The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) probably deserves its own investigative series. If we had a truly inquisitive local ‘fourth estate’ we might have gotten one a long time ago. But local media in Montgomery County is obsessed with being ‘friends’ to the powerful, instead of auditors or investigators. Our very own “Independent” and tax-supported…
The following is an interview conducted by Mark Lautman of Chris Bruch, CEO of The Donohoe Companies, about proven solutions for providing affordable housing. We appreciate the contribution and willingness of both individuals to share with CleanSlateMoCo. Hope you enjoy! What does Donohoe Companies do? We build, manage, and develop commercial real estate, including hotels,…
“Council Backs WSSC Request for 7% Rate Increase” was the headline at taxpayer sponsored MyMCMedia.org. Instead of an 8% rate hike on water, which WSSC initially asked for, the Montgomery County Council decided to be kind of frugal, in a MoCo sense, and “unanimously voted to support Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission Water’s (WSSC) request to…
With budget discussions well underway, the hot topic is additional funding for Montgomery County Public Schools. Sparked by a controversial proposal to raise property taxes by 10% to provide the additional funding, the unions and union backed politicians are out in full force advocating for it being a necessity. Their argument is that MCPS is…
During the 2022 election season it was not popular to be associated with a church that ascribed to beliefs that were counter mainstream MoCo culture. In fact, if you belonged to a church that did not support, for instance, gay marriage or transgender ideology you were labeled “hateful”. This was especially evident in the school…
Montgomery County Councilmember Gabe Albornoz’s (Democrat, At-Large) latest e-mail update or “bulletin” to constituents (all 1.1 million of us, being that he’s “At-Large”) had the intriguing header “Focusing on Community Priorities” (see below). CM Albornoz has been in public office since 2018. On his “About” Council government page he claims: Gabe is truly “at-large,” having…
Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) are the largest public school system in the state of Maryland, as they frequently remind us. Currently at 210 schools, there are many unique school environments (neighborhoods, surrounding roads, etc) and risks for each of these physical campuses. MCPS does have a pretty robust “Alert MCPS” opt-in system for parents…
Residents of Montgomery County are gathering signatures to get a question on the November 2024 election ballot that, if passed, would limit the County Executive to only two consecutive terms in office, not the current three. Under the current MoCo charter, a County Executive can serve three consecutive terms, which spans twelve years. This would…
First off, a big congratulations to Esther Wells for becoming the next President of the Montgomery County Taxpayers League. A very deserving position for a CPA, a finance professional, and someone actually invested in trying to improve Montgomery County for everyone, not just a few special interests or connected unions. In 2022, Esther was involved…
The social-justice crowd claims that rent control is the only way to protect defenseless tenants against their oversized landlords. (The previous four posts in this series have shown that the only actor with oversized power in the county’s housing market, and the only actor to blame for the shortage of affordable housing is the county…