State of the County

Three hundred and sixty-four days ago, I took the oath of office as your County Executive.

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On that day, I promised to keep what works and fix what is broken.

I promised to make sure everyone had a seat at the table and a voice in the decisions that shaped their lives.

I promised to invest resources to address the challenges we faced in caring for the vulnerable among us, attacking traffic congestion, promoting more affordable housing, helping to improve our outstanding public education system, and keeping our families and property safe and secure - while maintaining faith with those who pay the taxes.

I promised to effectively manage the changes we are experiencing in a County where our genius and our grit come in all sizes, shapes, and colors, and where fully 30 percent of our residents are foreign-born and our senior population is growing rapidly.

I promised to avoid the siren call of the "quick fix" and focus instead on building the foundations for lasting solutions: solutions that are not band-aids, but are systemic changes for the long term.

I promised an administration that would put a premium on responsiveness and customer service and openness - and where the County Executive would even make "house calls" - to the residential community block that wasn't plowed during a recent snowfall, or to comfort a grieving family whose police officer son laid down his life in service to this County.

Today I speak to you about problems we faced, work completed, building blocks for progress we laid, and about the measures we must take to overcome the steep challenges that loom in our future.

I ask you to share my vision. And move forward with me.

Three hundred sixty-four days after I was sworn in as County Executive, I can report to you that Montgomery County remains a great place to live, to learn, to start a business and to raise a family. By all reasonable indicators, we are making measured progress to enhance our future and the future of our children.

We continue to make wise investments in our world-class school system, where achievement is at an all-time high and whose halls ring with the voices of students from 168 nations. There continue to be "endless opportunities" for young and old at Montgomery College, one of the nation's top community educational institutions.

Montgomery County's economy thrives and has produced one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation.

We have beautiful parks and open space and have taken positive steps to protect our Agricultural Reserve.

And the increased investments we have made in our diverse arts and humanities programs have greatly enhanced our overall quality of life.

Is it any wonder that more people want to live here in this new Montgomery County? And, is it surprising that many of the challenges we face are, often, the results of our own success?

When I assumed office, I was immediately confronted with a number of tough challenges.

First, I inherited a budget gap for this year that totaled nearly 200 million dollars. The previous budgets for several years had increased at nearly double digit percentages - increases that were, in my view, unsustainable.

Second, the County was in the midst of labor negotiations with two of our major employee unions.

Third, we were obliged, for the first time, to set aside $32 million dollars in a tough budget year for future retirees' health benefits.

Response times were creeping up to unacceptable levels for our Fire & Rescue Service.

Our efforts to provide our young people with positive activities after school were lagging behind similar programs in surrounding jurisdictions.

And, our model affordable housing program, that requires developers to set-aside a certain percentage of below market units, was slowing to a trickle. Worse, we were losing the battle to preserve many of the existing affordable and senior housing units in the County.

Adding to our challenges, the state faced a structural deficit of $1.7 billion dollars-- rendering it quite difficult to obtain additional financial support from Annapolis to assist us through these difficult times.

By any objective measure in recent memory, I assumed the executive job at a time that presented many financial and other unique challenges.

It is a far easier task to provide effective leadership under more ideal conditions. Everyone likes to lead when there is money and plenty of opportunities to spend it. That's easy. However, it is more difficult to provide effective leadership when fiscal times are tight. Instead of looking for ways to spend, we must look for ways to be more efficient, creative, and prudent, while still delivering much needed public services.

Addressing these challenges required a team effort. My Chief Administrative Officer, Tim Firestine, has done an outstanding job. Working together, we have assembled a team of remarkable talent and experience. I am very proud of the department directors and other key leaders we have. This talented and diverse team has demonstrated leadership and creativity in addressing the numerous and varied tasks confronting the County.

Despite the $200 million dollar gap, we initially faced, I crafted a budget for this year that held the line on taxes. We funded more than 99 percent of the school system's request. We doubled to $30 million the investment in our Affordable Housing Initiative Fund, and tripled the funding for our Positive Youth Development Program. We also substantially increased funding for health care for the uninsured.

In my first budget we also included 58 additional firefighters and 43 new positions in the Police Department, which is a continuation of a five-year plan to increase the number of police officers in our neighborhoods.

We also provided in this budget additional Sunday library hours and more funds to enhance the library system's materials collection.

We boosted support for our successful business incubator program and increased substantially our contributions to the County Arts & Humanities Council.

In addition, I am pleased to announce that my first budget provided funds effective

January 1, to make available all-day free County Ride On and Metro bus service for seniors and disabled riders.

And we did all of this while keeping the spending increase to a more sustainable 6.9 percent and providing a property tax credit of $613 dollars per household. This is a significant reduction from the previously projected 9.2%.

Let me repeat that. And we did all of this while keeping the spending increase to a more sustainable 6.9 percent and providing a property tax credit of $613 dollars per household.

This meant that homes assessed up to $475,000 actually paid the same amount or less in property taxes than the year before.

I believe that government is only as good as the employees on the front lines. I want our County employees to receive adequate compensation for the outstanding work they do.

In my first year as County Executive, we reached agreement on three-year contracts with Local 1994 of the United Food and Commercial Workers (MCGEO), and our Police Officers.

In addition to these many accomplishments, I am proud to say that we resolved a number of other unfinished issues as well.

Early in my administration we broke the three-year logjam that tied the city of Gaithersburg in knots. We identified a site to establish a day-labor center in the County Services Park off Shady Grove Road. Since its opening in April, it has been a success, efficiently serving day laborers and employers alike, with no ill effects.

For several years, the County attempted, without success, to purchase the 115-acre Site 2 property from the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission to develop a high tech center in the East County. I am proud to say that within a few months in office, we successfully reached an agreement on this important land acquisition that will help bring high-quality, high-paying jobs to a part of the County that's critical to our overall economic development.

We are continuing our revitalization work in Silver Spring. Recently the County signed a Letter of Intent with Live Nation to provide a music and community use facility designed to encourage additional vitality and business to a part of Silver Spring still untouched by previous revitalization efforts.

We hope to conclude final negotiations by the end of the year. I am excited by the synergy that Live Nation's Fillmore will have with the American Film Institute and Discovery Communications.

But perhaps our biggest piece of unfinished work concerned needed investments and shifts in County government facilities--a major task.

I decided to comprehensively reevaluate the entire strategy as to how and where to invest a substantial number of the County's valuable resources, as well as, how we could move forward the implementation of the new Shady Grove Master Plan.

First, let me define the problem:

Our Public Safety Training Academy has severe space limitations and is in need of tens of millions of dollars in improvements just to stay at its current location.

Our present Police headquarters is old and wholly inadequate.

Our transportation maintenance depot at Shady Grove is too small and needs major renovation.

Facilities to store and maintain our new fleet of Fire & Rescue vehicles are lacking.

Our Board of Elections is housed in an old elementary school with facilities so inadequate that voters sometimes had to cast absentee ballots in an old shower stall.

And our Shady Grove Sector Plan, which will concentrate thousands of new housing units near the Metro, turning a light industrial area into a "Smart Growth" area, is stalled.

This plan cannot go forward until we find locations to move an array of important (but unwelcome and controversial) facilities out of the County service park on Crabbs Branch Road. For example, we need to find a place to relocate and expand our County Liquor warehouse, our school buses, school food preparation facilities, and our Equipment Maintenance and Operations Center.

In the past, this was believed to be an almost impossible order to fill. But, thanks to strong and creative leadership, we have succeeded.

I am proud to announce today that we will forward to the Council later this week a bold plan that will address all of these problems in one fell swoop. We start by creating a Public Safety Headquarters on a new single campus. This new campus will also have room for other County agency needs. This will free up both the current Public Safety Training Academy site and half of the County Service Park for alternate uses.

Moving a large portion of the County Services Park will allow for transit oriented development -with more housing, including affordable housing --next to the Shady Grove Metro Station - a more sustainable use that will capitalize on existing infrastructure and allow for development that is less reliant upon automobiles.

And we are able to do all this and have it be "cost-neutral."

This is an approach that is better for our infrastructure, better for our environment and better for the future. I urge the County Council to move this comprehensive plan forward as soon as possible.

But, just as important, we have worked to lay the groundwork for the lasting changes and potential consequences to follow - with a focus on active community participation.

Montgomery County has a long tradition of an open and accessible government. But for traditions to endure, they must be practiced; like gardens, they need to be constantly nurtured.

And nurture them we have.

Since I was elected as County Executive, I have listened to our residents during nine Town Hall meetings held throughout the County, attended by over 6,000 residents. I've spoken at a dozen budget forums, and addressed civic and business and community groups in every corner of the County.

In addition, during my first months in office, we conducted 12 budget forums to discuss the upcoming capital and operating budgets at various locations throughout the County. These forums afforded our residents the opportunity to share their comments and concerns on a range of critical issues.

We recently initiated a "Call-In" television show and also started a "Virtual Town Hall" - on-line chats where residents share perspectives and challenges.

And thanks to our new Office of Community Partnerships, we organized a series of "Community Leadership Summits," designed to hear from those whose voices have perhaps not been heard in the past. Many of you here felt the excitement when residents from the African American, Caribbean, Latino, continental African, and Asian communities exchanged perspectives about what works and what doesn't with my department directors and other County leaders.

All of this is important because I have learned, over my decades in public service, that often times, extraordinary ideas come from ordinary residents.

And, speaking about community let me say a word about immigration.

The federal government's failure to approve immigration reform places local jurisdictions throughout America in a difficult position on a number of important issues. As a County, we have sought practical, common sense solutions to these problems, such as the establishment of our day labor centers.

This County does not support illegal immigration. Nor do we support a punitive and counter-productive approach that would have local police enforce federal immigration laws. Such an approach is not right and it will not work.

Following my election, I reestablished the open monthly meetings with the County Council. I did so because I believe our County residents want their County Executive and the County Council to work together. And, we are doing just that. I want to thank each and every member of the Council for their collaboration and cooperation.

Please allow me to pay special tribute to the woman who tomorrow will hand over the reins of the Council presidency. Nobody cares more; nobody knows more, nobody works harder than, or is more dedicated to this County and the true essence of public service than my friend Marilyn Praisner. We miss you Marilyn. Get back to us just as soon as you can.

But good government does not simply stop with openness and collaboration. Indeed, it only begins there. What I heard from many people is the need to refocus more effectively on customer service. County government must be responsive and accountable. I'm talking about the need for every department, every employee, every day to be responsive and accountable to the public at all times. That's the message I've taken to County employees I've visited at dozens of worksites.

That's why I am enthusiastic about making the following announcement:

First, starting in January, Montgomery County will begin our "CountyStat" initiative. CountyStat will track information about the problems we face and the measures we are taking to address them. This will be a tool to increase performance and hold those responsible accountable for results - in real time, not with data that is old and irrelevant.

Second, we are reorganizing the functions of several County departments. In order to increase focus, accountability, and responsiveness, the Department of Public Works and Transportation - DPWT -- will be divided into two separate departments - Transportation and General Services, the latter of which will also include the current Department of Procurement - each with their own critical mission. Transportation - to keep us Montgomery moving and General Services - to build, maintain and repair public facilities to assure that County agencies have the tools to get the job done.

As part of this reorganization, I am also moving the Division of Solid Waste Services to the Department of Environmental Protection. I believe that we must work harder to marry our management of solid waste with our efforts to reduce our carbon footprint and leave the world a better place for our children and grandchildren. Placing Solid Waste Services within the Department of Environmental Protection will better serve that goal.

Third, we are implementing results-based management. Essentially, that means we will refocus not just on what we do - our inputs -- but also more on whether what we do has the desired results.

Finally, we will soon have a single, one-stop 311- number system for those seeking County services and information. This system will help avoid the needless frustration experienced by some residents when they are seeking assistance from the County.

I am convinced that these measures - and others - will help to refocus County government to make it more public service-oriented, user-friendly, and accessible.

During my campaign, I spoke often about the lack of affordable housing. A recent poll found that only one percent of County residents thought the supply of affordable housing in the County was excellent.

That's why early this year I put together an Affordable Housing Task Force, comprised of some of this County's most knowledgeable people on housing. I gave them a charge to think innovatively about medium and long-term strategies to increase our supply of affordable, special needs and workforce housing.

The Task Force draft report will be released in a few days. The Task Force has scheduled six community meetings - starting tomorrow night and extending through December 17 - at different locations throughout the County -- to garner community input on their recommendations.

In the meantime, to help stem the tide of the loss of affordable housing, I proposed - and the Council approved -- legislation that broadens the County's "right of first refusal" to purchase residential properties in order to preserve affordable units.

I am pleased to announce that we have purchased our first properties under this new law - 16 units in the Aspen Court in Takoma Park and 49 units in King Farm in Rockville - and we are actively negotiating with others.

Among the most urgent and difficult challenges we face today is traffic. The Washington-metropolitan region has one of the longest commuting times in the country.

Expanding County residents' transportation options is critically important to preserving our quality of life and in attracting and retaining businesses in the County.

My vision for traffic mitigation rests on four essential parts:

First, we must have more transit options including the Purple Line, the Corridor Cities Transitway, expanded Ride-On and improved service for people with disabilities.

Second, we need additional road widenings, intersection and interchange improvements.

To accomplish these first two parts we must have adequate and sustainable sources of revenue. The state legislature's increase in the Transportation Trust Fund to $440 million dollars annually is all well and good, but this simply maintains existing facilities and does not add any new projects. I continue to believe an increase in the state gas tax, which has not been increased since the early 1990s - must be on the agenda in Annapolis this session.

Third, all transit and road enhancements must be undertaken in a way that protects our environment to the maximum degree possible. After all, we are the stewards for future generations.

Fourth, we must change our culture and habits regarding our commutes to work and responsibility for traffic. Each person, every business, educational institution, and other parts of our daily lives must assume responsibility to change how we do things in ways that will keep traffic off the roads, especially during rush hours. I ask every person and every employer to think of ways that they can help eliminate at least two rush hour trips per week.

The fatalities we have suffered in our County just in the past few weeks remind us that pedestrian safety risks have grown significantly. We average about 430 pedestrian collisions and 14 fatalities per year.

Later this week, along with Councilmember Valerie Ervin, I will announce a Comprehensive Pedestrian Safety Initiative to reduce pedestrian-related crashes, injuries, and fatalities and their associated costs. This initiative will provide safe and convenient travel options for pedestrians throughout the County.

The closing of Walter Reed Hospital and the consolidation of most of its functions at Bethesda Naval will likely double the number of outpatient visits to that facility. In anticipation of this challenge, I established a BRAC Task Force to work with the State and with Senators Barbara Mikulski and Ben Cardin and Members of Congress Chris Van Hollen and Al Wynn to make sure we have the resources to deal with increased traffic on Wisconsin Avenue.

It is important for Montgomery County to continue to grow. It is up to us to make sure we grow in the manner we prefer to grow, where we want to grow, and that the roads, recreation, public safety, transit, schools, and other infrastructure requirements are in place to accommodate such growth.

This vision led me to work with the Council on necessary changes to the County's Growth Policy. I remain concerned, however, that our traffic tests on paper do not fully reflect the realities all of us see day in and day out as we travel throughout the County. We must remain flexible in order to fully reexamine this important issue in the future.

Though there was a disagreement with some of the final recommendations in the legislation passed by the Council, I believe we have moved the ball closer to the goal of responsible and sustainable growth.

Protecting the environment has always been important to Montgomery County. Just look at our preservation of open spaces and our efforts to address stream pollution and stormwater management.

We continue to increase the number of natural gas-powered buses and hybrid vehicles. Our government is the largest purchaser of wind power east of the Mississippi.

And future County buildings will be constructed to maximize "green" features. Our "Clean Energy Rewards" program gives rebates on the County's energy tax to those who use clean energy. Montgomery County signed the "Cool County" initiative, committing us to significant reductions in greenhouse gases over the next decade.

But we're not about to rest on our laurels.

That's why I'm announcing today that the County will take actions to reduce our solid waste system's NOx emissions by 40 percent over the next two years.

Our waste-to-energy incinerator was originally built using the best control technology available at that time.

We are committing today to use state of the art technologies to avoid the storage of ammonia and reduce NOx significantly. That means cleaner air for our families to breathe and less impact on surrounding communities.

We are also making progress in our recycling efforts. The Washingtonian magazine recently named Montgomery County as the top recycling jurisdiction in the entire region. We now recycle over 43 percent of our solid waste - and I am confident we will reach our 50 percent goal by 2010.

We are also retooling our economic development efforts to place more emphasis on small, minority and women-owned businesses. I am committed to using our County's growing diversity to reach out to international firms to urge them to locate in Montgomery County.

I believe we have to retool our economic development efforts to meet the ever-changing business challenges occurring around the globe in order to remain an important business destination in the future.

Our recent trade missions to Israel and India have opened new contacts and possibilities with a host of cutting-edge firms in biotech, information technology, and homeland security who are interested in relocating to Montgomery County, or expanding their presence here.

Our new Division of Business Empowerment has initiated well-attended monthly forums for businesspeople. We've opened our fourth business incubator in downtown Rockville, and we have another one on tap for Germantown early next year.

Yes, much has been done. Much remains to be accomplished.

And, as always, there are challenges ahead.

I commend the Governor on his comprehensive approach to tackling the $1.7 billion dollar state structural deficit. I was very active in the recent Special Session of the legislature, working with our delegation and other members of the General Assembly to help resolve this budgetary crisis.

We were successful in persuading the Governor and the legislature to make the state income tax more progressive without unduly raising the rate so high that it would have unintended consequences and hurt our economic competitiveness. I believe that one of the achievements of the Special Session is that we now anticipate receiving as much as $55 million from the state to help meet our critical school construction needs in next year's budget.

Two weeks ago, I informed the County Council that our projected budget gap for next year has risen from $308 million to $401 million dollars. This is due to County income tax, recordation and transfer taxes coming in much lower than expected caused primarily by the weakness in the national economy.

To help eliminate this projected shortfall, I asked County government departments and outside agencies to cut a minimum of two percent from their budgets for the current fiscal year, which runs to June 30, 2008.

These savings will assist in closing the projected budget gap for FY09. Clearly more difficult choices lie ahead. In addition to reducing expenditures now, we will work with the Council to prioritize our expenditures for next year.

Montgomery County residents demand a responsive and accountable government that keeps front and center the belief that the revenues we manage do not belong to the government but rather to County residents, who expect it to be spent wisely and effectively.

Harry Truman once said that "Men (I can now include women) can make history, and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better."

I have a vision for our County that makes a good County better, that weathers tough times, that invests in the future, and listens - really listens - to the hopes and dreams and goals of a diverse and changing County.

Please continue to share this vision with me. Let us seize this opportunity to move forward together to make Montgomery County an even better place for all of us.

Thank you.