Police union suing Montgomery County over use-of-force policy
Union representative says policy puts officers’ health and safety at risk By Dan Schere and Steve Bohnel |
May 21, 2021 | 11:18 am
May 21, 2021
Logo from FOP Lodge 35 Twitter page
Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 35, a union that represents officers in Montgomery County, is suing the county over a new policy that restricts officers’ ability to use force, saying the policy is not subject to collective bargaining.
The County Council passed the use-of-force policy in July 2020 in response to local and national concerns over police brutality. The change followed the death of George Floyd, a Black man in Minneapolis who died after a police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes.
Bill would increase transparency in county lawsuit settlements
Jawando s proposal would require disclosure of parties, settlement amount By Steve Bohnel |
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A bill to shed more light on lawsuit settlements involving the Montgomery County government came before the County Council on Tuesday.
Council Member Will Jawando has sponsored a bill that would require the county attorney to report annually to the County Council and county executive the following about settlements involving any county office or division:
Which county division was involved, and who filed the lawsuit
The settlement amount
What the lawsuit was about
In an interview, Jawando said his legislation is related to two police-related bills he and Council President Tom Hucker sponsored this week.
Effort expected to qualify 68,000 residents, Hucker says
April 26, 2021 | 10:12 am
April 26, 2021
Montgomery County officials are considering amending qualifications for the Working Families Income Supplement tax credit to include non-citizens.
The county’s current law says a resident must be eligible for both federal and state earned income tax credit to qualify. The provision in the code excludes specific taxpayers such as ITIN (Individual Tax Identification Number) holders who do not qualify under certain federal requirements.
ITIN holders are not eligible to receive Social Security numbers. They use an ITIN to pay federal taxes. They include immigrants who are not citizens, student visa-holders, Cuban and Haitian entrants and certain immediate family members of people with employment visas, according to the National Immigration Law Center.
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Retail, service businesses that rely on foot traffic will get help
April 7, 2021 | 7:28 pm
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Some small businesses will soon have access to $1 million in small-business rental assistance from Montgomery County.
On Tuesday, the County Council unanimously approved the rental assistance, which will go to retail and service businesses that rely on foot traffic.
Medical practices, professional services businesses, religious organizations and day care facilities are excluded because they do not rely on foot traffic or they have qualified for grant funding through other programs.
Council Member Will Jawando, who spearheaded the effort, said during Tuesday’s meeting that rent is often the largest cost, outside of labor, for small retail and service-related businesses.