delegate Jim Gilchrist, Delegate Luis Simmons, Delegate Kumar Barve, Daniel Campos (Delegate Candidate), Montgomery County Councilmember Phil Andrews, Montgomery County Council President Nancy Floreen, Laura Berthiaume (School Board), John McCarthy (State’s Attorney), Loretta Knight (Clerk of Circuit Court), Darren Popkin (Deputy Sheriff), and Sally Sternbach (REDI), along with City Staff Scott Ullery, Susan Swift, Claire Funkhouser, Chief Terry Treschuk, and Craig Simoneau. Rockville Councilmembers Bridget Newton and Mark Pierzchala were seated next to the podium.
Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio began by clarifying these would be her own words and she was not speaking for the Council. Her intent was to reflect on the past six months and update residents on the current administration. She added she wanted to “tease you into some action”.
Providing a bit of background, the Mayor noted previous mayors had given State of the City Addresses with the Chamber of Commerce. Andrea Jolly, Executive Director, was on vacation and couldn’t attend but had initially worked on the event with the Mayor. Some Chamber members noted they were present.
Mayor Marcuccio’s address lasted about an hour and detailed Rockville’s demographic shifts using data from the Strategic Scan 2010 prepared by many of the departments in City Hall. Charts, graphs, and statistics displayed on a large screen. Rockville will become more ethnically diverse with an aging population and fewer school-aged residents. The City will go from the 24,327 present households to 62,476 in the year 2040. With so little buildable land, developers will build mixed-use communities for smaller families. Services will need to change to meet the needs of this dense population.
The Mayor’s overview showed Rockville is in pretty good shape compared to our neighbors and the rest of the Country. Rockville continues to be a sound employment center with unemployment rates below the County, State and Country. Single-family homes have held their value and rental vacancy rates are below County percentages. Rockville has progressed with its Green Initiatives Commitment to have LEEDS certified and energy sensitive developments. Even though the economy is still going down, the Real Taxable Assessed Value went up 1.4% this year but the Mayor noted it can’t be expected to continue. Ridership is up on the Red Line and it’s difficult to get a seat at the Rockville and Twinbrook stops in the morning. The City’s water lines are aging and fees were raised to insure the pipes don’t break.
The FY2011 Budget was recently balanced and passed based on the recommendations of staff. The Mayor noted this occurred even with reducing the property tax by one penny a year, rebuilding the retirement fund, and handling the loss of State funds for roads and police. She added the City “still managed to balance the budget without laying off any employees.” Water/sewer bills will continue to rise, 24% in 2011 and over 20% in the coming years to pay for infrastructure. The County will not be reimbursing for parking at the Rockville Memorial Library. “Next year will be much more challenging, I’m sure.” commented Mayor Marcuccio.
Highlights of Progress:
The Mayor said the City’s having “a great year in many ways” including:
Celebrating the 150th anniversary of the City’s incorporation
Renaming the Rockville Library to the Rockville Memorial Library
The Opening of the Mansfield Kaseman Health Clinic
The Chamber of Commerce’s “Buy Rockville” campaign’s matching grant which “turned the whole notion of the Chamber upside down”.
Forming the Youth Commission
Including the Agendas and Actions in the Mayor and Council’s briefing book online
Works in Progress:
Grocery store in Town Center
Zoning revisions
APFO revisions
Traffic relief and pedestrian safety
Business friendly
Protecting neighborhoods from encroachment
Public safety
Near the end of her address, the Mayor spoke about the Redgate Golf Course which she described as 130 acres of the most beautiful land you would ever want to see and one of the most challenging places to play. She explained the course was created as a commitment to making sure a portion of the City stays green. She enthusiastically proclaimed “Save the green space”.
Noting the presence of the District 17 delegation, the Mayor explained the City needed to work closely with the State to clarify rules and regulations. Even in these tough times, State funds were allocated for the Senior Center. She also noted Senator Forehand’s bill requiring citizens who receive traffic tickets to request a trial upfront would cut down on the hours police officers spend in court and save Montgomery County as much as $1 million.
Speaking of police, Mayor Marcuccio recounted how she was sitting in Town Square with her sister waiting for the library to open on a Saturday morning when an officer showed up on a Segway and it was Chief Treschuk. She complimented our police department who she said were always on the scene, then proclaimed them “one of the best police forces anywhere.”
Mayor Marcuccio concluded her address by saying “Who knows what the next six months will bring?”
Cindy, thanks for that report. Your detailed reporting is something we have learned to expect and count on from RC. No doubt the presence of so many incumbent elected officials is because they are running for re-election this year, and support of Rockville voters will be key to the fate of many. Mrs. Forehand, in particular, because she has a challenger, will face a vote just three months from yesterday. This should not be a political event, and i still can’t tell why at this point in the year it was necessary, especially based on the mayor’s comments.I give credit to the city staff for setting and managing the budget. Regarding your last iine, I am confident that the paid, professional city staff, under the direction of the city manager and with the expert support of police, do know what the next six months will bring, and are prepared to meet those challenges.I have to say that I do not share her list of priorities, and do not think they reflect the needs of more than a select, albeit vocal, group of Rockville residents. I am disappointed she did not mention the building of the new poiice department, or make a commitment to affordable housing. We need a plan to address empty businesses in the Town Center area, such as the old Giant and Bank of America buildings.We need to have more programs for teens, and it was despite her objections, saying she didn’t even want to “talk about” them, that the new budget contains planning and seed money for renovations to the skate park. Our volunteer boards, including the Board of Appeals and Planning and Zoning, should be protected from lawsuits by these same citizens. The zoning laws were years in the making and the APFO was only recently put in place. “Neighborhood encroachment” is never worried about near lower-income neighborhoods and the growing — and unchecked — NIMBYism in the city is deeply disturbing.
Also present were former mayor Steve Van Grack, director of Community Ministries of Rockville Agnes Saenz, the chair of Rockville’s Historic District Commission Janet McCool, the chair of Rockville’s Arts Commission John Moser, members of Rockville’s budget task force Richard Gottfried and Marike Brown, members of Rockville’s Communication Task Force Noreen Bryan, Alice Liu and Margaret Chao, the chair of the Redgate Advisory Committee Joe Jordan, and the former President of the Rockville Chamber of Commerce (sorry, I was introduced but I didn’t get his name). Numerous prominent citizens from many areas of the city also attended, including current and former citizens association presidents. I assume many of the people I had not met before were members of the Rockville Chamber of Commerce.It was good to see so many elected officials turn out in solidarity with the “chief Executive” of our city.
Christina-as a point of clarification, the elected mayor in Rockville is not the CEO.The city manager is.
Cindy you did a fine job covering the event, thank you. As positive as the day was, there are concerns on my part how the entire City Council members work with our Rockville Mayor. Regardless what title people use to describe our Mayor, there should be respect for the position and cooperation by all is necessary. We can’t expect agreement all the time, but we can expect good communications and not avoidance. Answers should be provided in the proper venue.Rockville taxpayers compensate our mayor with more pay than the council members because there are extra responsibilities the position requires. Our City Manager should be working very close with the Mayor and both are responsible to see that the City Council works for the people of Rockville. We all know the mayor has one vote on the council; however I see that position as one of leadership that needs to be respected.
Here is a link to the City Charter. The roles and responsibilities of the mayor and council and city manager can be found in Articles II through V. http://library6.municode.com:80/default-now/template.htm?
Nice recap. Thank you.
Cindy, Thanks so much for your thorough, detailed, account of Tuesday morning’s event. I personally learned so much from Mayor Marcuccio’s address, enjoyed seeing so many wonderful people, and I came home feeling proud to be a Rockville Citizen. I also felt inspired to get more involved doing whatever I can to help with some of the many challenges we all face as we move forward together.
It does seem like a state of the city address is something that should be regular. I did hear the news that there was and continues to be some disagreement on the council regarding this speech and other things. That’s not necessarily bad. In fact, it’s pretty good. When everyone is always marching in lockstep, there’s the chance or likelihood that they’re marching the wrong way. I like to see some dissent, it means people are thinking.Even tougher times are probably coming, and nobody can afford a tax hike. Tough choices face us, but focusing on the core services will always keep citizens feeling like their govt is working for them.