Dear Friends,
This week, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown and a coalition of 21 other attorneys general secured a nationwide preliminary injunction that prevents the Trump administration, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from cutting billions of dollars in funds that support cutting-edge medical and public health research at universities and research institutions across the country. I want to thank Attorney General Brown for his steadfast work over the past month to legally protect and represent the best interests of the residents of this state.
This County is one of the nation’s epicenters for BioHealth sciences and research, and this injunction is important to our life sciences community. I hope that the courts will rule in favor of the coalition of the attorneys general.
Unfortunately, Trump administration decisions continue to negatively impact both our local and national economy. The stock market dropped this week on news of newly introduced tariffs, which will likely increase inflationary pressures and the cost of goods. We also continue to see mounting layoffs of federal workers, contractors and others who count on federal funding.
This week our Department of Health and Human Services joined the County Council on a webinar focused on mental health resources and support. The Council has more webinars planned. As I have mentioned over the past several weeks, this is a very stressful time for many Montgomery County families, and we want to reemphasize that anyone struggling with these changes should contact our Crisis Center. It provides free telephone and walk-in crisis services 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Services are provided by telephone (240-777-4000) or in person at 1301 Piccard Drive in Rockville - no appointment is needed.
Another option is the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Call, text or chat for confidential conversations.
We also want to share information for those who have lost health coverage because of unemployment. The Maryland Health Connection is the state’s official health insurance marketplace. You have 60 days after losing insurance to apply for coverage if you have not enrolled in COBRA. You may find that coverage through Maryland Health Connection is a more affordable option.
Visit MarylandHealthConnection.gov to enroll or find free help near you. You can also call (240) 777-1815 or download the free app, EnrollMHC, for enrollment help.
More Housing NOW Legislation
On Tuesday, the Montgomery County Council will hold public
hearings on a package of zoning and housing proposals that have been introduced
called More Housing NOW.
The plan has some good ideas, including the need to change workforce housing
policies and expand homeownership opportunities. So, I appreciate that.
I believe those improvements are where we should start. For the significant
proposed changes to zoning (ZTA), I believe we need to understand better what
is happening now, what we are trying to achieve and the potential unintended
consequences.
We need to understand the impacts on parking, traffic, tree coverage,
stormwater management and environmental impact as well as on the schools.
And it is crucial that changes happen through a planning process that includes
meaningful input from the community.
Previous master plan processes involved substantive and meaningful consultation
with residents who served on Master Plan committees and voted on the proposed
plans. I know first-hand: when I was a community activist, I served on the
committee that created the Silver Spring Central Business District sector plan
in 2000. The committee included residents with differing opinions along with
business owners and developers. No one got everything they wanted, but they
produced plans where people knew they were involved. And while that process could be
improved, it provides a good model that values the input of the residents and
the community.
Many people chose neighborhoods to live in because of what
they liked; they found places where they wanted to raise their families. With the current proposals, residents have no
idea what will happen to their neighborhood. We need to put the community back
into the planning process and we need to do it through the master plan process
that involves residents.
A successful planning process requires input from the executive agencies that
have experience and knowledge. For example, our Department of Housing and
Community Affairs has knowledge of the serious problems with the current
workforce housing law, which is referenced in the ZTA. We need to fix that law
before we consider expanding it.
And there is the larger issue of what can be built right now – without changing
any zoning or uses. Planning’s Development Pipeline shows that approximately
30,000 housing units have already gone through the planning process and are
approved to be built. (You can see that here: “Pipeline by Master Plan” Development
Pipeline - Montgomery Planning). All the developers need to do is go and
pull their building permits and they are ready to go.
Additionally, there are another 80,000+ units that have been zoned into our
master plans and can be built as soon as developers decide to submit
applications. (You can see that here: Residential
Development Capacity 2020)
The first step is to understand the development pipeline and the
development capacity. If Planning believes we have zoned for the wrong type of
units, they could reopen the unbuilt master plans and rezone them to create
more desirable housing if this is what they think people want. Planning
decisions were made in the context of smart growth and focus on development in
activity centers, not scattered along roads.
I am also concerned about Bill 2-25E, which would automatically give a property tax abatement (known as a Payment in Lieu of Taxes) for 25 years, for certain buildings with 50 percent vacancy rates that convert or demolish from commercial to residential. There is no demonstrated nexus between the giveaway of taxes and public benefit. In short, the costs of lost revenue are detached from the benefits that might occur. Most important to all of you, the taxes developers would not have to pay would increase the burden on homeowners. Schools and infrastructure must accompany growth, and, under this plan, what developers do not contribute winds up on your back.
I would also note that the Council’s Office of Legislative Oversight issued a racial equity and social justice impact statement that said Bill 2-25E could “widen disparities in housing by race and equity.”
My staff and I will have more specific comments and suggestions going forward, and I want to encourage residents to engage on this issue. We are working hard to increase housing affordability and choice, but we need to proceed carefully, deliberatively and thoughtfully and be extremely careful of unanticipated consequences especially in these uncertain times.
I urge you to participate in the Council public hearings and the discussions – testify, attend and engage. Let’s make sure that residents are part of the planning process for the benefit of our neighborhoods and our future.
Decline in Overdose Deaths in Montgomery County
Montgomery County saw the number of overdose deaths fall in 2024 (chart above). Overdoses involving opioids were down 48 percent, while deadly interactions with fentanyl dropped 52 percent. There were 83 fatal overdoses in 2024 compared to 138 in 2023.
You can keep up with the latest reported numbers by visiting Maryland’s Overdose Data Dashboard.
The 83 overdose deaths in 2024 mark the lowest number of fatalities since 2015. For close to 10 years, deadly overdoses have been rising across Maryland and in Montgomery County. The County saw a 188 percent increase from 2012 to 2023.
One of the main culprits was opioids, which accounted for 90 percent of all intoxication deaths in 2020. In 2021, we saw the most with 142 overdose deaths reported. And in 2023, fentanyl-laced drugs ignited new concerns about overdoses among young adults and teenagers.
We can attribute this reversal to many things, including outreach, public awareness campaigns, education and harm reduction initiatives. Our Department of Health and Human Services was able to speak directly to parents through fentanyl awareness forums in our community, which helped increase awareness about the severity of the problem.
Additionally, programs like STEER and the launch of our Crisis Stabilization Room (which provides mental health and substance use assessments, stabilization, treatment and referrals for people in crisis as a community-based alternative to jail, emergency rooms, or inpatient admission) have helped us intervene and get hundreds of people on the path to care and treatment. In each of the last two years, we have distributed nearly 10,000 doses of the anti-overdose medication Narcan into our community to help prevent deaths from opioids.
There is another result of all this education, awareness and the proliferation of Narcan. We are excited that deaths are down, but we are also pleased that there are fewer 911 calls for overdoses and fewer visits to our emergency rooms because of drug use. In 2024, ER visits due to overdose were down 30 percent.
Health officials continue to collaborate with schools, the police department and the community on education and intervention. However, officials remain concerned about a rise in fentanyl use within specific populations such as Latino youth and African American men over 55 years old. That is one reason why groups like the Latino Health Initiative and African American Health Program exist, to help reach the people who desperately need to receive the message.
We have made significant strides in reducing drug overdoses in Montgomery County, but even one life lost is one too many. Every individual we lose leaves a profound ripple effect on their loved ones and our community—connections we often do not fully grasp until it is too late. Today, let’s honor our progress while allowing it to fuel our commitment to even more life-saving efforts. To learn more about the dangers of opioids and other substances, visit knowtherisksmc.org.
Department of Permitting Stakeholders Forum
This week, I had the chance to welcome many members of our business community to Montgomery County’s Stakeholders Forum, hosted by our Department of Permitting Services (DPS). (Photos)
DPS plays a vital role in keeping projects moving and supporting our local economy. Whether you are building a backyard shed or a high-rise, your projects matter, and DPS is here to help make the process smoother, faster and more transparent.
Today, innovations, technology improvements and customer service enhancements all work to help customers complete projects faster. From online permitting tools to in-person support in Wheaton, DPS is focused on serving you better.
They have launched new GIS maps to improve access to property information and the eSolar program to help streamline residential solar permitting. DPS has also updated guides to help restaurants open more quickly. The new Permitting Dashboard provides transparency around plan review timelines, so projects are no longer stuck in limbo.
These are changes that our business community asked for. I remember hearing from owners and operators directly during my first year as County Executive. The County has responded with tools that make it easier to do business in Montgomery County.
At this week’s forum, key partners like the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission and the Department of Housing and Community Affairs provided updates. Breakout sessions focused on zoning, fire code and land development changes were also held.
Under the leadership of Director Rabbiah Sabbakhan, DPS is becoming a world-class department dedicated to exceptional service. We have made progress, but there is more to do—and your input remains key.
I encourage you to visit montgomerycountymd.gov/dps and discover how we can help meet your needs. There, you will also find the DPS Customer Bill of Rights, which emphasizes our commitment to providing excellent customer service.
Fifth Year Anniversary of COVID-19
This week, five years ago, the Maryland Department of Health notified us that Montgomery County had the first confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the State when three residents tested positive.
I remember that day vividly. We knew this virus was coming, but the reality of it hitting our community changed everything. We mobilized immediately-- pulling together our public health team, emergency response and hospital systems to prepare for what was ahead. Because this was a new virus which no one had seen before, there were many unknowns. We made difficult decisions based on the latest science about this emerging threat. I worked closely with our health team and trusted them to help provide the best information so we could make the best decisions to protect our residents and lessen the impact.
We saw what happened at the start of the pandemic in New York City—hospitals were overwhelmed and people died at an alarming rate. We were determined to do everything in our power to prevent that from happening here. Our goal was simple: save as many lives as possible.
COVID-19 became one of the biggest challenges this County has ever faced. To date, we have lost more than 2,500 residents to COVID-19—96 percent of whom were over the age of 65. The totals can be found on the Maryland Health Department’s COVID-19 page.
While many have moved on from the urgency of those early years, for the families who lost loved ones, the pain and trauma do not just go away. Between 2020 and 2022, COVID-19 accounted for 9 percent of all deaths in the County trailing only heart disease and cancer. Many people did not have the chance to be with loved ones in the end. That kind of trauma lingers and can be haunting. Our thoughts remain with those who lost family members, friends and colleagues.
What stands out most from our response is how our County came together. Our employees, our residents and our health professionals—everyone played a role in keeping our community as safe as possible. One of my proudest accomplishments as County Executive is that Montgomery County led the nation with some of the lowest death rates and highest vaccination rates among large jurisdictions. I always tell people I am grateful for so many County residents who trust the science and believe in medical professionals.
While every part of County government was involved in this response, I want to recognize our Department of Health and Human Services. Montgomery County is unique in Maryland—we are the only jurisdiction that runs its own health department. Every other county, and Baltimore City, relies on the State. But here, we created our own public health infrastructure, and during the pandemic, those investments saved lives.
The pandemic also forced us to confront long-standing inequities in healthcare. The lessons we learned—how we deliver health services, how we support our most vulnerable residents and even how we communicate with the public—have shaped the way we operate today. From treating patients during the pandemic, we learned that many people had other health issues that went unaddressed, which made recovering from COVID-19 difficult. That has prompted us to use clinics and our health care partners to help more people stay on top of their health.
What we experienced five years ago still holds true today: our public health system saves lives and builds a healthier, more resilient community. We will continue working to protect and support all our residents.
Read Across America Month
On Sunday, March 2, I got to revisit my teaching days as I shared some stories with children in Silver Spring for Read Across America Day. This is something I look forward to every year, and I want to thank the Jewish Council for the Aging for helping to make this event a success. Every year they pair children and volunteers together to share this day. There were also reading events in Gaithersburg and Wheaton. I know that the volunteers get just as much out of it as the children. (Photos)
On Tuesday, I also got a chance to read to children at the new CentroNía child care facility in Silver Spring. We launched this center for low-income working families last year to help provide quality early education for children before they are ready for kindergarten. The environment is bilingual and multicultural, which helps more of our families find a safe place for their children to learn and grow. (Photos)
Montgomery County Public Libraries is an incredible resource for people of all ages. We continue to invest in reading resources and Montgomery County Public Schools programs, like our County’s pre-K education infrastructure. Of all the critical investments we could make to improve educational outcomes, I strongly believe that universal pre-K would be the most effective and create the greatest benefits.
Both the Jewish Council for the Aging and CentroNía have a long history of helping families in our community. Spreading the joy of reading is just one way to contribute. I urge you to seek out ways to help these wonderful organizations or others helping people throughout Montgomery County.
As always, my appreciation for all of you,
Marc Elrich
County Executive
