Are you prepared for #HurricaneSandy?

Please see below for the latest information and important phone numbers from Alert Montgomery.

Hurricane Sandy has the potential to make an impact to the Mid-Atlantic region beginning late Sunday. Although the track of the storm is still uncertain, Montgomery County residents should prepare for heavy rain, tropical storm force wind gusts (35 mph), and downed tree and power lines.

Following is some information to help Montgomery County residents, businesses, and community groups prepare:


** Stay Informed **
Know how to get information even if you have no power. Make sure you have a battery-operated or crank radio in your emergency kit. You can also follow Montgomery County updates on Twitter and Facebook through your mobile device.
• Montgomery County Government on Twitter - http://twitter.com/MontgomeryCoMD
• Montgomery County Government on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Montgomery-County-Government/53568216648?ref=ts
• Montgomery County’s Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Montgomery-County-MD-Office-of-Emergency-Management-Homeland-Security/106493569384317


** Reporting an Emergency **
During severe weather and all other times, residents are reminded to call 9-1-1 only in emergencies that threaten life or property, which include any type of fire or serious medical condition, when there is fear for personal safety or the safety of others, or during a crime in progress. Calling 9-1-1 for the wrong reason or calling the number inadvertently may keep someone else from getting the help they need. DO NOT call 9-1-1 to ask for directions; check on power, phone, or cable outages; inquire about road or weather conditions; check on the status of school closings; for information about public services; or to report situations that are not emergencies. If you do call by mistake, please stay on the line until the call taker can confirm that you do not require emergency assistance.


** Storm Preparations **
Whenever a hurricane threatens a region, a hurricane watch will be issued within 24-36 hours. A hurricane warning will be issued if hurricane conditions are expected within 24 hours or less. Below are some more preparedness tips for hurricanes and other storms:


** Before a Storm **
• Put copies of important documents in a safe place, preferably a waterproof container. Important documents can include passports, birth certificates, insurance policies or anything else that might be needed immediately or cannot be easily replaced.
• Have enough cash for a few days – ATM’s may not work during power outages and stores might not be able to take debit and credit cards.
• Make sure vehicle gas tanks are full.
• Secure or bring inside exterior items that might become windborne, such as lawn furniture, toys and garden tools.
• Fill prescriptions that might be needed and stock up on any necessary medical supplies.
• Keep flashlights and battery-powered radios with extra batteries on hand, along with a basic first aid kit, emergency food and water, and a non-electric can opener. Have enough non-perishable food and water for at least 72 hours.
• Listen to the radio or television for hurricane progress reports.
• Clean out gutters.
• Turn the refrigerator and freezer to the coldest setting in anticipation of a power outage. Open the doors only when necessary and close quickly.
• Refrain from putting out trash cans the night before the regular pickup.
• Clean and remove leaves from storm drain inlets and catch basins in front of your home.


** During a Storm **
• Avoid using candles for lighting. Use a battery-powered flashlight.
• Never use a candle when fueling equipment such as a kerosene heater or lantern, since the candle flame can ignite fumes from the fuel.
• Try to stay in an interior room or away from windows.
• Stay calm and do not call 911 unless it is an emergency.
• If flooding occurs, turn off electricity at the main breaker.
• During a power outage, turn off major appliances. This will minimize losing power again through a power surge and protect the equipment when power returns.
• Do not go outside. Flying debris from high winds is a danger. As the eye of the storm passes, there will be a short period of calm followed by rapid wind speed increases to hurricane force that will come from the opposite direction.


** After a Storm **
• Do not touch fallen or low-hanging wires of any kind under any circumstances. Stay away from puddles with wires in or near them. Do not touch trees or other objects in contact with power lines.
• USE PHONES ONLY FOR EMERGENCIES. Call 911 only for life-threatening situations.
• Call police or your utility companies immediately to report hazards such as downed power lines, broken gas or water mains or overturned gas tanks.
• Avoid areas subject to flooding, including low spots, canals and streams. Do not attempt to drive on a flooded road –you can be stranded or trapped. The depth of the water and the condition of the road is not always obvious.
• Be especially cautious at night when it is harder to recognize flood dangers, downed wires and other hazards.
• For downed trees on public property, call 3-1-1 between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays (or 240-777-0311 from outside the County or from a cell phone) or go to http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/311 at any time to report the problem. If live wires are involved, the tree is blocking a roadway, the tree is on a structure, or if persons are trapped under the fallen tree, call 9-1-1.
• Trees that have fallen on private property are the responsibility of the property owner. The County’s Office of Consumer Protection advises homeowners to deal with established businesses only, and to call Consumer Protection first to check a business’ complaint record. Consumer Protection can be reached at 240-777-3636.
• For non-emergency police assistance, call the police non-emergency number, 301-279-8000.
• If case of a power outage, residents are urged to take steps to ensure that food left in the refrigerator and freezer is safe. According to the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service, meat, poultry, fish and eggs should be refrigerated at 40° F and frozen food at or below 0° F, which may be difficult with a prolonged power outage. Keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible to maintain the cold temperature. A refrigerator will only keep food safely cold for about four hours if it is unopened. Food such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs, milk, soft cheeses, butter and leftover cooked meats, casseroles and pizza should be thrown out if they have been held above 40° F for over two hours. A full freezer will hold the temperature for approximately 48 hours (24 hours if it is half full) if the door remains closed. To be sure a particular food is cold enough; take its temperature with a food thermometer. Never taste food to determine its safety.
• Do not operate charcoal grills, propane camping stoves or generators indoors.


** Important Utility Numbers: **
• Pepco: 1-877-737-2662
• Baltimore Gas and Electric (BG&E): 1-877-778-2222 or 1-800-685-0123
• Potomac Edison (Allegheny Power): 1-800-255-3443
• Washington Gas: 800-752-7520
• WSSC: 1-800-828-4002

For more information about emergency preparedness, visit http://www.MontgomeryCountyMD.gov/OEMHS

At PSC hearing, residents demand accountability for Pepco

Tuesday night, hundreds of residents crowded into the County Council hearing room to witness and testify to the PSC about Pepco’s response to the Derecho.

There were so many powerful moments.  Two that I will never forget:  First, the testimony from Mary Caroline Colletti, who  told the PSC that she lost her asthma medicine in the Derecho outage and couldn’t afford more medicine because her insurance does not cover this kind of loss.  Then, she said, when the new storms were approaching the following weekend, she faced an almost debilitating stress worrying how she would breathe if another outage occurred:

“The Sunday after the derecho, there was a pending and worrisome forecast for another severe approaching storm which damaging winds, etc., later in the day it became apparent, thankful Montgomery County would be spared.  Harnessed with the knowledge and horrid memories of Pepco’s slow and ineffective power restoration prospects, I became so stressed for myself and friends, for over 16 hours I was confronted with a series of severe asthma attacks.  Laden with fact, if my power went out, it could be days before electricity would be restored, in light of the regressive, worsen performance by Pepco after each "unique event.”

Mary Caroline Colletti's Testimony from Tuesday's PSC Hearing on Pepco

Video Courtesy of the Montgomery County Public Information Office

It is an utter outrage that any Montgomery County resident would have to live this way.

Then there was the testimony from another constituent. The reason I was so struck by this testimony is that it was almost my own story. I will never forget the look in my wife’s eye, during the outage of the 2011 ice storm, as she considered the consequences of losing a month’s worth of breast milk that she had carefully stored in the freezer. Thankfully we did not lose that supply that year, but she lost hers in the derecho:

“Last month, I poured my entire reserve supply of breast milk down the drain, 48 ounces, which would have been 12 feedings, a 3 day supply in case my 6 month old baby Avery and I were ever separated in an emergency.  It had been stored safely frozen, giving me peace of mind, until Pepco’s derecho debacle left us without power for 6 days. If any of you have ever breastfed an infant, you know what it can take to get that far ahead. I am now just keeping up with his daily needs for daycare, with no reserve supply, because I have never been able to get ahead since the massive power outage that struck our region following the June 29 storm. This is especially difficult because I just returned to work full-time at the end of July and was counting on that back-up supply in case I fell behind.  From talking to my friends, I know I am not the only working mother of a breastfeeding infant who suffered the same consequences.”

  Additional Testimony from Tuesday's PSC Hearing on Pepco

Video Courtesy of the Montgomery County Public Information Office

People worried that they won’t be able to breathe or take care of their babies.  This is what poor regulation of Pepco has brought us in Montgomery County.

As I said earlier, these are just a few highlights of the personal testimonies from many residents affected by Pepco’s poor service standards. For those who were unable to attend the hearing or are interested in hearing from other residents, a full recap of the PSC hearing is available.

We are fighting back. The hearing might be over, but we are determined to keep the momentum going and ensure that Pepco is held accountable by the PSC. Click here to see how you can get involved with our efforts.

A coalition of citizens and advocacy groups is coming together to push the PSC to do its job and hold Pepco accountable. Tuesday’s gripping hearing was the first step in the campaign.

Please contact powerupmontco@gmail.com if you want to get involved.  That is the email address established by Abbe Milstein, an outraged resident who is organizing for change.

Accountability for Pepco

In my conversations with Montgomery County residents, the driving question they have is, Where is the accountability for Pepco??

Who is going to make sure that the company will improve its service and that the unacceptable service we have received since 2004 will change?

There is an answer to this question.  Accountability lies first with the PSC and second with the Governor.

And they have the tools to make Pepco change.  Here is what we need to do.

What the PSC can do
The Maryland Public Services Commission (PSC) has the power to regulate Pepco.  In response to our dire circumstances and the outcry from our residents, the PSC has established a framework that can solve our problem, if they follow through:  

1. Pepco will be required by the PSC to reach “average” service standards within 4 years.
2. If Pepco does not meet those standards, the PSC will fine Pepco.
3. Pepco will not be eligible to charge ratepayers to “catch up” for its neglect in the past.
4. The PSC will reduce Pepco’s profit or rate-of-return in order to fund improvements without putting the entire burden on ratepayers.

In a recent appearance before the County Council, PSC Chair Douglas Nazarian described the commission’s new standards for Pepco. He also promised to aggressively enforce them.  Nazarian told the council that the PSC expected to see better performance for Pepco.

" And if we don’t… I promise you, not only as a regulator and as someone who shares the public’s frustration, the council’s frustration with the outages of the last couple years, but as someone who is charged with the obligation under Maryland law to enforce these regulations to hold the company accountable, I promise you that we will do that.  And we will do that in a very meaningful and very significant and, if necessary, very painful way."

This framework that the PSC has established will only work if they follow through on it.  Already we are seeing Pepco fighting back aggressively, arguing that if they don’t get higher rate hikes we won’t get better service.  We will need to keep the PSC on the job by:

1. Ensuring that fines are consistently large enough to force Pepco to change.
2. Ensuring that Pepco doesn’t charge ratepayers for their past mistakes, by blocking unfair rate hikes and reducing Pepco’s “rate of return on equity.”
3. Raising the service standards that Pepco must meet above “average.”

What the Governor Can Do
The Governor is a key player in this reform process because the Governor decides who serves on the PSC and can make it clear what expectations he has for their actions.  In response to the crisis, the Governor has launched an executive review of our electricity system.  While this is indeed urgent, dealing with Pepco will require a different set of actions than what might be required to improve utility reliability in response to climate change.  With Pepco, the problem is the company’s culture and management, not climate change.  The solution is tough regulation.

The Governor can:

1. State clear support for the Pepco-oriented regulatory agenda outlined above.
2. Only nominate PSC members who clearly support this agenda.
3. Help reform how the PSC engages with residents so that we can be heard, as we work with the Governor to hold Pepco accountable.  From a resident’s perspective, I believe the PSC is impenetrable, and this is part of the reason that the crisis at Pepco was not recognized by the PSC for years.

What you can do
Not only the PSC and the Governor, but all elected officials at every level should support a tough regulatory agenda for Pepco.  The 2014 election cycle is underway, and it will be essential to combat Pepco by obtaining clear commitments to support this agenda from statewide and local candidates.

You can do three things to hold Pepco accountable right now.

1.  In the aftermath of the derecho storm on June 29, I launched a petition calling for the PSC to be fired for not dealing more aggressively with Pepco.  Nearly 5,000 county and state residents have signed that petition.  By adding your name to this petition, you will receive communications about ongoing efforts to hold Pepco accountable.  

2.  The PSC is holding a hearing on August 7 at 7 PM in the County Council’s hearing room.  Our address is 100 Maryland Avenue in Rockville and the hearing room is on the third floor.  This is your chance to tell the PSC directly what you think of Pepco’s storm performance.  Please attend.

3.  Several Montgomery County residents are working with other residents to organize a grassroots organization to hold Pepco accountable.  You can contact Abbe Milstein at powerupmontco@gmail.com.  An organization of this kind can help give Pepco customers a direct voice and help hold the company, the PSC and all political candidates accountable on this issue in 2014.

Finally, there is the question of revoking Pepco’s franchise and establishing a publicly-owned distribution system.  I am a strong supporter of pursuing a public power option, because I believe it would save Montgomery County taxpayers countless millions of dollars that are now diverted to shareholders.  Our first step, though, must continue to be solving the problem at hand: holding Pepco accountable.  Let’s make that happen. 

Thank you for participating.

Daily Journal 07-16-12: White Flint, Pepco, Municipal Taxes)

Today started in White Flint at the location of the future “Pike & Rose” development that Federal Realty has initiated. This development is on that big lot where the Toys R Us was for many years near Montrose Road and 355.

Federal Realty is going to turn those acres of asphalt into a spectacular community of residences, retail and commercial space. Today was the groundbreaking, attended not only by yours truly but the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, County Executive, Council President, and others.

I am passionate about moving ahead on the redevelopment of Rockville Pike, which will become the urban spine of our economic future. With all the great projects coming online up and down The 355, that area is going to become one of the most interesting and enjoyable places to live in the country.

Then back to the office to continue working on the #FixPepco campaign, which is taking off--- we have over 2,000 petition signers now. I think its working to put the focus where it needs to be, on the regulators who are not doing their job. Our Maryland Public Services Commission is tasked with ensuring that consumers are protected from the monopoly utilities. They haven’t gotten the job done and the Governor needs to start over at that failed regulatory agency. Please sign!

Next up, a Gov Ops committee meeting on an issue that I have been learning more and more about in my time at the Council – the issue of municipal tax duplication. This is the problem where residents who live in our county’s municipalities (about 17% of county residents living in cities such as Rockville, Gaithersburg, and Takoma Park) pay property tax for a county service that the city has decided to provide. The county is required by the state to refund that double property tax. For many years, however, the county did more than just refund the double property tax; we provided the municipalities with additional funds. That fact is not well understood; to the contrary, some residents of these municipalities are under the erroneous impression that they pay higher taxes because the county does not refund their double taxes.

We have a lot of work to do to get closer to a resolution and to ensure a process that works for both the county and the municipalities in the future. The committee is going to keep focusing on this issue and take some specific steps later in the year. You can read more about the issue in this council staff memo (PDF).

Finally, a quick interview with ABC News about #FixPepco, which led the 5:30pm TV news!, and now I am preparing to visit with the Western Montgomery Citizens Advisory Board at 7pm. I’m sure we’ll be talking Pepco…

How to fix Pepco

It has been about eight years now since the crisis at Pepco came to light, and as far as Montgomery County residents are concerned, nothing has changed.

The 2012 "derecho" storm is the latest disaster, but the problem has been growing for years. In 2011, there were hundreds of thousands of power outages after an ice storm. There were severe outages from storms in 2010, and 2008, and after Hurricane Isabel in 2003.

In Maryland, utility companies are granted a monopoly in exchange for submitting to direct supervision by one agency, the “PSC” (Public Service Commission). The PSC is an independent agency, but the Governor appoints its members and has the power to replace them.

That's why I started a petition on SignOn.org to Gov. O'Malley and the Maryland legislature, which says:

"The state regulators at the PSC are failing. The chairman of the PSC, Douglas Nazarian, has admitted that they were slow to recognize problems at Pepco. But he is still in charge of the PSC and so are the rest of the slow responders. Why?" 

"The PSC is an independent agency, but the Governor appoints its members and has the power to replace them." 

As a county government, we have no direct power over Pepco. I can talk until I turn blue about what I think Pepco needs to do better, the fact is that only the PSC can change Pepco, and only the Governor can change the PSC.

Thank you for joining my call to bring accountability to Pepco and Maryland's utility companies. I welcome your comments below.

Facts About Pepco

Once again, a major summer storm has passed through the Washington region.  And once again, thousands of Pepco customers faced multi-day outages, this time in crushing heat.  Preliminary reports indicate that during the recent storm, Pepco restored power more slowly than neighboring utilities and struggled to bring in outside workers to help.

While I believe that this performance is deplorable, I also believe that it is ultimately the state regulators who must answer for it.  The Public Services Commission is the agency that regulates Pepco and it is their job to protect us as consumers. 

So let’s take a look at some key facts about Pepco – and ask yourself, where is the PSC?

Pepco’s reliability is still below BGE.

The Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) collects data on electric outage frequency and duration. The charts below compare Pepco and BGE on both measures. The charts illustrate data applying to all incidents (including major storms) and to “blue-sky” conditions, which do not include storms.

Generally speaking, the data indicate that Pepco and BGE had roughly equivalent reliability through 2004. Hurricane Isabel struck the area in 2003, and after that, Pepco neglected its infrastructure. Since 2008, Pepco’s outage frequency and duration have improved but the utility is not back to its prior record of reliability. Clearly, they still have a lot of work to do.

Pepco is funding shareholders instead of infrastructure.

Potomac Electric Power Company spent $120 million on its reliability enhancement program in 2011. But that is just a fraction of the money it could spend if it wants to. According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Pepco Holdings Inc. earned $1.768 billion in after-tax net income from 2005 through 2011. Over the same period, the company paid out $1.535 billion in dividends to shareholders. It’s hard for a utility to put money into its infrastructure when 87% of its profits go out the door. Furthermore, the company collected $508 million in federal tax rebates between 2008 and 2010. Pepco can afford to put many millions more into restoring reliability, but it is seeking a rate increase instead.

Pepco exec compensation is skyrocketing despite miserable failure.

Pepco CEO Joseph M. Rigby said he would not accept a salary increase in February 2011. This gesture seemed to indicate that he recognized our outrage about his company’s failures. Wrong: Rigby accepted other non-salary compensation streams which doubled his pay. And he signed a new employment agreement in December that increased his salary, provided that any salary increases can never be revoked, gave him a “retention award” of $1.5 million (ironic since they should be firing him) and a termination benefit of more than three times his salary.

Rigby is not the only executive to cash in. Below are the compensation packages of PHI’s top five executives as reported in its SEC filing.

Top Five Executives	Total Compensation, 2010	Total Compensation, 2011	Percentage Change
Joseph M. Rigby, Chairman/President/CEO	$3,551,304	$7,161,758	102%
Anthony J. Kamerick, Senior VP/CFO	$2,269,853	$3,142,864	38%
David M. Velazquez, Executive VP	$1,198,792	$4,180,726	249%
Kirk J. Emge, Senior VP/General Counsel	$1,554,890	$1,957,135	26%
John U. Huffman, President/CEO, Pepco Energy Services	$1,194,262	$1,543,076	29%
Total	$9,769,101	$17,985,559	84%

Daily Journal 07/09/12: Wheaton, Digital Government, Pepco

On Monday, I met Larry Couch, chair of the Justice and Advocacy Council (JAC) of Montgomery County. The JAC is a Catholic organization that advocates for our low-income. We talked about a variety of issues, including the Working Families Income Supplement, a tax benefit that helps our low-income families by supplementing their wages. The JAC fought to create the original State Earned Income Tax Credit, which the county matches with its own local tax credit.  We talked about working together to get the county to a 1-1 match of dollars provided by the state (today we add about 75% of the amount). 

Next, Councilmember Navarro and I convened a discussion about Wheaton public safety issues with Chief Manger, and Mid-County Regional Services Center Director, Ana Lopez van Balen, and their teams. We reviewed progress from the Wheaton Public Safety Audit of 2004 and parameters for a new public safety initiative there. Our goal is to integrate these elements of the Wheaton Public Safety Task Force into the larger effort of Wheaton Revitalization. More soon.

In the afternoon, I attended a GO Committee on IT issues. As the Council lead for Digital Government, I have been working to accelerate the county’s digital strategy. I was very happy to review the substantial agenda that has been put forward by our agencies on open data, digital citizenship, data visualization, social media, mobile platforms, and other areas– and not only for county government but also MCPS, HOC, MNCPPC, and Montgomery College. These groups will be working together on a range of initiatives in these areas and residents will begin to see the results soon.

In the evening, I met with the Silver Spring Citizens Advisory Board. We talked about Pepco and who has accountability for ensuring that we have decent electric power here in the County. The point I stressed to the group is that I believe its time for the Governor to give us a fresh start at the PSC.  The PSC is the only entity in the state that has direct authority over Pepco.  They are an independent state agency and their members are appointed by the Governor. The Governor needs to appoint new members because these members are not getting the job done. 

Daily journal, 09-13-11

Today was the first council session since the end of July. Its been so long since I sat at my seat on the dais that I have to confess I was a bit nervous all over again. We started the day though with an open-press discussion with the County Executive, Ike Leggett. I was a few minutes late as I was getting an interesting update from Marc Elrich about his BRT plans as well as economic development issues, where we have some common interests. The session with the County Executive turned into a bit of a fracas over the issue of whether we should pursue a municipal power authority that would take over for Pepco. I strongly support pursuing this idea -- I think the residents will be very interested to see the option laid out before them (yes? no?). It appears to me there is enough support on the Council to go forward, regardless of the Executive's objections.

Another focus today was on capital spending and the capital budget --- where we borrow money to pay for long term investments such as schools, transit technology, roads, parks, libraries, etc. The County Executive is proposing a cut in the amount of money that we borrow. I am concerned about any proposal that would slow the pace of job creation in the county, and there is no question that building projects create jobs (good ones, too). We will be taking a closer look at this but my general philosophy is that we should spend every penny we can on job creation, within the bounds of affordability.

We also discussed a bill that I have introduced, along with six other co-sponsors (so far), that would change the timing of when impact taxes are paid to allow builders to use more of their seed capital to start projects. The timing would change so that builders do not have to pay taxes up front, but rather when they are ready to occupy and sell. This will mean more projects and more jobs, as well as more single and multi-family housing for our workforce, and more housing for companies looking to expand or locate here. It won't cost the county or taxpayers a dime --- in fact, as Council Vice President Roger Berliner noted, it will generate more tax revenue over time by improving the investment climate.

We are in a national employment crisis that demands an aggressive response from every level of government. I'm interested in any ideas you have for how we can spur job creation here in Montgomery County.

Montgomery County's Budget and a Pepco Update

Dear Supporters,

With County Executive Leggett’s budget in hand, the Council now has until the end of May to pass a final plan for spending and taxes. My commitment to you is to do the best that I can for all of our County priorities -- schools, libraries, public safety, safety net services, parks, public transportation and more.

I will let my sense of fairness guide me and work hard not to burden any particular group with doing more than their share to get through this economic crisis. I will look for solutions that uphold our progressive values while putting the county on a stable long term financial path.

Now is the time for you to speak out. As a Councilmember, my job is to make the best decisions I can based on getting all of the information available. That’s why I read every email that comes to me. I strongly encourage you to email me and the entire County Council with your thoughts on what you want from your county government at this difficult time. What principles, values, and priorities do you think should guide the Council’s decisions?

Reply to me directly at councilmember.riemer@montgomerycountymd.gov with your thoughts and if you want all nine Council offices to receive your email, cc: county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov.

As you follow the story in the news and your neighborhood email lists, I want to provide some background that I have found useful.

The County Executive is proposing an increase to the county's budget from $4.271 billion to $4.347 billion, a net hike of 1.8%. Last year, the county's budget fell by 4.5.%. These two years have seen the lowest rate of budget growth since at least the early 1990s.

Many important services are facing their second straight year of tight budgets. The Executive’s recommendation for the public schools is higher than last year’s amount but is lower than what the schools received two years ago, despite higher enrollment. The fire and rescue service, libraries, transit and health and human services are facing their second straight year of cuts. Library staffing, for example, is down over 30% in the last two years. These reductions will cause real-world problems for county residents.

County employees, who make less than private sector workers with the same education, have gone two years without a salary increase, and did not ask for one this year. In his budget, the Executive recommended that employees bear a much larger share of their health and pension benefits. If the council approves a measure resembling the Executive’s recommendation, that could add up to thousands of dollars less in take-home pay for workers making as little as $50,000 per year.

The county’s fiscal solvency is improving, but we are not yet where we need to be. Last year, the county almost lost its AAA bond rating, which enables it to issue bonds carrying the lowest possible interest rates on our billions of dollars in debt for constructing schools, roads, parks and more. The county was able to preserve its rating by establishing a plan to steadily increase its reserves and meet its future obligations, especially for pensions and retiree health care.

Today, we have to make tough choices. I have not made up my mind on many of the key policy issues as I carefully consider the implications. But policy is not our only challenge.

This debate is also a test of progressive leadership. Can we get through our budget crisis without needlessly pitting residents against one another, without making victory for one concern a defeat for another, without dividing and conquering? As your Councilmember, that is what I am working to do.

When I ran for Council I said that we have to listen to everyone because our collective wisdom is our greatest asset. That’s why I’m asking for your input.

I also said that we should not turn every argument into a zero sum game, because we all have to live with the outcome of every decision, together.

Even in tough times, I believe that it can be done.

While I work through this crisis, I am keeping my eyes on the long term. Our budget is in dire straits because our tax revenue is dependent on two sources of income that have both suffered severe market “corrections”: property taxes and income taxes. Each of these revenue sources are down to a lower, corrected base. They are not going to rebound to their bubble highs.

That is why I strongly believe that we must expand our commercial tax base in this county in order to build a more resilient revenue stream. Fairfax has 200,000 more jobs than Montgomery. If we can add a strong commercial tax revenue stream to our property and income tax revenues, the county will be in a much stronger position to make the investments we need for our quality of life. County County

I consider these times a true test of our progressive values and our ability to put them in practice. Through it all, I keep reminding myself, as others have said to me -- if we can’t figure it out here in Montgomery County, then where?

The stakes are high.

PEPCO UPDATE

Pepco’s power reliability is an issue of continuing concern for its customers. As of this writing, 1,093 people have signed our petition calling on regulators to establish performance standards and not approve a rate hike until the company’s service improves. Thank you to all the petition signatories and we hope even more residents will sign. Soon, we will be sending the petition to both Pepco and the Maryland Public Service Commission.

At the moment, the Maryland House of Delegates and the Maryland Senate have passed two different bills aimed at establishing reliability standards for Pepco. The Senate’s bill is far better. The Senate would begin levying penalties in 2012 whereas the House would levy them starting in 2014. The Senate would impose penalties totaling up to 2.5% of Pepco’s transmission and distribution revenues whereas the House would only allow a penalty of $10,000 per day per violation. The Senate and House must now agree on a compromise. If you would like the legislature to pass a bill more closely resembling the Senate’s version, you should email your state legislators as soon as you can.

Finally, Pepco continues to shower their executives with endless compensation and perks even as the company fails its customers. Pepco’s latest filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission shows that the company gave its top five executives a combined 20% increase in compensation in 2010. Its Chief Executive received a 14% increase and has an employment agreement that prohibits the company from cutting his salary or revoking any of his salary increases. Company executives also receive a long list of perks including car allowances, parking, tax preparation fees, financial planning fees, executive physical fees, club dues and spousal travel.

Clearly, Pepco has a long way to go before it makes itself truly accountable to its customers.

Reply to me directly at councilmember.riemer@montgomerycountymd.gov with your thoughts and if you want all nine Council offices to receive your email, cc: county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov.

Sincerely,

Hans Riemer

What We Can Do About Pepco

Dear Friend:

Recently, I wrote to you about the large profits Pepco was earning as its outage performance was declining. With million of dollars per year in after-tax profit, Pepco does not need a rate increase to pay for system improvements.

Many of you asked: “What can be done to improve Pepco?” Pepco is regulated by the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) and Pepco’s status as a private company and its regulation by an appointed commission establish one central fact: no single elected official on the state or county level has the power to control its operations. But if we all work together, we can make a difference.

Pepco’s Shocking Profits

By Hans Riemer
At-large Member, Montgomery County Council

The first winter storm of 2011 has revealed once again what Montgomery County residents know too well: Pepco is incapable of restoring power outages in a reasonable period of time.

Surprising, then, that Pepco is as profitable as ever. Just last October -- despite a year of intense criticism about failing service -- Pepco raised its estimated earnings per share for 2010 by up to 38 percent.

The “thundersnow” began on Wednesday afternoon. According to Pepco officials, 127,000 Montgomery residents lost power by the following morning. Forty-eight hours after the storm hit, the Washington Post reported that 64,843 Montgomery residents were still without power – more than the combined total of 42,667 residents without power in all other Washington-area jurisdictions.