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Andrew Friedson - Candidate, County Council, District 1
Manage episode 379008471 series 3518203
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BIO
- Grew up / educated in Montgomery County
- Worked for State Comptroller / Scrutinized Contracts
- Advised on State Pension System
- On Board for Maryland College Savings System
ON STATE OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY / STRUCTURAL ECONOMIC ISSUES
- Revenues growing more slowly despite increased taxes
- Federal Government Not Growing As Before
- Workforce is Aging
- Earners to Non-Earners is Out of Whack
- Only way out: lift up wages / create jobs
- 40% of Children Eligible for Free and Reduced Meals
- More people are leaving office space than are entering office space
NEED A HIGHER TAX BASE (It has been shrinking)
- County has been raising taxes to compensate for this
HOW DO WE GROWN THE ECONOMY?
- Education - people want to live where good schools are
- Transportation
- Economic Development (can’t do the above without growing the tax base)
BUDGET PROCESS NEEDS IMPROVEMENT
- Optimized for innovation / adaptation
- Must use revenue for what it was earmarked
EDUCATION
- Discrepancy in Results
- Overcrowding Issues
- Many Schools are Attractive / Others Aren’t - Mismatch in Attraction to Families
- Highest costs of child care in the US
- DC has more accessible child care
- Too focused on college readiness / need career readiness as well
ON FINANCING THE CAMPAIGN
- On doing traditional campaign financing (not taking public financing)
- On D1 Neighbors Report regarding donations
- Addressing D1 Neighbors Report Showing Large Corporate / Real Estate Donations
ON THE THESIS THAT INFRASTRUCTURE HASN’T KEPT UP WITH DEVELOPMENT
BUDGET PROCESS
- Change budget reconciliation process
- 1 year budget doesn’t work
- Use a value proposition to make sure that investments are yielding results
- Evaluate impact on budget related to small business / non-profits
COUNTY SHOULD GET OUT OF THE ALCOHOL BUSINESS
- Holding back economic development / revenue
- Spending on alcohol is 41% below state average
- Wholesale service for restaurants is a disaster
- Restaurants in MoCo Can’t Complete Due to Lack of Alcohol Services
- Must take care of workers in alcohol business to transition to something else
MODERNIZE / IMPROVE GOVERNMENT
- Make permit obtainment easier
- Make it easier to interact with government
COUNTY COUNCIL’s MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES
- Oversight
- Pass a Budget
SHOULD THE COUNTY LOWER THE RESERVE FUND PERCENTAGE
ON DEMOCRATIZING MUNICIPAL BONDS
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