Montgomery County Council District 2
Duties: The Montgomery County Council is the legislative branch of county government. The Council proposes and enacts legislation, adopts annual budgets, sets local tax rates and approves land use master plans and zoning ordinance changes. The Council makes appointments to the offices, committees and commissions that report to the Council and exercises oversight over county programs. How Elected: The Council has 11 members elected at the same time to four-year terms. Four At-Large council members are elected countywide. Seven District council members are elected by the voters in their district.Term: Four years, limited to three consecutive terms. Salary: $167,172 per year. Website: montgomerycountymd.gov/council
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Marilyn Balcombe
(Dem)
QUALIFICATIONS: How do your background and experience prepare you to be a member of the County Council?
HOUSING: What initiatives will you support to increase an affordable housing supply countywide?
BUDGET PRIORITIES: Which operating budget revenue and spending items will you seek to increase and decrease and why?
SAFETY NET SERVICES: What initiatives will you support, if any, to ensure that residents across the county receive safety net services?
PUBLIC SAFETY: What policies will you support to ensure the safety of our large and diverse population?
I was elected to the Montgomery County Council in 2022. I am currently the Council Vice President and have had a successful first term. Prior the Council I was the CEO of the Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce for 17 years. I was also the founding CEO of BlackRock Center for the Arts. I live in Germantown and have been active in my community for over 30 years .
While we need affordable units, the have a significant gap in the supply of housing at all levels. While on the Council we have provided a large number of incentives including conversion of commercial buildings to residential buildings, providing new zoning to increase multi-family housing, and allowing housing on property with religious institutions.
Overall we need to increase our economic base. We cannot continue to raise our tax rates, we must add more jobs to our community. It is difficult to identify budget decreases as we have so many needs in our community.
We have a remarkable safety net in Montgomery County. The challenge is to make sure that all residents are aware of these services and there are no obstacles in receiving services. We also need to make sure that services are geographically equitable. If a County program or nonprofit receiving county funds has been established to serve the entire County, we need to ensure all residents have access.
We are currently experiencing significant vacancies in our police and fire departments. We need to ensure that Montgomery County has competitive compensation to recruit and retain employees.
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