The next Rockville Mayor and Council meeting on Monday, June 16, 2025, will tackle several important topics that could shape life in the city—from how affordable housing is preserved, to how the police handle mental health calls, to how future city elections are run. Residents and businesses alike may want to tune in or weigh in on these wide-ranging proposals.

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Affordable Housing Preservation

What’s on the Agenda
The Council will hear a presentation on strategies to preserve affordable housing in Rockville, especially older apartment buildings that may otherwise be lost to redevelopment or rising rents. The report recommends creating a database to track at-risk properties, reviving a rehabilitation loan program, and building a coalition of local partners to protect long-term affordability. However, the report does not fully address the challenges faced by property owners and developers, such as rising construction costs, regulatory burdens, and limited access to financing—all of which make it increasingly difficult to preserve or create affordable units.

Why It Matters
Housing affordability is a growing concern in Rockville. These strategies could help longtime residents stay in their homes, keep neighborhoods stable, and ensure a mix of incomes across the city.

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Mental Health Specialist for Rockville Police

What’s on the Agenda
The Council will vote to renew an agreement with Montgomery County to embed a licensed mental health professional in the Rockville Police Department for $160,000 per year. This specialist assists officers on mental health calls and helps connect residents to support services. The role also includes training officers on crisis response.

Why It Matters
While mental health calls only represent 3% of police activity (742 out of 26,047 calls in 2024), they require a set of skills that few police officers are trained to handle. This program is a way to improve public safety responses, reduce emergency room visits, and support residents in crisis more effectively.

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City Election Reform

What’s on the Agenda
As part of an ongoing review, the Council will hold a worksession on proposed changes to Rockville’s election system. The discussion will focus on four main areas: rewriting the election code, updating campaign finance rules, rethinking the structure and independence of the Board of Supervisors of Elections, and improving public education and enforcement. Potentially off-the-table issues are ranked-choice voting and public funding of campaigns. A Charter Review Commission presented recommendations in late 2022, voters responded to advisory referendum questions in the 2023 election, and the Mayor and Council is revisiting everything again (except increasing the size of Council) in 2025. Seems there’s little traction on this issue and I wonder if they’ll consider what voters and Charter Review Commission said previously (they’re not mentioned in the staff report).

Why It Matters
Rockville’s election rules haven’t kept up with modern expectations. These updates could make local elections fairer, more transparent, and easier to understand for voters, candidates, and campaign volunteers alike.

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The meeting will be broadcast live on Rockville 11 and streamed on the city’s website.
Residents can send comments to the Mayor and Council by email or speak during Community Forum, which begins at 6:50 p.m. You can sign up to speak online at rockvillemd.gov before 10 a.m. the day of the meeting.