Dear Friends,
Like many of you, I’ve had the victims and families of the torrential flooding in Texas on my mind a lot this week. One of our Montgomery County Fire and Rescue team members was deployed to assist with communications efforts during the search and recovery effort, and our Urban Search and Rescue team is always ready to assist if needed and called upon.
Events like this remind us that extreme weather is becoming more frequent and more dangerous. We’ve seen it here, too, with sudden storms, flash flooding and record heat, underlining how critical it is for us to prepare for extreme weather here at home. I want to share the graphic below, showing emergency room and urgent care visits tied to extreme heat. You can see how suddenly demand for help spiked with the heatwave we experienced in June.
We’ve made major investments in early detection and alert systems to help us better respond to storms and flooding, like our flood sensor program, which is now operating across 35 locations in flood-prone areas. These are low-cost, solar-powered sensors, paid for by FEMA, that monitor rising water levels in real time and instantly alert our emergency managers and first responders. The federal government paid for the system initially, which the County now maintains and supports through County funds. The flood sensors help us act faster, whether that means warning residents, closing roads or dispatching first responders. With heavier rains and flash floods happening more often due to climate change, this kind of real-time monitoring has become essential for many departments responsible for protecting property, saving lives and getting us around town safely. You can read more about the program here.
We are also a partner in the Maryland Mesonet program, which just installed Montgomery County’s first Mesonet weather station last week at the National Capital Trolley Museum. This is part of a larger statewide system, led by the Maryland Department of Emergency Management and the University of Maryland’s Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Department, to build a more accurate, hyper-local weather monitoring network across the state.
We are expecting four more Mesonet stations to be installed in Montgomery County in the months ahead. I want to thank the State, the University of Maryland and our emergency management team for making this partnership work.
One of our Office of Emergency and Homeland Security emergency management specialists, Matt Miziorko, had the idea for the Mesonet system, and it was his initiative that got the ball rolling on this project under the last governor. You can watch the conversation we had during this week’s media briefing here.
We are currently mapping Montgomery County to identify flood-prone areas and, more importantly, understand how the water flows. We are working to understand how much of the increased water is coming from further upstream and how much is due to increased imperviousness and decreased absorption abilities on-site and nearby.
This is a good opportunity to remind everyone of the importance of having an emergency plan, something the whole family can easily follow to help escape danger and reunite quickly. Prepare a kit for different scenarios, including being trapped at home or away from home. The best protection is often knowing what to do when a disaster strikes.
Subscribe to Alert Montgomery to receive emergency alerts from Montgomery County directly to your mobile devices. Through this service, Montgomery County officials can send event updates, warnings and instructions directly to you.
Strengthening Tenant Protections in Montgomery County
Montgomery County has made some important progress when it comes to rental housing.
Effective July 1st, the County can now sue landlords who repeatedly mistreat their tenants. I want to thank Councilmember Kristin Mink for her leadership on this bill and for standing up for renters in our community. This legislation, which I signed in April, closed a loophole that left too many residents without support. I’m glad we now have it in place.
With this change, landlords are covered by the Consumer Protection law, and “consumer goods and services" include rental housing. This means that landlords in Montgomery County are now fully subject to the same consumer protection laws as other merchants. They must not engage in deceptive, unfair or unconscionable trade practices. Landlords taking rent money monthly are expected to deliver goods and perform the expected services.
With this new law, the County will be able to bring cases directly to Circuit Court. This provides the County with new and more robust tools to induce compliance when landlords repeatedly fail to correct housing code violations. Instead of fighting for single citations, the County can now illustrate patterns of deceptive practices. The Office of Consumer Protection can seek damages, restitution and other forms of relief. The County will also have the power to seek preliminary, temporary or permanent injunctions against landlords that show a pattern of property neglect and noncompliance with citations.
Before this law, we could only issue citations for individual violations and wait for them to work their way through the courts, which often takes many months. We had to rely entirely on state agencies or civil action by tenants themselves to address the overall practice by the problematic landlord, even in cases where landlords were ignoring basic health and safety rules. Now, we can step in directly as a government to hold bad actors accountable.
We are protecting people from negligence and unsafe conditions. Over the years, far too many residents have felt powerless when facing unresponsive or abusive landlords. This bill gives the County a legal tool to intervene when landlords refuse to meet their responsibilities.
Unfortunately, some rental properties are in bad shape, and some landlords refuse to make the necessary repairs. It is frustrating when our County goes through the citation process at the courts only to have the issue fixed the day before a hearing, which, in essence, means landlords get away with delaying basic services.
Our Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA) faced significant challenges in enforcing compliance. In Fiscal Year 24 alone, DHCA attempted to recover over $1.5 million in unpaid fines, but collected just over $100,000. These landlords often relied on long delays in District Court. Some of the worst actors even continued pitching their buildings to prospective tenants as safe, healthy or luxury dwellings, despite persistent issues.
I want to be clear, this is a very small minority of the landlords who oversee properties in Montgomery County, but those who engage in this type of behavior need to be held accountable. We have needed this law for a long time, and I hope its existence will prevent bad actors and bad decisions from occurring.
Rent Stabilization Law and Updated Rate of Increases for Fiscal Year 26
Two years ago, the Council passed, and I signed, rent stabilization legislation that ties allowable rent increases to a formula: 3% plus the rate of inflation, capped at 6%. Last year was the first year that rent increases were allowed up to 6% (the inflation rate was 3.3%). The law also allows higher increases if there’s a demonstrated need based on major building repairs.
The inflation rate for this fiscal year (which began July 1) is 2.7%. That means landlords will be allowed to increase rents by 5.7% (more than double the rate of inflation). We put out notice of this rate in March, and it took effect on July 1. It's important for all renters and landlords to be aware of this rate change.
I’ve supported rent stabilization for decades, going back to my time on the Takoma Park City Council. But this bill did not end up where it needed to be. Along with Councilmembers Will Jawando and Kristin Mink, we initially proposed a cap of 3% unless inflation or necessary repairs necessitated a higher rate. That was a number we believed would give tenants some predictability and protection from sharp increases, while still allowing landlords to cover legitimate costs. Where we ended up was a rent cap that would be, in this case, more than twice the inflation rate, and since wages for lower-paid workers rarely rise by the inflation rate, it just continues increasing the affordability gap – the gap between what one can afford and what the market rents are.
The bill that passed also includes carveouts and exemptions that make it even easier for landlords to raise rents beyond what most tenants can afford. In effect, it watered down the very protection that renters were calling for. For example, all apartments less than 23 years old are exempt from the rent stabilization law.
Rent stabilization is an important tool for local governments to stop rent gouging in high-cost areas, and this is not unique to Montgomery County. The District of Columbia has rent stabilization, and the City of Takoma Park has had rent stabilization for over 40 years, where it has been very successful in protecting tenants. This has had a positive impact on student mobility, which improves learning outcomes.
I was a teacher in Takoma Park for many years, and I saw the impact that high rent increases had on kids in school. Families were forced to move more frequently, and kids were forced into new schools abruptly. That impacted learning and how involved parents were with their children’s school. It should be on us to provide as much stability as possible for families that call Montgomery County home to give kids the best chance of success in school. These changes help provide that stability.
Rent stabilization was validated by the U.S. Supreme Court after World War II, when returning veterans faced rent gouging. They had returned home from saving the world from fascism and were rewarded for their efforts by landlords seeking to take advantage of housing shortages to jack up rents as high as possible. In response to that, many jurisdictions implemented rent control, practical policies that address real issues people face every day.
We will enforce the rent stabilization law as passed, and we also have to be honest about where it falls short and continue to push for solutions that reflect the actual needs of our residents, especially our renters.
Update on Impacts of Federal Job Cuts
We are still processing the impacts on our State and County following the federal cuts laid out in the Federal budget bill passed last week.
Maryland’s Secretary of Labor is raising serious concerns about the solvency of the state’s unemployment insurance fund. That’s a real warning sign, and it comes at a time when more people may soon need that safety net.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration can move forward with its plan to significantly downsize the federal workforce. This will hit communities like ours especially hard, where tens of thousands of people either work directly for the federal government or for contractors. We’re already seeing the early impacts of this through buyouts, retirements and people quietly (or not so quietly) pushed out. Most of this upheaval is not even reflected in our unemployment figures yet (shared above and available here).
Various courts put the brakes on many of the mass firings that the DOGE wreckers had begun to implement, but this most recent court ruling lets those mass firings go through. So, unless the President and his sycophants suddenly realize that they’re crippling the government's ability to do its job and decide to pull back those cuts, we are likely to see the feared spike in layoffs materialize.
The County’s unemployment rate for May was 3.2%. That’s up from 2.6% a year ago and well above the record low of 1.3% we hit in April of 2023. Again, the recent numbers don’t fully capture the job losses in the federal workforce. We should expect things to get worse before they get better.
That’s why our investments in workforce support are so critical. In the FY26 budget, we provided additional funding for WorkSource Montgomery to expand its in-person job center in Wheaton and provide more hands-on help for people trying to get back into the workforce. We will continue to grow our Mobilize Montgomery initiative to offer displaced workers access to training, hiring events and resources tailored to what’s happening in the economy.
We can’t control what’s happening in Washington, but we can keep showing up for the people who are affected by it.
SNAP Cuts and Helping Address Hunger
Last week, I focused on my issues with the federal spending law passed and signed by the Trump administration. I mentioned the devastating impact it would have on hunger relief efforts, specifically the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which is meant to help residents put food on the table for their families. It puts added pressure on nonprofits, schools and food banks that are already overwhelmed by great demand.
Next Wednesday, July 16, the Montgomery County Food Council will be at Crossroads Farmers Market in Takoma Park starting at 10:30 a.m. to mark a simple but powerful change: SNAP dollars can now be used to buy plants and seeds. That means families can grow their own vegetables at home or in their community, and build lasting food security, one backyard (or balcony) at a time.
Stop by the Food Council’s new “MoCo Made” tent, talk with CHEER’s Long Branch Gardeners and catch Parks’ Michelle Nelson and Emma Morel to learn how Montgomery Park's Community Garden Program can help you grow your own produce. You’ll find the tent on Anne Street at University Boulevard East, right next to Mega Mart.
Crossroads was the first farmers market in Maryland to accept nutrition benefits and the first in the nation to double them. This is another step at the local level toward making healthy food affordable and empowering residents to feed themselves.
Let’s keep cultivating a County where everyone can grow, eat and thrive.
Local Music in Montgomery County
A few weeks ago in this newsletter, I shared a video recap of a conversation I had with legendary Nighthawks founder Mark Wenner. Here is a link to that video. It brought up a lot of good memories of growing up in the DC area and seeing live music across Montgomery County. I asked you to tell me some of your favorite hangouts and got a few responses. I'm glad Strathmore got some love from you. I also heard from some of you that consider Rams Head one of our local live music venues that we didn't mention.
We have been lucky to have such talented musicians representing all genres of music play our local stages. I love music and am always excited to take the stage briefly during community concerts to welcome the crowd, thank the band/organizers and encourage everyone to celebrate responsibly. I didn't have that opportunity when Sly and the Family Stone or Muddy Waters were headlining years ago, but I'm grateful for the opportunity to do it now at venues like the Silver Spring Jazz Festival or TGIF Concerts in Wheaton. There are many ways to enjoy live music in our area (including many free concerts), so I hope you get to enjoy a show before the summer ends.
As always, my appreciation for all of you,
Marc Elrich
Strengthening Tenant Protections in Montgomery County
Montgomery County has made some important progress when it comes to rental housing.
Effective July 1st, the County can now sue landlords who repeatedly mistreat their tenants. I want to thank Councilmember Kristin Mink for her leadership on this bill and for standing up for renters in our community. This legislation, which I signed in April, closed a loophole that left too many residents without support. I’m glad we now have it in place.
With this change, landlords are covered by the Consumer Protection law, and “consumer goods and services" include rental housing. This means that landlords in Montgomery County are now fully subject to the same consumer protection laws as other merchants. They must not engage in deceptive, unfair or unconscionable trade practices. Landlords taking rent money monthly are expected to deliver goods and perform the expected services.
With this new law, the County will be able to bring cases directly to Circuit Court. This provides the County with new and more robust tools to induce compliance when landlords repeatedly fail to correct housing code violations. Instead of fighting for single citations, the County can now illustrate patterns of deceptive practices. The Office of Consumer Protection can seek damages, restitution and other forms of relief. The County will also have the power to seek preliminary, temporary or permanent injunctions against landlords that show a pattern of property neglect and noncompliance with citations.
Before this law, we could only issue citations for individual violations and wait for them to work their way through the courts, which often takes many months. We had to rely entirely on state agencies or civil action by tenants themselves to address the overall practice by the problematic landlord, even in cases where landlords were ignoring basic health and safety rules. Now, we can step in directly as a government to hold bad actors accountable.
We are protecting people from negligence and unsafe conditions. Over the years, far too many residents have felt powerless when facing unresponsive or abusive landlords. This bill gives the County a legal tool to intervene when landlords refuse to meet their responsibilities.
Unfortunately, some rental properties are in bad shape, and some landlords refuse to make the necessary repairs. It is frustrating when our County goes through the citation process at the courts only to have the issue fixed the day before a hearing, which, in essence, means landlords get away with delaying basic services.
Our Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA) faced significant challenges in enforcing compliance. In Fiscal Year 24 alone, DHCA attempted to recover over $1.5 million in unpaid fines, but collected just over $100,000. These landlords often relied on long delays in District Court. Some of the worst actors even continued pitching their buildings to prospective tenants as safe, healthy or luxury dwellings, despite persistent issues.
I want to be clear, this is a very small minority of the landlords who oversee properties in Montgomery County, but those who engage in this type of behavior need to be held accountable. We have needed this law for a long time, and I hope its existence will prevent bad actors and bad decisions from occurring.
Rent Stabilization Law and Updated Rate of Increases for Fiscal Year 26
Two years ago, the Council passed, and I signed, rent stabilization legislation that ties allowable rent increases to a formula: 3% plus the rate of inflation, capped at 6%. Last year was the first year that rent increases were allowed up to 6% (the inflation rate was 3.3%). The law also allows higher increases if there’s a demonstrated need based on major building repairs.
The inflation rate for this fiscal year (which began July 1) is 2.7%. That means landlords will be allowed to increase rents by 5.7% (more than double the rate of inflation). We put out notice of this rate in March, and it took effect on July 1. It's important for all renters and landlords to be aware of this rate change.
I’ve supported rent stabilization for decades, going back to my time on the Takoma Park City Council. But this bill did not end up where it needed to be. Along with Councilmembers Will Jawando and Kristin Mink, we initially proposed a cap of 3% unless inflation or necessary repairs necessitated a higher rate. That was a number we believed would give tenants some predictability and protection from sharp increases, while still allowing landlords to cover legitimate costs. Where we ended up was a rent cap that would be, in this case, more than twice the inflation rate, and since wages for lower-paid workers rarely rise by the inflation rate, it just continues increasing the affordability gap – the gap between what one can afford and what the market rents are.
The bill that passed also includes carveouts and exemptions that make it even easier for landlords to raise rents beyond what most tenants can afford. In effect, it watered down the very protection that renters were calling for. For example, all apartments less than 23 years old are exempt from the rent stabilization law.
Rent stabilization is an important tool for local governments to stop rent gouging in high-cost areas, and this is not unique to Montgomery County. The District of Columbia has rent stabilization, and the City of Takoma Park has had rent stabilization for over 40 years, where it has been very successful in protecting tenants. This has had a positive impact on student mobility, which improves learning outcomes.
I was a teacher in Takoma Park for many years, and I saw the impact that high rent increases had on kids in school. Families were forced to move more frequently, and kids were forced into new schools abruptly. That impacted learning and how involved parents were with their children’s school. It should be on us to provide as much stability as possible for families that call Montgomery County home to give kids the best chance of success in school. These changes help provide that stability.
Rent stabilization was validated by the U.S. Supreme Court after World War II, when returning veterans faced rent gouging. They had returned home from saving the world from fascism and were rewarded for their efforts by landlords seeking to take advantage of housing shortages to jack up rents as high as possible. In response to that, many jurisdictions implemented rent control, practical policies that address real issues people face every day.
We will enforce the rent stabilization law as passed, and we also have to be honest about where it falls short and continue to push for solutions that reflect the actual needs of our residents, especially our renters.
Update on Impacts of Federal Job Cuts
We are still processing the impacts on our State and County following the federal cuts laid out in the Federal budget bill passed last week.
Maryland’s Secretary of Labor is raising serious concerns about the solvency of the state’s unemployment insurance fund. That’s a real warning sign, and it comes at a time when more people may soon need that safety net.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration can move forward with its plan to significantly downsize the federal workforce. This will hit communities like ours especially hard, where tens of thousands of people either work directly for the federal government or for contractors. We’re already seeing the early impacts of this through buyouts, retirements and people quietly (or not so quietly) pushed out. Most of this upheaval is not even reflected in our unemployment figures yet (shared above and available here).
Various courts put the brakes on many of the mass firings that the DOGE wreckers had begun to implement, but this most recent court ruling lets those mass firings go through. So, unless the President and his sycophants suddenly realize that they’re crippling the government's ability to do its job and decide to pull back those cuts, we are likely to see the feared spike in layoffs materialize.
The County’s unemployment rate for May was 3.2%. That’s up from 2.6% a year ago and well above the record low of 1.3% we hit in April of 2023. Again, the recent numbers don’t fully capture the job losses in the federal workforce. We should expect things to get worse before they get better.
That’s why our investments in workforce support are so critical. In the FY26 budget, we provided additional funding for WorkSource Montgomery to expand its in-person job center in Wheaton and provide more hands-on help for people trying to get back into the workforce. We will continue to grow our Mobilize Montgomery initiative to offer displaced workers access to training, hiring events and resources tailored to what’s happening in the economy.
We can’t control what’s happening in Washington, but we can keep showing up for the people who are affected by it.
SNAP Cuts and Helping Address Hunger
Last week, I focused on my issues with the federal spending law passed and signed by the Trump administration. I mentioned the devastating impact it would have on hunger relief efforts, specifically the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which is meant to help residents put food on the table for their families. It puts added pressure on nonprofits, schools and food banks that are already overwhelmed by great demand.
Next Wednesday, July 16, the Montgomery County Food Council will be at Crossroads Farmers Market in Takoma Park starting at 10:30 a.m. to mark a simple but powerful change: SNAP dollars can now be used to buy plants and seeds. That means families can grow their own vegetables at home or in their community, and build lasting food security, one backyard (or balcony) at a time.
Stop by the Food Council’s new “MoCo Made” tent, talk with CHEER’s Long Branch Gardeners and catch Parks’ Michelle Nelson and Emma Morel to learn how Montgomery Park's Community Garden Program can help you grow your own produce. You’ll find the tent on Anne Street at University Boulevard East, right next to Mega Mart.
Crossroads was the first farmers market in Maryland to accept nutrition benefits and the first in the nation to double them. This is another step at the local level toward making healthy food affordable and empowering residents to feed themselves.
Let’s keep cultivating a County where everyone can grow, eat and thrive.
Local Music in Montgomery County
A few weeks ago in this newsletter, I shared a video recap of a conversation I had with legendary Nighthawks founder Mark Wenner. Here is a link to that video. It brought up a lot of good memories of growing up in the DC area and seeing live music across Montgomery County. I asked you to tell me some of your favorite hangouts and got a few responses. I'm glad Strathmore got some love from you. I also heard from some of you that consider Rams Head one of our local live music venues that we didn't mention.
We have been lucky to have such talented musicians representing all genres of music play our local stages. I love music and am always excited to take the stage briefly during community concerts to welcome the crowd, thank the band/organizers and encourage everyone to celebrate responsibly. I didn't have that opportunity when Sly and the Family Stone or Muddy Waters were headlining years ago, but I'm grateful for the opportunity to do it now at venues like the Silver Spring Jazz Festival or TGIF Concerts in Wheaton. There are many ways to enjoy live music in our area (including many free concerts), so I hope you get to enjoy a show before the summer ends.
As always, my appreciation for all of you,
Marc Elrich
County Executive