A public hearing on a tenant rights bill and more conversations about the fiscal year 2025 budget and Capital Improvements Program (CIP) top the Montgomery County Council’s agenda this week.
The council will meet at 12:45 p.m. Tuesday in the Stella Werner Council Office Building in Rockville for its regular weekly business meeting. Here’s what to expect:
Public hearing on tenant rights legislation
The council will hear testimony from the public on a bill sponsored by Council Vice President Kate Stewart (D-Dist. 4) that would require a residential lease to include information related to renter’s insurance, automatic sprinkler systems and emergency evacuation and safety plans.
The legislation was inspired by the 2023 fire at the Arrive Silver Spring apartment complex that claimed the life of a 25-year-old woman, as well as a massive power outage at The Grand, a North Bethesda apartment complex last summer.
The bill would require multiunit apartment complex owners to notify residents and prospective renters about whether their buildings have sprinklers and provide information about the risks of living in a building without sprinklers. It would also require complexes that sell their own insurance to explain the policies in greater detail.
“One of the things that we learned talking to residents after the Arrive fire is that many [residents], when they signed a lease, actually thought they had renter’s insurance, but it was actually insurance for the building owner,” Stewart said during a March 5 council meeting.
Stewart also said residents at Arrive and The Grand expressed frustration with the lack of emergency information and the availability of building management during the incidents.
Work sessions on proposed budget and CIP
The council will continue to deliberate over the proposed county operating budget for fiscal year 2025 and CIP for fiscal years 2025-2030 during work sessions Tuesday and will receive a report on the affordability of the CIP from council staff.
Councilmembers and County Executive Marc Elrich (D) are at odds over whether Elrich’s proposed budget poses the risk of a structural deficit – meaning the county would be spending more than it collects in tax revenues. Council staff is predicting a $151 million deficit, while Elrich asserts these projections are wrong.
The council took a straw vote earlier this month, agreeing not to raise the property tax rate, and is deliberating over whether programming will be cut to balance the budget.
Meanwhile, community members are urging the council to prioritize the programs and projects they care about, with many speakers at public hearings specifically asking for more funding for Montgomery County Public Schools.