Appreciation: East County Citizens Advisory Board

I was very pleased to have had the opportunity to attend the monthly meeting of the East County Citizens Advisory Board last night. I was warmly welcomed by some old friends and I made some new ones.

I thought that we had a very thoughtful and, for me, a very useful discussion of many issues related to Eastern Montgomery County. We talked about the budget crisis facing the County, public safety issues, education funding and maintaining a safety net for the County’s most vulnerable residents.

Most prominently, we talked about giving more attention to economic development issues in the East County. I agreed with Board members that both the Executive Branch and the County Council could do—and should do—more to both promote new development and job creation in the area and to enhance community engagement around these issues.

I learned a lot from the conversation last night, as I do from all of the meetings that I have with residents across the County. I believe that the County’s Citizens Advisory Boards are a critically important part of the community engagement that makes Montgomery County great.

Many thanks to Board Chair Bill Strassburger and the ECCAB members for their hospitality and their service to our community.