EXCLUSIVE: @pcmc1 Makes Public Resumes for All Planning Board Candidates including Harris, Fosselman & Riemer after DELETION by @mococouncil

This Agenda packet was released on Friday, April 28, 2023, and then DELETED from the Montgomery County Council website. The document was not replaced with an update, it was just deleted so that the public could not read the packet in advance of the May 2nd Council meeting to interview 3 candidates for Montgomery County Planning Board Chair and candidates for Planning Board Commissioner seats.

We obtained a PDF of the Agenda packet and have made it available to the public.  The public has a right to be a part of the public appointment process. 

20230502_1-8 CVs Montgomery County Council candidates for Planning Board by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland on Scribd

Montgomery College Down 9,010 Students Since 2010. From 26,147 credit students to 17,137.

Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland: UPDATED: Montgomery College Enrollment Continues Dropping as MCPS Enrollment Increases (parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com)

Montgomery Co. school bus drivers among biggest rule-breakers for passing stopped school buses, report finds

In a report examining some school system-based purchases, Montgomery County’s Inspector General Megan Davey Limarzi found that 1,622 traffic citations were issued to employees operating school vehicles.

And of those issued citations, 1,062 were given to school transportation employees. According to the report, the 1,622 citations included fines totaling $155,174...

Montgomery Co. school bus drivers among biggest rule-breakers for passing stopped school buses, report finds - WTOP News

What will it take to bring Catholic child abusers to justice in Maryland? A prosecutor with guts. | GUEST COMMENTARY

There are worse things than legions of sadistic sexual predators abusing Maryland’s children: like legions of sadistic sexual predators abusing Maryland’s children and getting away with it.

A recent report from the Maryland Attorney General’s Office unveiled decades of rampant sexual abuse of children by Catholic clergy and others affiliated with the Archdiocese of Baltimore. But many of the perpetrators can likely sleep easy believing that no one will prosecute them, because they beat the clock and concealed their crimes well enough to avoid detection earlier, when it would have been less challenging to bring them to trial...

...In my 38 years of practice fighting for justice as a prosecutor and as the voice for crime victims in Maryland, there is no similar circumstance in our lifetimes that reeks of injustice more than this scandal, which is only partially exposed in the attorney general’s report. Nothing should haunt good prosecutors more than this, until they exhaust every effort to bring the living offenders to justice, no matter how old the cases.

Many of the reasons that have been given not to prosecute do not ring true. For the most part, there is no impediment. For God’s sake, for the sake of justice, to even preserve the meaning of the word justice, would my prosecutorial colleagues please do something? Anything?

What will it take to bring Catholic child abusers to justice in Maryland? A prosecutor with guts. | GUEST COMMENTARY – Baltimore Sun

Catholic Priests who sexually abused children were sent to SILVER SPRING from all over the world. [St. Luke Institute]

Abusive priests were once seen as moral failures. Now they get psychiatric treatment.

In 1985, Father John Hammer was sent for treatment at St. Luke Institute in the Washington suburbs of Maryland after being accused of abusing three altar boys in Youngstown, Ohio.

A year later, with parents in Youngstown opposing his return, Hammer got a new assignment as a chaplain at St. Agnes Hospital in Baltimore. “[A]s you know, we have had difficulty finding placements for those diagnosed with pedophilia,” Hammer’s therapist from St. Luke had written to Baltimore’s archbishop, thanking him for his “compassion and courage.”

In 1990, the Archdiocese of Baltimore removed Hammer from service. But again, the church found him a new home, this time with the Diocese of Saginaw, Michigan, where he was accused of abusing another child.

It was a pattern repeated around the country, and in Maryland, for decades. Priests were accused of abuse, sent for treatment that was ineffective or not medically based, and then returned to service, often in different states.

The church “exhibited a misplaced reliance on ‘treatment,’” according to a 456-page grand jury report on child sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore released this month by the state attorney general...

Priests came to Maryland for treatment

Maryland treatment facilities accepted a large number of priests accused of abuse, said Patrick Wall, a former priest who is now an attorney working with survivors of sexual abuse by clergy.

He said the centers could not cure priests and often became “a shield from law enforcement.”

In the 1990s and early 2000s, St. Luke Institute housed about 30 patients, most of whom were priests being treated for behavioral disorders. Its six-month program usually began with a dose of Depo-Provera, a drug to weaken sex drive, and several group and individual therapy sessions where priests underwent art and drama exercises. They each kept a “detailed sexual history diary,” according to news articles from the time period.

Priests were also hooked up to CT scans and electroencephalograms that measured brain waves and were stripped down for a “penile plethysmograph,” which measures a man’s arousal...

Treatment for abusive priests: - The Baltimore Banner

2022: Councilmembers Laurie-Ann Sayles, Evan Glass, and Will Jawando all said they would SUPPORT the Montgomery County Office of People's Counsel.

While campaigning for a seat on the Montgomery County Council, all three of these now elected Councilmembers said they would support the Office of People's Counsel. 

Now that a vote on the funding of this office is before them, will they keep their promises? 

Breaking: Inspector General finds that MCPS uses MCPS Credit Cards to Pay $148,528 in Traffic Fines. 85% of Bus Fines were for MCPS BUS DRIVERS PASSING SCHOOL BUSES!

The Montgomery County Inspector General has issued a report about the number and types of automated red light, speeding and school bus stop arm camera citations received by MCPS staff.  The IG was alerted to this issue when the office discovered MCPS staff using MCPS credit cards to pay their personal traffic citations.  

The IG issued an investigative report, shown below, and provided Superintendent McKnight with an advance version.  

McKnight did not respond. Instead, the MCPS COO Brian Hull responded and completely ignored the IG's concerns as detailed in the report.  

2023 OIG Investigation Traffic Citations MCPS by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland on Scribd

https://montgomerycountymd.gov/OIG/Resources/Files/PDF/IGActivity/FY2023/OIG23-12.pdf

Cell Tower REMOVED from Woodward High School site! Woodward HS site is now Cell Tower Free!

Montgomery County Public Schools Director of Facilities Seth P. Adams tried to have the cell tower at the Woodward High School site moved to the bleachers for the new school, but he failed.  

The cell tower at the Woodwards High School site was placed on the site in 2002 by former Superintendent Jerry Weast without any Board of Education notice or approval.

In the summer of 2022, MCPS Director of Facilities Seth P. Adams attempted to have a new cell tower built on the site without any Board of Education authorization.  That attempt failed and the application for a new cell tower at the site was denied.  

The original 2002 cell tower is in the path of the new construction and was removed on April 13, 2023.  

IT'S GONE!

Va. schools will be graded on how many students missed class this year

 From the Washington Post, reporter Karina Elwood. Full story here.

Chronic absenteeism had not been counted against schools since before the pandemic

For the first time since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, schools in Virginia will be graded on whether students are coming to school.

In Virginia, chronically absent students are defined as those who miss 10 percent or more of the school year, which typically measures out to missing 18 or more days. During the pandemic, the state suspended using a school’s chronic absenteeism rate as a factor in measuring school performance.

We Need a People's Counsel that Works - Take Action

 Update (4/19): Yesterday the Council held a public hearing on bill 18-23 (see the video here) and the Office of Legislative Oversight released their report on the equity impacts of the bill. It reads in part: 

"The Office of Legislative Oversight (OLO) anticipates that Bill 18-23 could sustain or marginally widen racial and social inequities in land use in the County as its benefits would disproportionately accrue to land developers that are disproportionately White. To advance RESJ in land use and zoning processes, OLO proposes modification and alternatives to current law for Council consideration."

A number of powerful speakers at the public hearing also spoke to the equity issues raised when neighborhoods of less means grapple with complicated land use topics without the service of a public watchdog - furthering the conditions highlighted in the OLO report that led to widespread and systemic theft of land from minority groups over generations. 

The hearing record will be open until April 25th - please take a moment to make your voice heard - now more than ever we need a People's Counsel. 

There used to be a People’s Counsel in Montgomery County but it was quietly scrubbed 10 years ago. The OPC as it was called served to protect the public interest in land use hearings by promoting full and fair representation of relevant issues to achieve balanced administrative records. The Office also provided technical assistance to residents so that they could effectively participate in the County's land use planning process. Reestablishing the OPC as envisioned will help to restore a balance of trust and integrity to the planning and public engagement process.
​​
Losing the OPC has left the door open to scores of (nearly 100!) zoning text amendments crafted by some County Council members. These land use changes (some sweeping) often bump up against current master plans and cause communities, many with little resources to defend, detriment. The full description of the role of the People's Counsel from the County Code is here.

The Executive's recommended budget both in FY23 and this go round for FY24 included full funding to reinvigorate the People's Counsel.
Councilmember Friedson has just introduced  bill 18-23 that will permanently weaken the office - removing the ability for the office to identify master plan conflicts or even participate in public meetings.
How can they work for the public interest without participating in public meetings?
​Please take two minutes to let the Council know - we need the OPC back!

Take Action

The bill will see a public hearing on April 18th (tentatively 1:30)

Here is the action alert  from the MC Civic Federation  and our note sent last year to ask for the Counsel's return:
​
Fund the Office of the People's Counsel - FY 2023 Operating Budget
​
Dear County Executive Elrich,
There are compelling reasons to include this in the FY 2023 budget as cited in a strong letter sent to your office yesterday from MCCF. Chief among the reasons listed:
“Furthermore, the County Code requires that prior to introduction, any proposed Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) be reviewed by a ZTA Advisory Group that includes the OPC. One of the reasons often cited by the Planning Department for the complete rewrite of the County's Zoning Ordinance (which was a seven year process) was to discourage the use of Zoning Text Amendments that bypass the master planning and land use public processes. However, since the Zoning Rewrite was adopted, there have been over 100 ZTAs proposed by a small number of Councilmembers. All of the ZTAs were proposed without the benefit of the OPC review.”
The call for return of the People’s Counsel is not new. I had, for example, included it in this 2019 piece in Maryland Matters

In truth, if looking at this from purely a dollars cost, the reestablishment of the position will save much in governmental time and money spent churning over poorly conceived ZTAs etc.
Above all… this is about just and equitable governance.
Respectfully,

Police: single vehicle collision involving @mcps school bus. Five children, one adult transported, non-life-threatening injuries.

5 children transported and an adult driver also with non life-threatening injuries after a school bus crash in the 13000 block of Old Columbia Pike… (Instagram user submitted 📸) https://t.co/ktR0h6jeot pic.twitter.com/3AfTOh4joN

— MoCo PG News (@MoCoPGNews) April 24, 2023

Security guard facing charges for showing porn to student at Earle B. Wood Middle School *** March 2018, Daughtry pleaded guilty to sex solicitation charges in Washington D.C.

In December, the student told detectives that Daughtry was his supervisor that day and no one else was in the classroom. At some point, the student asked Daughtry about his job and if he had any others. That’s when Daughtry said he also worked as a security guard at a D.C. nightclub. The victim told detectives Daughtry then pulled out his phone and showed photos and videos of naked women and people having sex. https://www.fox5dc.com/news/security-guard-facing-charges-for-showing-porn-to-student-at-earle-wood-middle-school

Montgomery County, MD: How to Mishandle Every Single Step in a School Shooting from Day of Incident, to After Action Report, to Sentencing. #MagruderHS #mocoboe #mcps

During Magruder High School Lockdown Board of Education was Hiding at College Park Luxury Hotel

Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland: Breaking: During Magruder HS Lockdown Board of Education was Hiding at College Park Luxury Hotel. @mcps @mocoboe (parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com)

State's Attorney John McCarthy confused our community by walking across the campus and entering the building during the lockdown. 

Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland: Magruder HS January Shooting Lockdown: MoCo State's Attorney John McCarthy "@McCarthyMoCo confused our community by walking across the campus and entering the building. Lockdown is lockdown. Curious elected officials should have been locked out." (parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com)

Magruder High School principal apologizes after telling community there was "no immediate threat."

Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland: Magruder H.S. principal apologizes after telling community there was 'no immediate threat' (parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com)

Parent meeting at 6 PM may have done the trick to keep attendance low.

Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland: Magruder HS Parent Meeting Looks Sparsely Attended. 6 PM Start May Have Done the Trick to Keep Attendance Low. (parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com)

MCPS explains why it failed to properly report school shootings and stabbings. 

Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland: MCPS explains why it failed to properly report school shooting and stabbings (parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com)

BOE President Brenda Wolff chose $100 a plate party over Magruder High School community meeting. 

Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland: @mocoboe President Brenda Wolff Chose $100 a plate Party over Magruder High School Community Meeting (parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com)

Mother of Magruder High School shooting victim says school leaders never contacted her. 

Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland: Mother of Magruder shooting victim says school leaders never contacted her (parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com)

TODAY's NEWS from The Washington Post:  Maryland judge quietly negotiated job with prosecutors while hearing cases. 

Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland: Md. judge quietly negotiated job with prosecutors while hearing cases [including Magruder High School shooting case] (parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com)

Md. judge quietly negotiated job with prosecutors while hearing cases [including Magruder High School shooting case]

 

Defense lawyers challenge rulings by former Montgomery County Circuit Judge David Boynton

At least four cases handled by a Maryland judge are being challenged after he presided over a series of hearings and did not reveal he was in talks to accept a job in the office of local prosecutors.

For more than six weeks, according to court documents and recorded proceedings, Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge David Boynton never disclosed he had discussed, negotiated and accepted a position with State’s Attorney John McCarthy’s office as chief of his Felony Trial Division. Boynton started that high-ranking job in February, days after retiring from the bench.

One sentencing in question includes the high-profile case of a Magruder High School student who shot and nearly killed another teen in a bathroom. In that hearing, Boynton ruled from the bench as McCarthy sat in the front row of the gallery.

Defense attorneys say the way Boynton and McCarthy handled the job switch contradicts Maryland rules designed to promote “public confidence in the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary.”..

...On Dec. 22, Boynton took up the sentencing of Steven Alston Jr. Nearly a year earlier, the 18-year-old was charged with attempted murder after bringing an untraceable “ghost gun” to Magruder High School and shooting another teen in a boys’ bathroom. As the case progressed, Alston’s defense attorney, David Felsen, discussed with prosecutors a way for Alston to plead guilty and — recognizing his age, cognitive limitations and previously clean criminal record — be sent to a prison program for young offenders, according to court records and hearings. The program typically takes six to seven years to complete.

The attorneys met with Boynton to discuss their plea terms. He then emailed them saying he was willing to impose a sentence “sufficient to allow defendant to complete” the program while maintaining the discretion to sentence Alston to as many as 25 years. The final decision, Boynton wrote, would come after he presided over a sentencing hearing...

Md. judge quietly negotiated job with prosecutors while hearing cases - The Washington Post

MONTGOMERY COUNTY NOTICE OF A PROPOSED REAL PROPERTY TAX INCREASE (and notice of your right to testify)

The County Council of Montgomery County proposes to increase real property taxes.

1. 1. For the tax year beginning July 1, 2023, the estimated real property assessable base will increase by 2.9%, from $210,639,687,085 to $216,739,524,527.
   
2. If Montgomery County maintains the current tax rate of $0.6940 per $100 of assessment, real property tax revenues will increase by 2.9% resulting in $42,332,872 of new real property tax revenues.
3. In order to fully offset the effect of increasing assessments, the real property tax rate should be decreased to $0.6745, the constant yield tax rate.
   
4. The County is considering not reducing its real property tax rate enough to fully offset increasing assessments. The County proposes to adopt a real property tax rate of $0.7700 per $100 of assessment. This tax rate is 14.2% higher than the constant yield tax rate and will generate $206,986,246 in additional property tax revenues.

A public hearing on the proposed real property tax rate increase will be held at 1:30 PM on May 2, 2023 at the Council Office Building. The hearing is open to the public, and public testimony is encouraged. Persons with questions regarding this hearing may call 240-777-7803 for further information. Residents have the opportunity to testify remotely for public hearings or provide in-person testimony at the Council Office Building in Rockville. Residents can register to speak at a public hearing, provide written testimony, prerecorded audio or video testimony via www.montgomerycountymd.gov/COUNCIL/testify.html;or sent by mail to County Council, 100 Maryland Ave., Rockville, MD 20850; or residents may sign up to testify remotely by phone (call 240-777-7803 for information). To express an opinion, call 240-777-7900

The entire County Council staff memo is at: https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/council/Resources/Files/agenda/col/2023/20230418/20230418_5K.pdf

TONIGHT: County Govt. Secret Meeting on One and Only Crisis Center to be Built in Rockville. No Agenda, Not on Calendar, No Zoom Link.

Montgomery County Government is in the process of planning for the construction of a crisis center to be located in Rockville, Maryland.  The crisis center is called the RESTORATION CENTER.  The County is constructing exactly ONE Restoration Center for the entire County.  Once built, if you or a loved one experiences a mental health or substance use crisis you or your loved one can be transferred to this facility by first responders from anywhere in the County.   

Damascus, Silver Spring, Cabin John, Aspen Hill, Poolesville, Germantown, Burtonsville, Friendship Heights, Wheaton, Olney and everywhere else in the County. This will be YOUR one and only crisis center.  The time is now to pay attention to what services will be offered at this facility and what options will exist for those transferred to this emergency facility by local hospitals, first responders, county crisis service providers, and the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

A meeting is being held tonight, April 20, 2023, at 7 PM but Montgomery County Government has not listed the meeting on their calendar or on the webpages dedicated to this project.  

Only residents in the City of Rockville have a clue that this meeting has been scheduled.  For the rest of the County, good luck.

What is a Restoration Center?

A Restoration Center is a 24/7/365 facility that provides voluntary, short-term stabilization services to individuals experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis. By establishing a Restoration Center, the County aims to divert individuals in crisis from hospital emergency rooms, and thereby reduce the current burden on first responders and emergency personnel, and free up resources for medical emergencies.

Does MCPS General Counsel Review Resolutions Sent to the Board of Education? A Glaring Error in a Resolve for 4/20/23 Board of Education vote.

 To:  MCPS General Counsel Stephanie Williams

Re:  Board of Education Agenda Item 11.11 on April 20, 2023

On the Board of Education's April 20^th Agenda Item 11.11 Delegation of Authority to Execute Permanent Easements, Utility Easements, Rights-of-Way, Rights-of-Entry, Memoranda of Understanding for Land-Related Issues, and Land-Related Agreements of a Routine Nature contains a glaring error. 

In the whereas paragraph listing Board of Education authority and control. The paragraph states:

WHEREAS, The Board of Education has authority and control over the granting of ...not including telecommunication-related items, 

But the Board of Education does have authority and control over matters relating to telecommunications items on Board of Education land.  

It appears that the 11.11 Memorandum was never reviewed by the MCPS General Counsel's office.  The reference initials at the end of the Memorandum do not show review by anyone from the General Counsel's office.   

The Resolve of this Memorandum is exactly the same as was proposed in August of 2022.  The August 2022 Resolution was removed from the Agenda without discussion.  Changes have been made to the Memorandum and the Whereas paragraphs, but not to the actual Resolve that the Board of Education will be voting on.  

The actual Resolve allows the delegation of controversial, fee simple land issues to MCPS staff.  In the 2014 Resolution that was passed by the Board of Education, land issues that were controversial or involved fee simple land transactions were not permitted to be delegated to the superintendent or staff.  Agenda item 11.11 would rescind that prior Resolution. 

To make the glaring mistake clear, here is the whereas paragraph written as a list delineated by each of the commas in the paragraph.

WHEREAS, The Board of Education has authority and control over the granting of 

permanent easements, 

utility easements, 

rights-of-way, 

rights-of-entry, 

memoranda of understanding for land-related, 

not including telecommunication-related items, 

issues, 

and other land-related agreements that encumber or impair Board of Education-owned property; and  

We request that Board of Education Agenda Item 11.11 be removed from the Agenda pending review by the MCPS General Counsel office. 

Thank you for your prompt attention to this urgent matter. 

Janis Zink Sartucci

Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, MD