Budget On The Agenda For Mayor And Council

The >agenda for the Mayor and Council meeting on Monday, March 31 is now available at the City’s website and it reveals that there are a couple of interesting issues on the agenda.

One interesting item: the group will hold a public hearing on “Historic District overlay zone for the former Rockville Regional Library, 99 Maryland Avenue.” This is part of the ongoing controversy over the location of the new district court house.

The other interesting item: this is the first public hearing on the City Manager’s FY2009 budget. At their meeting on the 24th, the Mayor and Council were presented with a presentation on the budget. On Monday, the Mayor and Council will hold the first of two public hearings on the budget. Monday’s public hearing is on the tax rate.

There will be another public hearing on April 14, devoted (I believe) to the rest of the budget.

After the two hearings, the Mayor and Council will hold two work sessions — April 28 and May 5 — and will adopt the final budget on May 19.

To examine the budget in its entirety, go here.

(Image from the City of Rockville, doctored to give it a background that matches our fine color scheme.)

Mayor And Council Agenda 2/11/08 Available

The agenda for the next meeting of the Mayor and Council, >Monday, February 11, 2008 at Rockville City Hall, has been posted to the City’s website. It is available here. (My understanding is that, if the agenda is amended, that same link will reflect the changes.)

This upcoming meeting, since it is a worksession, will not be televised on The Rockville Channel, though (I am led to believe) it is open to the public. Those who have time may wish to attend, as there is an important item set for discussion: details on the next fiscal year’s budget, for FY2009.

Some have asked the Mayor and Council to rethink their recent decision to stop televising such worksessions, a decision they took in order to create an atmosphere more conducive to getting work done.

In any event, for those who cannot personally attend this meeting, here is a note from staff that may serve to reduce anxiety:

Tonight’s presentation seeks the Mayor and Council’s concurrence with the current direction of budget preparation, specifically the FY 2009 enterprise fund rates (with the exception of the water rates). There will be other opportunities for the Mayor and Council to provide additional guidance and direction during the public hearings, scheduled for March 31, 2008 and April 14, 2008, and/or during the next Mayor and Council worksessions, scheduled for April 28, 2008 and May 5, 2008.

That is, this is not the only time the budget will be considered, and there will be public input opportunities.

That one the day before Tax Day sounds like a hoot.

Mayor and Council 12/17 Meeting Agenda Posted

For those interested in pondering the future, the agenda for the upcoming Mayor and Council meeting (Monday, 12/17 at 7:00 pm) is now >posted and available. If I get an update I will re-post, so this link will always have the latest version I have.

Note that not only is trash on the agenda, but there is an interesting discussion about the selection process for boards and commissions. In my candidate interview with Phyllis Marcuccio, she indicated she was very interested in reviewing how people were selected to be on such bodies:

[Phyllis] says that, if re-elected, she would like to start by “cleaning up the process by which we choose candidates for boards and commissions.” In her view, “we have slipped” in the way we applied the existing process in recent years.

Not sure I will be there, but if so, come say hi!