Councilmember Trachtenberg Speaks to the Mid-County Citizens Advisory Board

Councilmember Duchy Trachtenberg was the guest speaker at last night’s meeting of the Mid-County Citizens Advisory Board (MCCAB) which took place at the Mid-County Regional Service Center located at 2424 Reedie Drive in Wheaton, MD 20902.

The MCCAB Chair, Sheldon Fishman called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and after taking care of some Board business, Councilmember Trachtenberg was introduced. As the Chair of the Management and Fiscal Policy Committee (MFP) she presented a very candid over view of the current budget shortfall that the County faces. Though this was a serious discussion the Councilmember wanted to also present this challenge as an opportunity for Montgomery County to become an even better, more efficient and effective government.

After her remarks the meeting was opened up for Q&A from the Board members and the questions and comments were similarly thoughtful. There were questions about the possibilities for more public-private arrangements for county government; how the Montgomery County Public Schools might be able to make some cuts in their Administrative costs, to which Councilmember Trachtenberg explained that the County Council could only allocate the monies but had no control over how the school would decide to use them.

The Mid-County Citizens Advisory Board also talked with the Councilmember about the work they are currently doing toward finding answers as to why Montgomery County suffered far more widespread power outages during the recent storms than all of the other surrounding jurisdictions. Councilmember Trachtenberg was sympathetic and supportive of this effort.

For more information about the Mid-County Citizens Advisory Board or the Mid-County Regional Services Center visit their website or email them at:

www.montgomerycountymd.gov/midcounty or email: midcounty.citizen@montgomerycountymd.gov.