The Montgomery County FY 11 Budget is currently under review by county officials and County Executive Ike Leggett. Now is the time to mobilize and support the Montgomery County Match/Supplemental funding for services for people with developmental disabilities. The match/supplemental funding is an important funding stream for community service providers from Montgomery County. While Mr. Leggett is a long-time supporter, it is important that he and Montgomery County officials hear from citizens about this vital funding stream to community services providers.

Community Support Services, Inc. encourages you to call, e-mail or write to Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett at (240) 777-2500, or via snail-mail at 101 Monroe St., Rockville, MD 20850. Tell Mr. Leggett how much we appreciate his support in the past for people with developmental disabilities in Montgomery County and that we need his support again this year to not cut the Developmental Disabilities Match/Supplement. Feel free to explain briefly your connection to this funding (whether you are a parent, friend, employee, board member, etc.) and how vital this funding is to the individuals with developmental disabilities receiving or seeking services in Montgomery County. Please call, write, or email by March 5th. You can also copy your letter to Montgomery County Council President Nancy Floreen or by mailing it to her at 100 Maryland Ave., Rockville MD 20805.

You can also make your voice heard by attending the Community Forum on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 from 7 p.m.-9 p.m., sponsored by Safety Net Coalition. This is an opportunity to make your stand, in person, to county officials as they begin the process of finalizing the FY 2011 county budget. The forum will take place in the hearing room on the 3rd Floor of the County Council Office Building, located at 100 Maryland Ave. in Rockville, MD. InterACC/DD is particularly looking for individuals to provide testimony of no longer than 3 minutes about how your life has been positively impacted by services. If you are interested in doing so, please RSVP to Warren Hansen, Community Advocate for Interfaith Works. He can be reached by clicking on his name above for an email link or by telephone at (301) 525-2624.

We appreciate all your efforts and work in supporting community service and individuals with developmental disabilities. We encourage you to continue speaking up on their behalf.

ROCKVILLE, Md., March 2, 2010—Montgomery County Councilmember Duchy Trachtenberg (D-At Large) on Wednesday, March 3, will join a broad coalition of human services, health care and business groups in Annapolis to urge an increase in the tax the state imposes on alcohol. Revenue from the proposed 10-cent per drink increase would be dedicated to funding services for people with alcohol and substance addictions, developmental disabilities, mental illnesses, and health care for the uninsured.

The rally urging support of the increase will be held at noon, at Lawyers Mall, in front of the State House. Councilmember Trachtenberg, who chairs the Council’s Management and Fiscal Policy (MFP) Committee, and is a member of its Health and Human Services Committee, will speak at the event. Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett will be one of several expected guests.

Maryland has not increased its tax on wine and beer since 1972 or its tax on liquor and spirits since 1955. Maryland taxes on these beverages are the fourth lowest among the 50 states.

According to an Opinion Works poll, released this week by the Maryland Chapter of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, 72 percent of responding Marylanders said they would support the increase. Budget reductions taken by the state’s Board of Public Works since the start of the 2010 fiscal year have reduced funding for addiction treatment and prevention by $4.7 million across the state. Hundreds of treatment slots have been lost and dozens of people have been laid off.

“As chair of the County Council’s MFP Committee that oversees many of the County’s budget issues, no one is more familiar with the budget dilemma faced by the state and local governments than I am,” said Councilmember Trachtenberg. “That is why this proposal makes so much sense. The impact on a consumer of an additional 10 cents per drink is negligible. However, collectively, the revenue raised will have a major impact on the people who need the services that will be supported by this measure. The state has not changed this tax in decades. Now is the right time to do it.”

The revenue raised will support the unmet needs of people with developmental disabilities and mental health problems, and support programs dedicated to the prevention and treatment of substance abuse. It will additionally fund health care access for childless adults.

# # # #

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/21/AR2010012104724.\
html

From  Washington Post:
*************************
But O'Malley also said he would be hard-pressed to support even nickel or dime
tax increases on alcohol, which have been proposed by Montgomery County
lawmakers to restore funding cut from programs for the mentally ill. Maryland's
tax on beer has not changed since 1972; its tax on hard alcohol has remained the
same since 1955.

"The biggest solution to the challenges we face is to have our economy come back
and start to grow again," O'Malley said. "Any increase in alcohol tax or beer
tax is not the fix."
**************************

More on the alcohol tax... http://www.foxbaltimore.com/newsroom/top_stories/videos/wbff_vid_2642.shtml

A coalition of alcohol tax supporters are advocating for a dime-a-drink tax on booze in Maryland.

The tax proposal has faced strong opposition from the alcohol lobby in Annapolis, and the fact that this legislative session is taking place in an election year won't make things any easier.

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