Mayor and Council to Choose Earmarks and Decide Upcoming Election Changes
At its Monday, February 27, 2023 meeting, the Rockville Mayor and Council will discuss proposed earmarks for the FY24 federal budget, requests from the Board of Supervisors of Elections, and recommendations from the Charter Review Commission. On the Consent Calendar (items approved without discussion) are the preservation of public art, funding for the Rockcrest Ballet Center, Taste of Rockville agreement, and funding for the flood resilience master plan, among others. The Mayor and Council will also receive reports on operating budget and capital improvements budget for FY2024.
Yes, Congress is openly using earmarks again, “funds provided for projects or programs where the congressional direction (in bill or report language) circumvents the merit-based or competitive allocation process, or specifies the location or recipient.” For some, it’s simply another form of pork barrel politics but for others it’s a vital project. Perhaps the most famous earmark was by US Senator Ted Stevens to construct the Gravina Island Bridge or the “Bridge to Nowhere” for $250 million in 2002. But if you want federal funds for a specific project, the best way to ensure it is through earmarks. This year, the City of Rockville is considering several potential requests to Senator Cardin, Senator Van Hollen, and Congressman Raskin, including the emergency operations center at 6 Taft Court, police radio equipment ($1.4 million!), storm drain improvements in Potomac Woods, security for the water treatment plant, and water main or sewer main rehabilitation in an “equity focused area” (not identified but somewhere in southeast Rockville).
Preparations for the 2023 Mayor and Council election are underway and candidate information packets should be ready by May 1—however, there is still lots to be done. The Board of Supervisors of Elections is waiting for approval from the Mayor and Council on several changes to the City Charter and City Code in limbo; proposed translation of outreach materials in Spanish, Chinese, and French; adding a second vote center at Thomas Farm and placing ballot drop boxes in Montrose, Lincoln Park, and the Rockville Senior Center. Indeed, if the minimum voting age is lowered from 18 years to 16 years and the deadline for submitting nomination petitions is increased from 60 to 90 days prior to the election, the City may have already missed its ability to implement these changes for the November 2023 election.
Discussion of the 30 recommendations by the Charter Review Commission continues, this time on a more “precise, open, transparent, and definitive administrative process” for filling a vacancy on the city council after two years; adding a “none of the above” option on election ballots; increasing the size of the Board of Supervisors of Elections; increasing the number of ballot drop-off boxes; lowering the voting age to 16; and limiting the number of consecutive terms of council members to three four-year terms (but allowing a person to serve 12 years as a councilmember and 12 years as mayor—really? 12 years is plenty, give other people a chance!).
More details in the 450-page agenda packet are available at https://www.rockvillemd.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_02272023-6820.
Is Your Neighborhood Safe?
You can figure this out for yourself at CrimeReports.com. The Montgomery County Police Department shares their crime reports (which includes the City of Rockville) with CrimeReports, a private firm based in Utah, which combines it with police departments from around the country to display the information on an interactive map.
The map show various colored and lettered icons so you can quickly spot where things happened in your neighborhood. For example, A is for Assault, TV is Theft from a Vehicle, and R is Robbery. You can also choose the time period to examine as well as zoom in or out (or check out what’s happening elsewhere in the country–it’s a national database). If you know something about an incident or crime, you can share an anonymous tip.
Do be aware there are some weaknesses in the map:
- There seems to be a 24-48 hour delay. If something happened today, it probably won’t show up until tomorrow or the next day.
- Locations are not exact. It records where the report was taken, not necessarily where the incident occurred. For the sake of victim privacy, all crime addresses have been rounded to the block level (e.g. 800 block of Viers Mill Road).
- There are no details. For example, it’ll tell you the approximate location and time of an assault or robbery, but not identify the victims, mention if anyone was arrested, what was stolen, or the extent of injuries (e.g, punched? stabbed? hospitalized?). CrimeReports relies on individual law enforcement agencies to provide details on crimes. Each agency is different and may provide more or less crime information than others. At minimum, CrimeReports requires four items of information when mapping crimes: type, location, date, and time. All additional information is voluntarily supplied by individual law enforcement agencies.
- It may not be complete. On Monday, July 21, Janice Land and John Land of the 1600 block of Crawford Drive were arrested with two counts of vulnerable adult abuse and attempted false imprisonment (keeping their twin 22-year old autistic sons locked in the basement). The incident made national news, but doesn’t show up on the map at all. Maybe tomorrow?
If you want further details, contact the Montgomery County Police Department at (240) 773-5330. Thanks to Crime Analyst Sherri Hendry of the Rockville Police Department for sharing this resource.
Max for Rockville 