Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.
The Montgomery County Board of Commissioners held its 57th board meeting on October 1, 2026, marking 1,000 days in office. The meeting included opening remarks celebrating accomplishments, a presentation from the District Attorney on the upcoming drug take-back day, public comments on paid family leave and civic engagement, and the approval of several ordinances, resolutions, and routine items. The board also welcomed three new junior commissioners and recognized a retiring park ranger.
No, no, no. Um being there. Mine feels low. All right, good morning. Good morning. We're gonna go ahead and get started. Good morning. How's everyone doing? Doing okay? Perfect. I like that. Sounds great. Um, so um, welcome to the October First Board of Commissioners meeting. Note the uh the rusty. Note the presence of my two colleagues and all three commissioners. Um, I'd like our new junior commissioners to lead us in the pledge. So if he could lead us in the pledge. I'd like to start by sharing a fun fact that we have officially reached a thousand days in office as a board. Really? Yeah, we can talk to that. You don't have a countdown clock on your on your phone. And today is our 57th board meeting. Wow, that's a lot. Can you all believe it? No. No, he can't. It's gone faster than any of us could have imagined. There is a lot of work to do yet, but we're proud of how much we've accomplished working together as a board and with our amazing county team. We've invested in opportunities for individuals and businesses. We've ensured that we're connecting with community. We've invested in public safety, our young young people, the elderly, the most vulnerable residents, and anyone who chooses Monco to live, work, and raise a family here. With our first vote in January 2024, we created a property tax rebate for firefighters and EMS personnel. This has since put over $650,000 back into the pockets of our first responders. We've invested over $8 million in community infrastructure from parks and trails to sidewalks and stream banks. We've greatly expanded the care available to those experiencing homelessness and behavioral health crisis crises. Later this winter, we'll open the region's first emergency behavioral health crisis center, and we'll also be opening our third short-term supportive housing program in Naristown since coming into office. I could go on, but I know we want to get out of this meeting because it's going to be a short one today. I have I have better, so I didn't get my bets in yet on that. But I hope everyone can take a look back and see all the great things that we've accomplished together. We'll be sharing more on our social media pages later today. Just yesterday, Commissioner DeBello and I parted alongside of some of Monco's oldest residents. Yesterday, our Office of Aging Services hosted the 17th annual centenarian luncheon in Southern. We had 34 Monco centenarians in attendance, and the oldest was 106 years old. It was really special to connect with them and to tell them how much we've appreciated all that they've contributed to our communities over the past 100 plus years. Next, I wanted to highlight an upcoming series of events focused on youth civic participation. Starting October 5th is uh Civic Civic Learning Week will launch here in Monco. This is a series organized by the Cultural Proficiency and Equity Student Ambassadors Program led by Carmina Taylor. She told me she was coming, she may be here later.