Dear Friends,
As we celebrate Thanksgiving, I want to express my appreciation for all the incredible people, organizations, and communities who make Montgomery County such a remarkable place to live. Every day, I’m reminded of the compassion, resilience, and commitment that define our County.
I’m especially grateful for the dedicated employees of Montgomery County Government. Their hard work and unwavering commitment to serving, protecting, supporting and uplifting our residents are at the heart of what makes this community thrive. Their contributions make a real difference for all our residents.
While many of us gather with our families or travel on vacation during this time of year, many of our police officers, firefighters and paramedics, as well as our corrections and MCDOT employees, are at work away from their families. We can’t thank them enough for the work they do to keep us safe.
One part of our government that touches every resident is our public library system. For my video this week, I sat down with our new Library Director, Darcell Graham, to discuss how she will lead the Montgomery County Public Libraries.
She is focused on how our libraries can better serve everyone in the community. We both believe that our libraries can serve as a starting point for engagement, early and continuing education and community growth.
I hope you’ll take a few minutes to watch the video and learn more about Director Graham and her vision for our Library system.
Giving Back This Holiday Season
The holidays are also a time when we remember and help those in need. Last weekend, I had the privilege of seeing this spirit in action across our community. I joined nonprofit organizations and community groups to distribute Thanksgiving baskets to families in need.
These efforts were a part of our Holiday Giving Project, organized by our Department of Health and Human Services. In total, they distributed nearly 11,000 food baskets to residents in need. That is an incredible level of charity and help to families throughout the County.
Last Friday, I attended our National Adoption Day event at the Courthouse, where 11 children found their forever families. The event celebrates the adoptions of children who came through our foster care system, and it was a joyous event. Watching those families come together was a reminder of how much love, connection and support can transform lives.
Thank you to child welfare and Circuit Court staff for planning the annual event. Find out more about becoming a foster parent at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/fosterparent.
These experiences highlight what this season is all about—sharing, supporting and ensuring that everyone in our community feels valued and cared for.
As you make plans for the upcoming holiday season, I encourage you to also consider taking time to volunteer and give back. Please visit the Montgomery County Volunteer Center for opportunities available to donate your time, money or resources.
Free Garage Parking on Small Business Saturday
As we move from Thanksgiving into the holiday shopping season, we also want to show support for our local retail businesses. This Saturday is Small Business Saturday, and there are many wonderful County resident-owned stores, restaurants, and service companies to patronize this season. Visit MoCo recently highlighted “Seven Places to ‘Shop Small.”
Supporting small businesses matters. Studies show that for every dollar spent locally, approximately 67 cents stays within our County.
According to the recently published Quickbooks 2024 Holiday Shopping Report- Small business owners surveyed say they expect to earn an average of 33% of their yearly revenue from holiday sales this year.
Unfortunately, this survey also cited that consumers are expected to spend $85 billion less this holiday season—a 34 percent year-over-year downturn. That is concerning, especially since many small businesses will feel that hardship much worse than larger corporate operations.
Please note that parking at on-street meters is not free and will still be enforced. We hope the free parking in the garages will help encourage residents to explore our local businesses and enjoy everything Montgomery County has to offer.
Staying Safe During the Holidays
We also wanted to take a moment to remind everyone about the importance of safety during this time of year—whether you’re driving, shopping, or even cooking at home.
This weekend is one of the busiest travel periods of the year, and I hope that everyone who travels will be patient and kind to each other.
Ensuring safety on our roads is a very significant responsibility of the state and local governments. Last week, the County’s Vision Zero Annual Report for FY24 was published. Here are three highlights from the report that I wanted to share:
- We have 10 projects underway on high-injury networks, or HIN corridors. HIN corridors are the County’s most dangerous roads, representing only three percent of the County's roads but 41 percent of serious and fatal injuries.
- We succeeded in closing the loophole in Noah’s Law, which will require more impaired drivers to install ignition interlocks in their vehicles and reduce repeat drunk driving offenses. This change was enacted on October 1st, and I want to thank Senators Smith and Waldstreicher for their efforts in getting this loophole closed, as well as Governor Moore and his team for supporting this effort during the last General Assembly. And I want to especially express my sincere gratitude to the Leotta family for their advocacy to save the lives of others on behalf of Noah’s life and legacy.
- We conducted 15,795 traffic stops for excessive speeding by law enforcement and 360,363-speed citations from automated enforcement.
As you can see from this chart, there were 253 serious and fatal crashes in 2023, excluding interstate roadways, in the County. This equates to an 11 percent decrease from the 2015 to 2019 average. However, compared to 2022, there were 13 more serious crashes and six fewer fatal crashes in 2023.
While we are making progress on road safety, we still have a lot of work to do. But the most important component of being safe on the road is making sure people are alert to their surroundings and are not being distracted. Whether you’re behind the wheel or crossing the street, we urge everyone to stay alert and make safe choices to protect yourself and those around you.
Another initiative that’s making a difference is our Drone as First Responder Program in Silver Spring, Wheaton and Gaithersburg. This program is helping our police department respond faster and more effectively to incidents.
Recently, these drones have been instrumental in apprehending shoplifting suspects, which not only prevents loss for our local businesses but also enhances public safety. We’re actively working to expand this program to Bethesda-Chevy Chase and the Germantown-Gaithersburg areas.
And let’s not forget about safety at home. This season is one of the busiest for MCFRS in responding to fire and medical emergency calls. The National Fire Protection Association cited Thanksgiving, New Year’s Day, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day as the top days for residential fires.
This week, during my media briefing, I was joined by Jim Resnick, a Fire Safety Educator at the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service, as well as Montgomery County Police Department Commander Brian Dillman, Captain Warren Jensen and Captain Nick Picerno. To watch this conversation, please click here. (I am glad I asked Mr. Resnick about the dangers of deep-frying turkeys – I did not know that improperly cooking them could cause an explosion!)
UM-IHC Opens Doors in North Bethesda
On Monday, we celebrated the second anniversary of the signing of the University of Maryland/County MOU establishing the Institute for Health Computing, or UM-IHC, and the public opening of their temporary research space in North Bethesda.
This institute is not just a milestone for Montgomery County but a game-changer for the entire state of Maryland and beyond. It represents the future of health and technology innovation, and it’s already making an impact.
This effort began with a simple question I had: How could we leverage artificial intelligence and advanced computing to transform drug discovery and healthcare?
Thanks to wonderful partners and visionary leadership from the University of Maryland, including Dean Varshney and President Pines from College Park, Dean Gladwin and President Jarrell from the University of Maryland Baltimore, Chancellor Jay Perman, and Dr. Suntha, CEO of the Maryland Medical System, we turned that idea into reality.
Today, the Institute is home to more than 70 researchers, 17 interns and growing partnerships with private companies—and the Institute has already spun off one of its discoveries into its own faculty-led enterprise.
This partnership is about much more than research. It’s also about preparing the next generation of scientists and tech professionals right here in Montgomery County.
For the first time, we’re anchoring our life sciences sector with graduate-level academic research. That’s a critical step forward because we were the only major life sciences hub in the country without such an institution.
Now, with the University of Maryland as a partner, we’re building the talent pipeline and innovation infrastructure we need to stay competitive. And UMD is consistently rated among the top universities in the world, in the fields of quantum computing and AI.
I also want to acknowledge the unwavering support that made this possible—from the federal government, which provided a $3 million earmark, to the County Council’s unanimous commitment of $40 million over five years, and the state’s legislative delegation, which passed ongoing funding to sustain this work. Their investments reflect the shared belief that Montgomery County can lead the way in life sciences and technology.
This initiative also aligns with my broader vision for North Bethesda as a hub of innovation—a vision inspired by places like Kendall Square in Boston. With this institute at its core, we’re creating a vibrant community where businesses, academic institutions and government collaborate to tackle the most pressing challenges of our time.
The work being done here isn’t just about Montgomery County or Maryland—it has the potential to change lives around the world.
Special Appropriation Request for Homelessness and Housing Instability
On Monday, I submitted a request to the County Council for a special appropriation of $3.6 million to fund critical programs aimed at addressing the rising demand for shelter, rental assistance and eviction prevention services in Montgomery County.
The reality is that we’re seeing a significant increase in family homelessness—47 percent higher than just a year ago, according to this year’s Point-in-Time Count survey. As you can see from this regional chart from the Council of Governments - between 2020 and 2024, the number of homeless in our County has increased by 71 percent.
Rising rents, inflation and systemic barriers are making it harder for low-income families to keep a roof over their heads. Without immediate intervention, these challenges could escalate, leaving even more of our residents in crisis.
This funding includes support for the Short-Term Housing and Resolution Program, or SHARP, which helps families transition from motels or emergency shelters into permanent housing. Right now, we have families living in motels because our shelters are full. That’s not a long-term solution, and it’s far more costly. SHARP offers a path to stability and dignity, and this funding will allow us to assist over 300 families currently in limbo.
We’re also requesting funding to support our eviction prevention program. Evictions don’t just uproot people—they have a ripple effect that leads to long-term instability and even homelessness. This funding will enable us to help more families stay in their homes by restoring eligibility to include households earning up to 60 percent of the area median income.
Finally, we’re requesting funds to assist households on the waiting list for the Rental Assistance Program. This program provides a modest but critical subsidy for residents with disabilities, older adults, and those needing the subsidy after exiting short-term programs. These subsidies help prevent vulnerable households from falling back into homelessness, and this funding will allow us to assist over 130 households currently on the waiting list.
I know council members have been engaged in this discussion, and we expect that the Council will act quickly on this request – they are eager to help and provide immediate relief to those who need it most. Addressing homelessness and housing instability is not just a moral obligation—it’s also a smart investment.
Veto to Proposed Changes to Development Impact Taxes
This week, I decided to veto Bill 16-24, which proposed changes to our development impact taxes. I cannot support a bill that reduces our ability to fund critical infrastructure projects without a viable alternative in place.
As county executive, I have only made a handful of vetoes, and these decisions are not taken lightly. But I could not in good conscience sign this bill into law.
Impact taxes are a fundamental tool for ensuring that new development contributes its fair share to the transportation and school infrastructure it relies on. This bill would result in a revenue loss of $13 million over the next six years—and that’s on top of the already declining impact tax revenues we’ve experienced.
To put this in perspective, in FY14, we collected $60.8 million in school and transportation impact taxes. By FY24, that number had dropped to $15.6 million—a staggering 74 percent reduction.
The consequences of these revenue reductions are real and immediate. This year alone, we’ve had to delay or cut funding for key projects like the Bradley Boulevard improvements, the Forest Glen passageway, and multiple school additions, including Paint Branch High School and Mill Creek Towne Elementary. These are not luxuries—they are essential to maintaining the quality of life that Montgomery County residents expect and deserve.
Bill 16-24 includes numerous exemptions, such as for developments near Metrorail or projects without parking. While these exemptions aim to encourage specific types of housing, they overlook the fact that these developments still create significant demands on our infrastructure. Whether it’s pedestrian improvements, transit upgrades or additional school capacity, the need for investment doesn’t disappear just because the impact tax is waived.
If development doesn’t pay its fair share, one of two things happens: the cost gets shifted to residents through higher taxes, or the infrastructure simply doesn’t get built. Neither of these outcomes is acceptable.
While I’ve long said that impact taxes are not a perfect tool, reducing them further without a replacement is shortsighted. Instead, we need to develop a comprehensive alternative that ensures we have the resources to build the infrastructure our growing community needs.
We have a model for this in the path that Northern Virginia took around 2013. The creation of special taxing districts on commercial property allowed them to raise the funds to massively build out the needed infrastructure. While Fairfax has used the investment to attract growth, Montgomery has been hampered by a short-sighted attachment to reducing tax rates on commercial property, which are already among the lowest in the region. Many businesses want to remain or locate in area with adequate infrastructure as has been demonstrated in Northern Virginia.
I urge the Council to reconsider the reduction in revenue that would be the result of Bill 16-24. Instead, I hope we will maintain the current impact taxes and work together to produce an alternative revenue source that can replace impact taxes. That’s good for our residents, our economy and our budget.
Fifth Holiday Season with COVID-19
This year will be the fifth year that we have gathered for the holidays since the COVID-19 outbreak began in 2020. However, there seems to be more media coverage of how to deal with fellow family members over post-election stress than the deadly threat of COVID-19, showing how far we have come with this virus since 2020.
National test positivity rates for COVID-19 earlier this month were 3.6 percent which is down significantly compared to the same weeks in 2023 at 10.1 percent, 2022 at 6.8 percent, 2021 at 7 percent, and 2020 at 13.6 percent. This is the first time the rate hasn't risen in the weeks heading into Thanksgiving.
And national weekly deaths from COVID-19 are also at an all-time low—250 people's deaths were attributed to the illness in the week of Nov. 9, according to the CDC, the lowest week since tracking began in March 2020.
But we can’t pretend that COVID-19 has magically gone away. As you can see from this CDC national map of wastewater surveillance, the nation is currently at “low” activity, but Maryland is at “moderate” activity.
And according to the CDC our wastewater viral activity level in Maryland for RSV is currently “Very High.”
So, if you are not feeling well, whether it’s the COVID-19, RSV or flu, please consider the health of others – especially older adults or those who are immunocompromised - before gathering with them throughout the upcoming holidays,
It is good that we are not where we were in 2020, but let’s remember that these viruses are still contagious and can be deadly, especially for the immunocompromised.
Thanks for reading, and I hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday.
As always, my appreciation for all of you,
Marc Elrich
County Executive
County Executive