Montgomery County’s Office of Internal Audit (MCIA) is housed under the ‘Office of the County Executive’ and states that its program: “…provides independent strategic risk-based auditing services. The core function of this program is to improve internal controls and provide reasonable assurance of reliable financial reporting, effective and efficient operations, legal and regulatory compliance, fraud…
Let’s talk about the 10% increase in property tax (aka, “10 cent revenue enhancement”) supposedly to fund MCPS. Montgomery County demographics are largely Democrats, and much of the workforce is in government, contracting, and hospitality industries. Many would ordinarily support paying more for the schools. (Not to diminish the real burden this places on retirees…
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…