This week was “Maryland Economic Development Week” and in Montgomery County, we had a lot to celebrate. Throughout the week, my team and I met with individual businesses and with organizations representing business interests such as the Greater Bethesda Chamber of Commerce, the County’s Small Business Association and the Maryland Retailers Alliance. I also was proud to help launch a major workforce resource for our top ranked biosector at the ribbon cutting of the new “Maryland BioHub Education and Training Center at Montgomery County.” When talking with people in the community, I have been able to share a lot of good news and progress that we are making in the County. Below is a slide from my presentation to the Greater Bethesda Chamber of Commerce earlier this week. It summarizes some of the positive developments and accolades we have received this year.
We revamped our Business Center to help small and growing businesses, and that will remain a priority moving forward. We have improved our permitting, procurement processes and created more efficiencies.
And we have increased the purchasing that County Government does with County businesses. Furthermore, in Fiscal Year 2024, we celebrated another achievement: 48 percent of County contracts were awarded to first-time vendors. In FY24, the County achieved a historic milestone, spending a record $248 million with minority, female and disabled-owned (MFD) businesses. These accomplishments demonstrate our commitment to expanding opportunities and welcoming new businesses into our fold.
When local businesses succeed, we can reinvest in the things that make Montgomery County a great place to live for all residents. Economic development is about ensuring that every part of the County, from small businesses to life sciences, plays a role in building a more prosperous and inclusive future.
I look forward to updating you about our progress to create, attract and retain more jobs and opportunities in Montgomery County.
Job Creation Fund Launches
A new effort to stimulate job growth in Montgomery County launched this week with the Job Creation Fund.
The grant program will distribute $10 million to help create and attract jobs that earn above $100,000 salaries. Additional financial incentives will be reserved for companies that fit within one of our key growth industries: advanced technology, life sciences, cybersecurity, hospitality and quantum computing. Details of the grant can be found through the County’s Business Center website. Assistant Chief Administrative Officer Ken Hartman joined me on my weekly media briefing to discuss the program. You can watch that here.
Montgomery County is focused on creating a vibrant economy that offers high-quality jobs. This initiative is another tool to attract and retain businesses that pay well and contribute to the County's future growth.
In November, we will launch the next phase of this plan, which will focus on $7 million for innovation grants for commercialization projects that will help entrepreneurs get products and services to market and grow jobs in the County. By supporting industries that are key to our economic success, we ensure that the County remains a place where businesses can thrive and our residents can access great career opportunities and services.
I want to thank County Councilmember Andrew Friedson for leading this effort and I hope this program helps create more jobs with decent wages to help grow our economy.
High Turnout for Early Voting, Which Continues Through Oct. 31
The first day of early voting had more people turn out than the total number of early voters in the primary earlier this year. You can follow the early vote tallies at EarlyVoting by Location.
Early voting will continue through Thursday, Oct. 31. Polls are open from 7 a.m.-8 p.m. each day in 14 locations around the County. You can get more information at Montgomery County Board of Elections: 2024 Early Voting Sites. You can vote at any of the early voting sites.
If you are one of the 166,000 people who has requested a mail-in ballot, you have until Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, to get your ballot in the mail. You also can use one of the secure drop-off boxes set up around the County. Visit 777vote.org to find the nearest early polling location or ballot drop off site near you.
GIP Update
Over the last few weeks, I have been discussing my concern regarding the Planning Board’s recommended Growth and Infrastructure Policy (GIP). The proposal would have reduced revenues by more than $14 million over six years, even though the GIP is supposed to be about providing the adequate infrastructure that must accompany development.
My staff and I have asked that the County Council reject the Planning Board’s recommendations and, at the very least, “do no harm,” for the GIP update. This week, the Council took a straw vote on the GIP and while it lessened the revenue loss, the recommended GIP would still lose about $8 million over six years. A final Council vote is scheduled for Nov. 12.
What I have been most concerned about is that the GIP should address the adequate facilities needed to accompany development. The GIP raises the funds to go toward transportation and school improvements that are needed with new developments. Since 2013, funding from the GIP, which used to have a different name, has been cut five times. These cuts in funding contribute to the backlog of school and transportation projects. That decrease, accompanied by a policy that has held bond spending pretty much unchanged for seven years, has made it difficult to address the needs of our growing County.
As a result, projects have been delayed. Rising costs further reduce how far our money goes forcing us to compromise on our needs. Reducing revenues from the GIP takes us in the wrong direction: fewer revenues and more exemptions from standards.
I urge you to contact County Councilmembers and tell them that funding for adequate facilities is critical. We cannot continue to pass the burden onto homeowners, today and in the future, who will wonder why we invited growth without executing the proper plan to account for more kids in school, people on the roads and strain on our public resources.
Probably the worst aspect is ignoring the simple fact that in Fairfax County, the most desirable areas to develop come with the highest taxes, which have been funding their growth and infrastructure for around a decade.
We cannot continue to ignore the value of raising commercial taxes on the most desirable areas in the County because it has prevented us from building infrastructure. We are the “cheap date,” but are failing to get developers to take us out, so to speak, because being cheap is not as good as providing infrastructure.
Attainable Housing Strategies Plan ‘Push Poll’
A new poll is being touted as support for the “Attainable Housing Strategies Plan”. The poll (which you can find here) was conducted among Democrats on behalf of Greater Greater Washington. Let’s be clear: This was not a regular poll. It was a “push poll”—where the developers of the questions intentionally lead a person to a desired response. Additionally, not all the questions are publicly available—unlike the UMBC poll and the Washington Post/University of Maryland poll.
When you read the questions in the cross tabs that they have published, there are no clear conclusions to be drawn. People support allowing duplexes, triplexes and quads, but do they allow them without any controls? Anywhere? Are they okay with trees that would need to be cut down? Stormwater drains that would become over capacity? This is not how anyone should do public policy. The Planning Board has not addressed some basic questions and concerns in the work on Attainable Housing. Here are my top five current questions about this proposal.
- Where is the analysis of what is already possible under current zoning?
- Where is the rationale for a wholesale change to 82 percent of the single-family homes?
- Where is the focus on affordability when virtually everyone who supports the policy says that they support it because we need more affordable homes?
- Where is the equity analysis, and what would it do to neighborhoods that would be ripe for purchase by developers?
- Why wouldn’t we do this more thoughtfully?
I encourage all residents to pay attention to this discussion and talk to your neighbors, community leaders and homeowners’ association. There are still many people unaware of how important this proposal is to their neighborhood.
Historic Swearing-In Ceremony Highlights Change for Police, Fire
We initiated a historic change within Montgomery County this summer, and this week, we celebrated that change with the first dual swearing-in of two incredible leaders of two critical County departments. You can watch that ceremony here.
Our new leaders are not just breaking barriers—they are reshaping the landscape, leading with vision, passion and purpose.
Marc Yamada's roots in Wheaton run deep. He went to high school there and patrolled the streets. He led this district with unwavering commitment. Marc is the County’s first Asian-American police chief.
Then there is Corey Smedley, a man with a wealth of experience that spans the region. He has worked in small and large fire departments, and he understands that the strength of our fire service lies in the partnerships between our volunteers and union members. As the first Black chief of the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service, the department will remain one of the finest in the country, built on collaboration and a shared sense of duty.
Let me also thank the families of Chief Yamada and Chief Smedley. We know that behind every great leader is a family that supports them through the long hours and the hard days.
The two men share a fundamental understanding: Public safety is a collective effort. It is not the work of one person alone, but the strength of the team, the shared commitment and the trust built among colleagues. Their collaboration, teamwork and unbreakable sense of mission are the cornerstone of our success.
We are a forward-thinking County, and leaders like Chief Yamada and Chief Smedley are taking public safety to new heights. Whether it is through cutting-edge initiatives like speeding up response times and ensuring safer outcomes or life-saving innovations like replacing IV fluids with whole blood in the field. That is a program adopted by our fire service that immediately started saving lives.
Our goal is simple: Equip every first responder with the tools, training and resources they need to serve this community effectively and protect their own safety.
We all know that public safety is more than just responding to emergencies. It is about building trust. We pride ourselves on proactively engaging with our communities long before disaster strikes. Their care, compassion and commitment are essential to connecting with the community.
Congratulations to Chief Yamada and Chief Smedley for earning these posts. May your leadership continue to inspire us all and we are confident you will carry this community forward with grace, strength and innovation.
Food Trucks Going Electric Thanks to Grant Help
The Maryland Energy Administration is providing $10,000-to-$25,000 awards to offset the amount needed for those upgrades. Receiving this $150,000 grant from the State is a major step for our sustainability efforts. It underscores our commitment to reducing carbon emissions and improving public health by cutting down on harmful pollutants while supporting small businesses.
One great feature of this plan is that electric generator systems are projected to earn back their cost within two years through fuel savings. In collaboration with the Montgomery County Green Bank, the Food Truck Generator Electrification Pilot will offer a cash rebate plus zero percent interest loans for the cost of equipment and installation, enabling operators to switch to electric generators and avoid upfront costs.
These trucks produce more than four times as much carbon dioxide yearly as an ordinary vehicle. The pilot program alone could help eliminate 515 tons of carbon pollution annually. I hope it will inspire our leaders to help small businesses while helping the environment.
If you are a food truck owner or know of one who would be interested in converting, here is the online form from the Department of Environmental Protection to express interest in the program.
Halloween Fun
MCDOT is partnering with Montgomery County Public Libraries for a MonsterFlash event from 10 a.m.-noon on Saturday, Oct. 26, at the Twinbrook Library in Rockville. This bilingual, family-friendly event will feature story time, a dance party, a scavenger hunt and a tour of the County’s Halloween-inspired Flash bus.
Also, on Sunday will be the fourth annual HalloWheaton event in Downtown Wheaton. It will begin at noon. This year, it will focus on the multiverse of African cultural heritage.
On Saturday, Oct. 26, costumes are encouraged as Downtown Silver Spring becomes supernatural with the Zombie Walk Dance Party. The event starts at 8:30 and goes until 10 p.m.
On Sunday, Oct. 27, join us for “Halloween at the Library” during Trick or Treat in the Square in Rockville Town Square from 3-6 p.m.
There are many other parks, recreation, neighborhood and city activities to keep everyone entertained as well.
While there is a lot of fun to be had, I hope you stress the importance of safety. The risk of being hit by a car is four times higher on Halloween, so adding something reflective to a costume can help drivers see trick-or-treaters. Help children understand the importance of holding hands, staying together and looking out for each other. Flashlights are a good thing to bring and use them to help kids avoid tripping hazards. Remind kids to never enter a house or apartment building unless an adult goes with them. Finally, some costumes can be flammable resulting in house fires or injuries. Keep kids away from candles or fires used for witches' brew. You can find more safety tips here.
As always, my appreciation for all of you,
Marc Elrich
County Executive
