Council President Stewart to Hold Media Availability on April 28 at 12 p.m.
For Immediate Release: Friday, April 25, 2025
ROCKVILLE, Md., April 25, 2025 — On Monday, April 28 at 12 p.m., Montgomery County Council President Kate Stewart will hold a media availability to discuss Council matters and reflect on the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce’s 50th Annual Public Safety Awards.
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Council President Stewart will discuss the Council’s scheduled vote to reenact Bill 2-25, Taxation – Payments in Lieu of Taxes-Affordable Housing, which was originally passed on April 8. This bill, led by Councilmembers Natali Fani-González and Andrew Friedson, incentivizes the conversion of highly vacant office buildings into housing to help address Montgomery County’s housing crisis. Like many jurisdictions, the County has an excess of commercial office space with s ignificant vacancies. At the end of 2024, the office vacancy rate in the County rose to 18.5 percent with vacancies concentrated in older, functionally obsolete office buildings, which negatively impacts revenues and erodes community vibrancy.
Stewart will also discuss the Council’s ongoing work on the Fiscal Year 2026 Operating Budget, and the introduction of a resolution as requested by County Executive Elrich to change the income tax rate. A public hearing on this resolution is scheduled for May 13 .
The Council president’s media availability will be held via Zoom and is for members of the news media. The public can view the media availability on the Council’s Facebook page ( @MontgomeryCountyMdCouncil ).
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Members of the news media must RSVP before 11 a.m. on April 28 to Lucia Jimenez at [email protected] to receive the Zoom login information.
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Release ID: 25-138
Media Contact: Lucia Jimenez 240-777-7832
Categories: Kate Stewart
For updates and link to press release, see here: http://www2.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgportalapps/Press_Detail.aspx?Item_ID=46930