On Apr 12, 2025, at 8:03?AM, Rick Weiss via groups.io <rickweiss99@...> wrote:

?Any clues about the origin? I’m a little surprised that, according to Pepco, crews were “assigned” but not actually deployed until about 7 hours after the outage. Has DOGE been thinning the ranks at Pepco?

Rick

On Apr 12, 2025, at 7:19?AM, Roger Schlegel, Ward 3 Council Member via groups.io <RogerS@...> wrote:

?

Good morning,

If you’ve been affected by the overnight power outage, the latest from Pepco is that 321 customers remain without power and crews expect to restore power by 9 am.?

Roger

Roger Schlegel

City?Council Member,?Ward Three?

7500 Maple Avenue

Takoma Park, MD 20912
Email:?RogerS@...
Phone:?240-997-3041

Please note that all City emails can potentially be public.

On Apr 12, 2025, at 7:19?AM, Roger Schlegel, Ward 3 Council Member via groups.io <RogerS@...> wrote:

?

Good morning,

If you’ve been affected by the overnight power outage, the latest from Pepco is that 321 customers remain without power and crews expect to restore power by 9 am.?

Roger

Roger Schlegel

City?Council Member,?Ward Three?

7500 Maple Avenue

Takoma Park, MD 20912
Email:?RogerS@...
Phone:?240-997-3041

Please note that all City emails can potentially be public.

On Apr 9, 2025, at 12:56?PM, Therese Gibson via groups.io <theresegibson53@...> wrote:

Here is the description of the project from the proposed FY 26 budget:

Maple Avenue Connectivity Project

The Fiscal Year 2026 budget includes $43,548 in funding for the Maple Avenue

Connectivity Project. The Maple Avenue Connectivity project envisions a corridor where

walking to school, biking to Sligo Creek, or catching the bus feels easy, comfortable,

convenient and safe. As one of the most diverse and central corridors in the City, this

project aims to strengthen transportation connections on Maple Avenue, especially for

pedestrians, bike riders, and transit users. A total of $34,840 of funds in Fiscal Year 2026

will come from a Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Kim Lamphier Bikeways

Network Program grant award and $8,708 will come from the General Fund.

I believe that this was conceived as a continuation of the wide boulevard envisioned in the Maple Avenue Minor-Master Plan. It is intended to develop a bike lane on Maple Ave, from Carroll Ave down to the Community Center (and maybe down to Sligo Creek, not sure). This project seems problematic for a number of reasons. My understanding from bicyclists is that the hill on Maple Ave makes it less desirable as a cycling route. Nearby Cedar Ave. would be better for this purpose. So, it seems as if this project may have been proposed without input from the target users. Maple Ave currently has parking on one side from Carroll Ave to East-West Highway. The parking would be reduced to make way for the bicycle lane. Maple Ave also has a Metro bus route running on it, adding to road-use congestion.?

Further, I think about the teachers at Piney Branch Elementary School, who struggle to find parking every day. When I was the PTA coordinator for the Blair HS area schools, Piney Branch teachers reported spending ~20 minutes trying to find on-street parking since the school’s parking lot capacity is inadequate. Some teachers drive a long way to their teaching positions and adding time at the end to find parking is not what I want our community’s teachers to deal with. I would prioritize helping teachers find street parking over creating the Maple Ave Connectivity Project.

In my opinion, this project represents ill-considered spending by the city - first, taxpayer-funded staff time was spent to write a state grant proposal for what appears to be a poorly conceived project that does not appear to have been requested by Maple Ave residents, and second, $8,700 for the project is coming out of tax dollars in the general fund. I think it would be better to give the grant money back to the state than to go through with this project.

Ward One Council Member Jessica Landman asked residents in her ward to write the city council as to their views on this project. We all pay taxes that would support the Maple Ave Connectivity Project. If you have a view about it, please write the council this week at clerk@....

Thanks, Therese

On Apr 9, 2025, at 10:28?AM, Randall David Marks via groups.io <rmarksftc@...> wrote:

Hi Roger,

I agree with Rick and think your attention to detail has served you well. ?I think the strategy — protect the vulnerable and cut/delay at the edges — is one that many in WACO support; I certainly do. ?

Q1: ?Although I lack detailed knowledge of the City budget (I’ll wait for Therese Gibson’s observations), I think the proposals make sense and the overall impact is very positive.?

Q2: I earlier sent you the results of the budget game, in which I identified some other cuts that follow the same strategy (such as reducing a Code Enforcement FTE); I’ll not repeat them here.?

Q4: ?Please advocate for a half-year searching examination, with community input (including probably a TF of residents to work with Council to guide the process), of the our government, including:

• What services should we consider turning back to the County? ?In this regard, did you ever get a chart showing the cost and rebate of such services that Rob promised at our meeting with him?
• Can we reorganize to be more coherent, effective, and efficient? ?(As you know, I advocate no deputy CMs and four departments (Police, Operations, Infrastructure, Human Services).)?
• What services can we do more efficiently and effectively by tapping the volunteer energy and expertise of our residents?
• Can we deliver existing services more efficiently, including by investing in technologies?
• Are there new services that would raise revenue?
• Are there new revenue opportunities?

Thanks for “listening” and serving,

Randy on Allegheny

On Apr 9, 2025, at 10:25?AM, Rick Weiss via groups.io <rickweiss99@...> wrote:

?

?

?Roger et al.,

I’ve read through this carefully and am impressed by the smart focus on trimming non-essential expenditures in this time of deep economic uncertainty and instability while also squeezing a little more out of the budget to provide help to for those in our community who are most in need. It reflects a philosophy that says we can be prudent without giving up on being generous and sharing. I also appreciate your focus on insisting that the Council get more granular about some of the City’s wants and needs before jumping in on expenditures with both feet. This is how we can prevent the kind of boondoggles that have plagued us in the past, like the community center, the Takoma Junction fiasco, and the library overruns. ?2025 is a great year to slow down, clean house, and think things through while we see where the dust from the current administration in DC settles.?

One thing I don’t know enough about is the Maple Ave connector. Perhaps you or someone can point to a link that describes that project?

Thank you for your commitment to getting this right at a critical juncture for our city. ?

Rick on Pine

On Apr 9, 2025, at 6:38?AM, Roger Schlegel <rogers@...> wrote:

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Good morning, Ward 3 neighbors,

After last week’s canceled City Council meeting (due to a power outage), we will be starting budget reconciliation discussions tonight. It’s mainly unchanged from last week except that presentations from our two City employees’ unions will take place.?

This update is again focused strictly on budget matters, which are keeping all Council members pretty busy right now. If you’ve written to me in the past few days and are awaiting a response, please know that I am reading emails carefully and keeping up as efficiently as my obligations will allow. You will get a response from me.

?????- . -

The reconciliation process involves City staff and City Council members offering potential changes to the proposed FY26 budget. These options are registered in a spreadsheet that calculates impacts on revenues, expenditures, tax rates, and potentially the stormwater fee. Fiscal Year 2026 runs from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026.?

(Of interest for Pinecrest residents, City staff have gone back and identified a potential location for a speed hump on Orchard Avenue, so that project has now been added to their proposed traffic-calming projects for FY26.)

You have the option to comment on the proposed budget in person (no sign-up needed, starting around 7:45 pm) or (sign up by 5 pm). I think that your comments, and even just your presence at the meeting, can make a difference in the topics and tenor of the dialogue.?

The second of two official Public Hearings on the budget is scheduled for next week, April 16. Final reconciliation work is scheduled for the following Wednesday, April 23. The City Council will adopt property tax rates, the stormwater fee rate, and an FY26 budget in the first half of May.

Here’s the published , which was prepared by the City Manager last month. It has seen some changes since last month, which will be reflected in the reconciliation process.?

Our City Charter embraces a Council-Manager form of governance. The City Council’s primary responsibilities are to set the budget, make laws and policies, hire and provide oversight for the City Manager, and engage in long-term strategic planning. The City Manager proposes and executes the budget, hires and supervises all employees with the exception of the City Attorney, negotiates union contracts, and reports on outcomes to the City Council.

Thank you for all of your thoughts, questions, and research on the budget that you’ve shared so far. I anticipate a lively set of Council discussions over the next three meetings. I will push for our group to be attentive to details, informed about staff thinking, and imaginative in thinking about how to tackle objectives. I will try to underscore broader questions about the choices we make as a community that affect our diversity, affordability, and sustainability in the long term.

Based on the principles that I ran on in the fall, knowledge gained as a Council member, close consideration of the budget, listening to colleagues and public commenters, tracking of County and State budget outlooks, and following unanticipated developments in the wake of the new federal administration, I am going to be advocating for significant budget changes in this reconciliation process. There will be more reconciliation items introduced and lots of moving parts, but as of this morning, I intend to support or introduce the following:

• A significant scaleback in the proposed $1.685 million Atrium renovation project to expand space for the Police Department, to $500,000. The recommendation would be to focus work focus on relocating dispatcher space to an area with natural light, establishing a suitable room for interviewing members of the public, and making the current lobby restroom ADA-compliant. I will advocate for finding space elsewhere in the building for mental health counselors if and when that pilot project can move forward with County support. Savings: $1.185 million.
• Delay the purchases of one patrol car ($76,000 and one leaf vacuum ($70,000), and reduce the contribution to the Equipment Replacement Reserve accordingly. Savings: $146,000.
• Limit raises for non-unionized employees to the same 3% raise scheduled for unionized employees. Savings: $74,000.
• Delay or cancel the “Community Connectors” program in light of increased County support for social services outreach in our community and upgrades to our website, including translation capabilities. Savings: $150,000.
• Freeze the hiring of a Deputy Director for Housing and Community Development in light of an anticipated economic downturn and a potential year spent reexamining City housing policies. Savings: $100,000 or more.
• Do not proceed with a proposed hiring of a financial consultant, in recognition of the expertise of the City Manager and the two Deputy City Managers. Savings: uncertain, perhaps $65,000.
• Modestly increase the taxes charged to utilities. New revenue: $10,000.
• Modestly increase the per-square-foot rental fees for commercial use of City right-of-way, to more closely approach what other jurisdictions charge. New revenue: $10,000.
• Delay a requested review of the City housing ordinance (with a proposed focus on rent stabilization policies), pending Council discussion and clarity on the objectives of such a study. Savings: $85,000.
• Eliminate the uphill portion of the Maple Avenue Connectivity Project and reallocate grant funds to other portions of the project. Potential savings: up to $22,774.
• Increase property tax relief for lower-income property owners by $135,000 (doubling the available funds).
• Double available funds for food insecurity grants (by $60,000), quality of life grants (by $50,000), and rental assistance (by $136,000), for a total of $246,000 in increased expenditures if all funds are claimed/allocated.

I

f the Council were to adopt all of these reconciliation items, this would result in a total reduction of 4.76 cents in the property tax rate, from $0.5522 to $0.5046 per $100 of assessed value. A median-assessed property ($588,000) would see a property tax reduction of $280. A property assessed at $750,000 would see a property tax reduction of $357.

To me, these reductions and reallocations would not only provide a small amount of relief in a year that is likely to be a wild ride economically, and in light of federal government cut-backs that have hit so many Takoma Park households very hard. These reductions would also recognize the need to shift to a common-sense, living-within-our-means fiscal philosophy. Finally, they would acknowledge the need to slow down and think long-term about our needs, our programmatic priorities, our staffing, our approaches to getting the work done, and perhaps most importantly, our relationship with Montgomery County, which reimburses just a fraction of the costs we incur for services we provide ourselves in lieu of County services.?

All of that being said, I must ask these basic questions:?

1. Would you support the above reductions and reallocations in Fiscal Year 2026, either for reasons related to your household’s well-being or in the interests of our community as a whole? If so, why? If not, why not??

2. Are there other expenditure reductions or increases you would support?

3. Are there other revenue reductions or increases you would support?

4. Is there anything you feel I may be missing overall, or any different perspective you’d like me to keep in mind?

Please reply to this email if you have thoughts to share. Thank you!

Best regards,

Roger

--

Roger Schlegel

City?Council Member,?Ward Three?

7500 Maple Avenue

Takoma Park, MD 20912
Email:?RogerS@...
Phone:?240-997-3041

Please note that all City emails can potentially be public.