Dear Neighbors:
The City Council met on Wednesday of last week for the final time before Election Day (November 3). Our next meetings will be on Thursday, November 12 for certification of the election results; Monday, November 16 for the swearing in of the Mayor and Councilmembers; and Wednesday, November 18 for the first regular meeting wiith the new Council. I’ll circulate information on all of those meetings in advance.
ELECTIONS
Meanwhile, with Election Day only about a week away, many Takoma Park residents have already voted in our local elections for Mayor and City Council. Residents who haven’t yet voted can do so either by mailing in their ballots or by depositing them in the drop boxes located at the lower Community Center parking lot (where there’s also a drop box for the State/County ballot which includes the Presidential election) and the New Hampshire Avenue Recreation Center.
Ballots must be placed in the drop boxes by 8:00 PM on Election Day or postmarked by Election Day if they are mailed in. If you’re a registered voter and you haven’t yet received your ballot in the mail, send an email to elections@takomaparkmd.gov or call 301-891-7267.
In last week’s Council meeting the Board of Elections provided a summary of key election information, which you can see through this link: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2020/Meeting-Documents/Update-on-City-Elections-20201021.pdf.
A few key points from that presentation:
* Residents who have questions concerning voting or their ballots can get assistance from members of the Board from 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM every day through November 2 at the Community Center parking lot lower level (by the drop boxes).
* On Election Day from 7:00 AM - 8:00 PM there will be a drive/walk-through voting option at the Community Center upper (rear) parking lot for those without ballots.
* The Board is still recruiting additional residents to help out on Election Day, so contact them if you’re interested.
* Takoma Park has same-day registration for our local elections for Mayor and City Council, and residents of the City who are 16 and 17 years of age can vote, as well as those who are not U.S. Citizens.
As for the State/County ballots, most residents I’ve talked to have also already mailed them in or dropped them off. For those who plan to vote in person, early voting has begun, and the nearest early voting center is the Silver Spring Civic Center. On Election Day you can also vote at Montgomery Blair High School and many other County locations: https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/Elections/VotingServices/vote-centers-2020.html
COVID UPDATE
The Takoma Park COVID-19 Dashboard has been revised with numbers updated as of Friday, October 23. Some highlights:
· No new deaths reported in the last week
· 20 new cases reported
· Infection rate increased to 3.9%, compared to the County rate of 2.4%
So far, 306 people have been tested at the new City testing site (every Wednesday from 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM, in the parking lot behind the Adventist Church next to Washington Adventist University). For information on other County testing sites: https://montgomerycountymd.gov/covid19/testing.html
DEADLINE FOR RENEWING PARKING PERMITS -- NOVEMBER 1
The Police Department sent out this reminder today:
Because of COVILD-19, renewing your residential AND business parking permits will be further extended to November 1, 2020. Please continue to display expired permits. Citations will not be issued to displayed expired permits through November 1, 2020. You may renew in person at the station during limited times, so please call 301-270-1100 prior to going to the station. You may also still renew by US mail, and you can find that information by clicking the link below. BUSINESS parking permits may also be renewed by US mail during this timeframe.
Note: because the City building is still not fully open, if you plan to renew in person in the police department lobby, please bring a check, exact cash, or a cell phone so you are able to call in a credit card payment.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact parking enforcement at 301-891-7112.
You can find more information about renewing residential and business parking permits at https://takomaparkmd.gov/government/police/permit-area-parking/
HALLOWEEN EVENTS
With the pandemic restricting more traditional door to door trick or treating, the City has organized several alternative events, including safe trick or treat events in each Ward and home decorating contests. You can see information on all the events through this link: https://takomaparkmd.gov/government/recreation/halloween-events-2020/
UPDATE FROM LAST WEEK’S COUNCIL MEETING
The Council considered and voted on several personnel issues in last week’s meeting, most prominently the Collective Bargaining Agreement covering police officers below the rank of sergeant, plus a pay increase for a group of non-union City staff who aren’t managers, and also a retirement incentive program. There’s background on all three here: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2020/council-20201021-3-rev.pdf. You can see the text of the Collective Bargaining Agreement here: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2020/Meeting-Documents/Local-400-and-TP-Agreement-20201021.pdf.
One key issue that a number of residents asked about prior to last week’s meeting related to the language in the CBA barring lay-offs of the junior police officers except for reasons connected to fiscal crises. We discussed this and related provisions at length in the Council meeting. Under the terms of the CBA there are in effect three ways officers can be removed. They can be removed in certain cases for misconduct, though officer discipline is harder than it should be owing to the Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights (the repeal of which we’re supporting in Annapolis). Positions can be eliminated through Reductions in Force by the Council or Police management, with relatively few restrictions -- this is potentially how we'd restructure the Department depending on recommendations from the Public Safety Task Force. Or officers can be removed through lay-offs, which could be temporary or permanent (it’s this lay-off category that's limited to serious fiscal situations). The key is that lay-offs tied to fiscal issues are only one way of removing staff, with misconduct and RiFs also being options.
In terms of the pay for officers covered in the agreement, while this year’s budget potentially allowed them to receive a step increase of $1.5%, an inflation adjustment of 2.5% and for those receiving high performance ratings an additional 1.5%, the CBA limits the pay increase to the 1.5% step increase. While that’s substantially lower than originally contemplated in the budget, I still had some concerns as to whether even that amount was appropriate during the pandemic.
I decided on balance that it was a reasonable level, first because I think our officers have done and are continuing to do an excellent job during the pandemic. This is especially the case given that they have been exposed in many cases to individuals who are not for obvious reasons practicing social distancing or wearing protective gear. And they are no longer eligible for hazard pay. In addition, though the CBA covers three years, it’s structured to enable the agreement to be re-opened after each year to reconsider wages. So if over the course of the agreement our budget situation significantly worsens connected to the pandemic, we have the ability to modify the wage component.
With all of those points in mind, I voted for the version of the CBA that was brought before the Council. I also voted in favor of the retirement incentive program and the 1.5% increases for the small group of non-union, non-management City staff. All three votes were unanimous.
The Council also gave unanimous approval to the following:
· A resolution outlining principles of Council compensation
· A resolution suspending the operation of the Committee on the Environment (after adopting an amendment removing the references to the racial justice facilitator with whom committee members have met)
· A contract for tree removal and other tree treatment
· A resolution appointing two members to the Tree Commission (the membership of which had fallen below the three-person minimum necessary to hear tree permit appeals).
REVISED TREE ORDINANCE REGULATIONS
In late July the City Council approved a major re-write of the City’s Tree Ordinance. You can read about the highlights of the revisions to the ordinance in the September City Newsletter: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/news/newsletter/2020/Takoma-Park-Newsletter-September2020.pdf). The changes in the law are scheduled to go into effect 90 days after the Council’s approval of the changes, which means this week. New regulations effectuating the changes will be published in the November City Newsletter. They will be operational on an interim basis for a period of 60 days, during which members of the public will be able to comment, suggest modifications, etc. The final regulations will then be published in the January Newsletter.
The Council also approved in July a separate resolution establishing for the first time principles for our urban forest policies and setting overall goals for Takoma Park’s tree canopy: (https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/resolutions/2020/resolution-2020-15.pdf) The resolution directed City staff to develop by March of next year a multi-year plan with recommendations on achieving the goals and principles outlined in the resolution. The community and Council will have opportunities to weigh in on that effort as well.
As always, let me know if you have questions or comments about any of the issues covered in this blog. AND PLEASE VOTE IF YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY!
Peter Kovar, Takoma Park City Council, Ward One
240-319-6281; www.councilmemberkovar.com
(He, Him, His)
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