Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, along with the County’s regional services offices and community partners, is hosting a series of 10 “Community Conversations” from September through December to seek input on the Fiscal Year 2025 Operating Budget. The next conversation, from 7-8:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 16, at the County Executive Office Building in Rockville and viewable online, will focus on priority issues for Parent-Teacher Associations.
The Executive Office Building is located at 101 Monroe St. in Rockville. To view the meeting online, click here.
Seven of the 10 conversations will be conducted in English, including one focusing on issues for older residents and the one focusing on issues of importance to PTA organizations. For a County first, one of the forums will be conducted in Amharic (Oct. 18). Two other non-English language forums were on the schedule. The Sept. 21 forum was conducted in Spanish and the Nov. 27 forum will be in Chinese. A select number of Community Conversations will be held online so that residents have the option to participate remotely.
The County is in the early stages of formulating the FY25 operating budget. County Executive Elrich is required to submit a recommended budget to the County Council by March 15, 2024. The Council then will have two months to review the budget. It must adopt a final budget no later than June 1. The FY25 operating budget will go into effect on July 1.
“This year, we have increased the number of budget forums from eight to 10 to be even more inclusive,” said County Executive Elrich. “We hold these community conversations to give people a chance to be heard because their voice matters. Their insight helps drive our decisions and our priorities for the next fiscal year. The budget not only reflects the County’s needs and concerns, but our community’s values and goals. I encourage every resident to participate in these conversations because their voice shapes our path forward.”
- PTA Community Conversation. Monday, Oct. 16. 7-8:30 p.m. Executive Office Building auditorium, 101 Monroe St., Rockville. Click here to view online.
- Amharic Language Community Conversation. Wednesday, Oct. 18. 7-8:30 p.m. Montgomery College – Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus, 7600 Takoma Ave., Takoma Park.
- Silver Spring Community Conversation. Monday, Nov. 13. 7:30-9 p.m. Silver Spring Civic Center Building, 1 Veterans Place, Spring Room, Silver Spring.
- East County Community Conversation. Wednesday, Nov. 15. 7-8:30 p.m. White Oak Community Recreation Center, 1700 April Lane, Social Hall, Silver Spring. Click here to view online.
- Chinese Language Community Conversation. Monday, Nov. 27. 7-8:30 p.m. Chinese Culture and Community Service Center, 9318 Gaither Road, Suite 215, Art Gallery, Gaithersburg. Hybrid (link to view online to be announced).
- Seniors Community Conversation. Monday, Dec. 11. 2-3:30 p.m. Leisure World, Clubhouse 1, Crystal Ballroom, 3701 Rossmore Blvd., Silver Spring. Only Leisure World residents may participate in person. Click here to view online.
- County Cable Montgomery (CCM): Comcast channel 6 HD 996, RCN channel 6 and HD 1056 and Verizon channel 30
- Montgomery College Television (MCTV): Comcast channels 998 & 10, Verizon 10 and RCN 1059 & 10 (Sept. 14 only)
- Montgomery County Public School (MCPS TV): Comcast 34, Comcast HD 998, Verizon 36, RCN 89, RCN HD 1071
- Montgomery Community Media (MCM): Comcast channel 21, HD 995, RCN 21 HD 1055, and Verizon 21
- Montgomery Municipal Channel (MMC): Comcast channel 16 HD 997, RCN 16, Verizon 16
- Takoma Park City TV: Comcast channel 13, RCN channel 13 HD 1060, and Verizon 28 (Sept. 21 and Nov. 13 only)
In all situations, a good faith effort (up until the time of the event) will be made to provide accommodations.
TTY users can use Maryland Relay 711.
