Contributor Opinion By Susan Hoffmann: Thank You For The Honor Of Serving

>Dear Residents of Rockville:

I wish to express my gratitude to each and every one of you for giving me the high honor to serve you as Mayor and previously as a Councilmember. I wish I could be in direct touch with you, but this open letter to all will have to suffice.

As I said in my 2009 campaign kickoff speech . . . “my love affair with Rockville continues.” And that is and will always be the case. To serve a City . . . a community that one loves, is a great honor indeed, but also an enormous privilege that befalls only the most fortunate among us. I do, however, recommend it highly. Public service is extremely rewarding and provides an opportunity to give back that is without equal.

My family and I have been blessed with much love and support from our fellow residents. I have received an avalanche of good wishes and good thoughts. Your kindness is most appreciated.

Local grassroots politics is the best, most gratifying politics and Rockville does it as well as anywhere. Going door-to-door to learn what’s on the minds of our neighbors cannot be duplicated by any other activity. Rain or shine, voters are grateful that we are interested in seeking out their problems and opinions. I highly recommend it…whether as a candidate or an advocate for a candidate.

My congratulations to Mayor Marcuccio and the newly-elected City Council. May wisdom and good judgment continue to serve you well. Kudos to everyone who was a candidate this year. I believe that the caliber of candidates in the 2009 campaign has raised the bar for all future elections and I salute you. I shall continue to be a proud resident of Rockville and look forward to seeing you out and about throughout the City.

Best,
Susan Hoffmann

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Contributor Opinion By Susan Hoffmann: MHP Worked With Community

>The following Contributor Opinion is by Rockville mayor Susan R. Hoffmann. It is a reprint, by permission of the author, of her email response to this message sent to the Mayor and Council.

With all due respect, I believe that [Larry Giammo is] omitting one very important fact: [Montgomery Housing Partnership] has been working with the community, represented by the West End Citizens Association, since 2006. It is only very recently that the opposition started paying attention and that we began to hear from them. That does not diminish their right to be concerned, but it is simply not factual to claim that the steps . . . laid out weren’t followed. The steps were followed and WECA offered no objection. In point of fact, WECA welcomed and endorsed the project, writing a letter in support. I hope that everyone will continue to discuss Bealls Grant II in good faith and that we can find a good outcome for all involved.

Susan R. Hoffmann
Mayor, City of Rockville

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Contributor Opinion by Susan Hoffmann: Rockville's Pressing Waterline Issue and Associated Fiscal Decisions

The following >contributor opinion is by Rockville Mayor Susan Hoffmann:

Dear Friends,

As Mayor of Rockville, I am committed to Rockville being the safest City anywhere in the world. To that end, it is incumbent upon me and my Council colleagues and City staff, to provide services that will keep us protected, safe in our homes, and on our streets. The provision of safe and dependable drinking water, a reliable sewer system, and smooth-functioning waterline system throughout the City is one of the two most important services the City provides. The other is police protection.

As your Mayor, I will not be satisfied with anything less than the best. And I will not, on my watch, tolerate a situation in which there is a fire in our City and the water pressure to the necessary hydrant(s) fails and the fire cannot be extinguished quickly, or, God forbid, there are injuries or worse. That is why I support moving forward aggressively to deal with our failing system. Just as we are seeing infrastructure failures all across the country, Rockville is experiencing the same issues. And, we have discovered, that a larger number of lower-pressure hydrants and aging pipes are to be found east of Route 355. As I have said over and over, we must be particularly sensitive to residents east of the Pike. We have learned from resident surveys that there is a perception that the quality of life is not as high on that side of Rockville as compared to west of 355 and 270. Since perception is reality, and in this case, the problem is real, the issue of hydrant water flow and fire safety must not be ignored. The Mayor and Council are considering several different proposals . . . some more aggressive than others, some more cost-effective than others.

I ask for community support for the most reasonably aggressive, cost-effective solution. I urge my colleagues to join me in moving forward in this way.

We are not unsympathetic to the additional burden these increased fees will have on our population. To that end, we are exploring ways to mitigate the impact. Below is a summary of the presentation made by staff on Monday evening, March 10, to eliminate the imposition of some fees in FY09, including the Stormwater Management Fee. The $100 Property Tax Credit will be continued, as will the Homeowner’s Tax Credit Program.

• The most important new program priority for FY09 will be to kick off a serious effort to renew our water system infrastructure, including the distribution line replacement, and the water plant and pump station upgrades. The risks of not getting started on a systematic upgrade program are significant. We’ve all read in the press that WSSC, facing challenges similar to Rockville’s, has chosen to not act for at least another year.

• As we’ve indicated previously, the water rate increases needed to fund the infrastructure program will be significant. The water rates in the Recommended Budget for FY09, taken together with the ready to serve charge, could, if adopted, result in an “average” household water bill increasing from $35.48 to $50.91 or about $62 per year.
• We continue to recommend that the Stormwater Management Utility Program be adopted for FY09, but the SWM fee not be introduced in FY09. Instead of the fee beginning in FY09, we are recommending that we ramp up the program during FY09 and pay for it from the utility’s fund balance. In FY09, we will have a lot of hires to complete and reorganization to accomplish. Deferring the fee will better allow us to continue our community outreach and education efforts. Not implementing the fee in FY09 will have the added advantage of not subjecting citizens to yet another fee in addition to the substantial water rate increases in FY09. This should help us keep our eye on the top new program priority of attending to the water infrastructure.
• Because our revenues continue to run strongly, and ahead of what we projected previously, the Recommended Budget will again include a $100 property tax credit per owner-occupied household. This credit will provide general tax relief for homeowners, and in some instances more than offset the water rate increase for homeowners. Among the features of this credit that distinguishes it from a tax rate reduction, are (1) it is progressive — as a flat amount it is worth proportionately more to lower-income than to higher-income residents, (2) it is flexible, in that it targets residential owners and excludes commercial property owners, and (3) it is easily reviewed and adjusted annually as a “one time,” rather than a recurring loss of revenue.
• The FY09 Recommended Budget will again include the Homeowner’s Tax Credit Program (“circuit breaker” program). The City’s supplement to the state’s credit was introduced in the FY06 budget, and 366 low income households participated. In FY07 we expanded significantly the eligibility, and 630 households participated. The expanded program continued in FY08.
• Pending expected confirmation from the State, the FY09 Recommended Budget will also offer a new property tax credit for homeowners of limited income and at least 70 years old. This will be an add-on to the Homeowner’s Tax Credit Program. Eligible homeowners can receive an additional credit of 25% of the combined State credit and City supplement. There will be no need to file separately, the current application is good for State credit, the City supplement, and the senior credit.
• As presented in the budget preview, no change in the property tax rate will be proposed in the FY09 Recommended Budget.

This is a challenging, yet exciting time for Rockville. I am committed to continuing our progress on your behalf. I welcome your thoughts.

Best,
Susan

Rockville Central runs occasional, edited opinion pieces by contributors. Their views are not necessarily those of Rockville Central. To submit your opinion for consideration, contact us.