WECA January Meeting - Thurs, Jan 17th at 7pm

The January WECA meeting will be held this Thursday, January 17th at 7:00pm at the Rockville Presbyterian Church. The agenda follows: 
 

1.       Welcome and Opening Comments/Introductions
2.       Organizational/Business Items                                                   

• o   Approval of Minutes from Nov 2012
• o   Treasurer’s Report
• o   Approval of new block captain- Announcements
• o   Updates from the City
• o   Report from Lt. Over

3.       Updates on on-going projects/issues

• o   Update on Jehovah Witness Project -- Rose Sharkey                                                                   
• o   Mansionization – Marlene Berg
• o   Town Center Phase II and 275 N. Washington St.
• o   Sidewalks on Maryland Ave.- Approved
• o   Meeting with the City Manager                                                                  

4.       Presentation by Ida Wallenmeyer and Phyllis Wallenmeyer, ASLA
5.       By-Laws Committee  
6.       Ideas/Comments from the floor

Meetings are held at the Rockville Presbyterian Church (215 W. Montgomery Avenue). Please enter from the rear parking lot on Harrison Street. All West End residents are welcome and encouraged to attend. We hope to see you on Thursday evening!

And many of you have noted the reduced parking near the movie theater due to the Duball/Choice Hotels project. For more information on parking options around Town Center generally during construction, please visit  www.rockvilleparking.com 

Rockville Releases Annual Financial Reports 12/20/2012

Rockville Releases Annual Financial Reports

Summaries Give Public Look at City's Fiscal Health

Rockville, Md., Dec. 20 - The public can get a close look at the City of Rockville's budget and financial health from the most recently completed fiscal year in two annual reports that city staff delivered to the Mayor and Council this month.

Rockville ended the 2012 fiscal year on June 30, 2012 in a positive position. "The City of Rockville has experienced economic pressures similar to the rest of the country, although to a lesser degree," City Manager Barbara B. Matthews said in the City's Popular Annual Financial Report (PAFR). "The City's General Fund, our main operating fund, ended FY 2012 in a positive position with a fund balance of $9.9 million, which represents a 15 percent reserve."

The PAFR (pronounced paff-er), likely to be of most interest to the public, is a summary document that outlines how the City spent funds and where the funding came from. The PAFR helps people to easily understand the City's financial structure and the City's finances after the fiscal year concludes.

The City created the first PAFR document several years ago as a way to explain in layman's terms the information contained in the City's audited financial report, known as the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR).

The CAFR, which City staff presented to the Mayor and Council on Dec. 17, is prepared by Rockville's Finance Department in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and audited by a firm of certified public accountants each year.

The PAFR is not a replacement for the CAFR, but a supplemental document to further assist the public in their review of the City government's financial operations.

The Fiscal Year 2012 PAFR describes:

• The overall financial health of the City
• The City's General Fund and the General Fund balance
• The City's Enterprise Funds
• The City's total debt load

The PAFR, CAFR and the City's adopted budget are available at www.rockvillemd.gov/budget. For more information, call the Finance Department at 240-314-8400.

A message from Montgomery County Councilmember Hans Reiemer

A message from Montgomery County Councilmember Hans Reiemer in December 2012:

We live in an era of great change. But can Montgomery County government keep pace?

That is a big question facing our county’s leaders. We want Montgomery County to be recognized as an innovation capital, where the government, the private sector, and community leaders work together on our biggest challenges.

In that spirit, the County Council recently passed a bill that I crafted called the Open Data Act. It will require County Government to be more sophisticated in how we collect and manage data and it will establish a new policy of sharing valuable data openly with the public. The new law is a foundation for a new digital strategy for Montgomery County, which I have helped formulate with County Executive Ike Leggett and his superb team.

What does it all mean for you?

• The county budget is now on the web in remarkable detail. Citizen analysts will be able to manipulate the data and even casual users can create their own visualizations using our online tools. The smallest budget details are searchable for each department, including the salary for all county employees. In time, every department will have a public data set.
• Use our new 311 mobile app to request county services. Want to report a road repair or fallen tree limb, request bulk trash pickup, you name it -- use 311 mobile wherever you are.
• 3rd party app developers will improve services. Across the country, app developers are figuring out how to create valuable services for consumers based on government data. From transportation planning apps to real estate and tax apps, you are going to benefit from letting the private sector leverage county data to create apps.
• Your voice can be heard in new ways. Already I talk with residents daily on my Facebook page. You may also interact on Facebook with the county police department, fire & rescue, libraries, regional centers, and more. The county also has a new tool for collaborating with residents, called engageMontgomery, where you may submit your own ideas for county priorities and “second” those submitted by others. Its a great tool that government agencies are using all across the country to garner input from residents.
• More innovation jobs in Montgomery County. MoCo has one of America’s most highly skilled workforces, we have dynamic IT and biotech companies. Striving for leadership in digital government will send a positive message to the private sector and the county council is specifically looking at how we can use these new tools to foster economic development.
• Next steps and how YOU can get involved. We need a forum where local government officials can join with experts, programmers, journalists and most importantly, citizens like you. I have proposed that the County begin planning a summit where participants can exchange ideas, advocate for issues, leverage open government content, and provide input for better local governing practices. This is a chance to help shape the community around us. The planning is still in initial stages and we will need help from people like you. Please reply to this email if you are interested.

In launching the new digital government agenda, the County Executive released a Digital Roadmap that says, “this strategy aims to be disruptive.”

That’s exactly right. We need to disrupt and create. New ideas will help us drive change in this county for the better.