Fri 10/14/2022 1:00 PM
On Wednesday, October 12, 2022, the Montgomery County Council issued a press release announcing the resignation of the Montgomery County Planning Board Commissioners and a press release that described a process for appointing "temporary acting" Montgomery County Planning Board Commissioners.
We have requested information from the Montgomery County Council as to the legality of the "temporary acting" commissioner position they have created. To date, we have not received a reply.
The process the Montgomery County Council has announced appears to violate the Maryland Land Use Code.
Appointments in violation of the Land Use Code will impact the integrity of the Montgomery County Planning Board and the integrity of the Maryland National Capital Park & Planning Commission. The Montgomery County Planning Board and the Maryland National Capital Park & Planning Commission's ability to lawfully carry out their legal obligations will be severely jeopardized by the appointment of Montgomery County Commissioners in violation of the Maryland Land Use Code.
Specifically, the "temporary acting" positions the County Council has created appear to violate the Md. LAND USE Code Ann. section:
§15.102 (d)(5) A commissioner who is appointed to fill a vacancy for an unexpired term shall be a member of the same political party as the commissioner who vacated the office
The Montgomery County Council Press Release states:
No more than three members of the Planning Board may be from the same political party, and each member must be a resident and registered voter of Montgomery County when appointed. This position can be filled by a Democrat, Republican, a voter who is unaffiliated with a party, or a voter who is a member of another party officially recognized by the Board of Elections.
The press release does not state that the unexpired terms of the Montgomery County Planning Board Commissioners who resigned must be replaced with 3 Democrats, 1 Republican and 1 Independent as per Md. LAND USE Code Ann.§15.102 (d) (5). There is no indication that the Montgomery County Council intends to fill these unexpired commissioner terms as per the Code requirements.
Additionally, the press release states a process which appears to violate Md. LAND USE Code Ann.§15.105 (a)(2). The Montgomery County Press release states:
Montgomery County residents who are interested in filling these temporary positions must apply to the Council no later than Oct. 18 at 5 p.m. The Council is scheduled to vote on designating the temporary members on Oct. 25.
However, that timeline violates Md. LAND USE Code Ann.§15.105 (a) which states:
(2) The list shall be(i) completed at least 3 weeks before an appointment is made; and(ii) made available to the public.
The application deadline is just 7 days before the date appointments are to be made and in violation of §15.105 (a)(2)(i) which calls for the list of applicants to be completed at least 3 weeks before an appointment is made.
Finally, we can find no indication that the Maryland Land Use Code permits a "temporary acting" position of Planning Board Commissioners. The Code permits the Montgomery County Council to fill the unexpired term of a commissioner who vacated the office. According to the Maryland Land Use Code, appointments made to the Montgomery County Planning Board at this time should be appointments based on party affiliation to fulfill the unexpired term of the Commissioners who have resigned.
As the Montgomery County Council has created an expedited appointment process for filling these seats, we request an immediate response from MNCPPC as to the legality of the "temporary acting" appointment process being used in Montgomery County.
Thank you so much for your prompt review of this matter. We look forward to an immediate public statement from MNCPPC to clarify the legality of the appointment of "temporary acting" Planning Board Commissioners in Montgomery County.
Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, MD
Formed in 2002, the Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland seeks to achieve the goals of coherent, content-rich curriculum standards; high expectations combined with timely remediation and acceleration; a wider range of educational options for parents and children; greater transparency and accountability; and meaningful community input.
So from what I’m gathering the violations are :
ReplyDelete1: the replacements have to be from same party as before. What was the party makeup previously)
2: Not enough time from list of candidates being made transparent and being appointed
Really all depends on who and how many apply I assume. Hopefully some common sense rational candidates step forward and the CC doesn’t just look for rubber stampers of the thrive scam
But thoroughly not shocked that the CC is not following the rules
Those are the rules we "know" they are not following. As the entire process is outside of the written law, we don't know what else they are doing. For example, how long is a "temporary acting" position? What if the person in a "temporary acting" position doesn't want to leave the position? Will the "temporary acting" positions be paid? Will they have the full powers of the office? Will the MNCPPC be able to legally operate with "temporary acting" fill ins from Montgomery County?
DeleteOnce the County Council breaks the law, the possibilities are endless.
it also appears the former PB members may have been illegally removed - under 15-105 before a commissioner can be removed a public hearing on the removal must be held. Under 15-104 candidates must file financial disclosures & must be interviewed with a transcript of the interview made, with candidate reviewing transcript and signing off on transcript. Its doubtful any of this will occur with the CC's short time frame.
ReplyDelete