Congressman David Trone, 61 Elected Leaders in Maryland’s 6th District Unite to Urge Congressional Leadership to Provide ‘Desperately Needed Funding for Local Governments’
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Hannah Muldavin, Hannah.Muldavin@mail.house.gov
Congressman David Trone, 61 Elected Leaders in Maryland’s 6th District Unite to Urge Congressional Leadership to Provide ‘Desperately Needed Funding for Local Governments’
GAITHERSBURG, MD – As costs have increased and revenue streams have been decimated for local governments amid the COVID-19 global pandemic, Congressman David Trone (MD-06) brought together 61 elected leaders from every county in Maryland’s Sixth District to urge Congressional leadership to provide funding for local governments in the next stimulus package.
The letter cites increased costs for local governments from the pandemic, including expansion of emergency services, increased telework costs, and the need to provide PPE for workers. The officials also cite the decline in revenue from property and local income taxes and parking and hotel occupancy fees.
Included with the letter are testimonials from Gaithersburg Mayor Jud Ashman and Hancock Mayor Ralph Salvagno, M.D. about the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on local funding in their jurisdictions.
“I’ve heard directly from local governments across Maryland that they’ve been dramatically hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and that they need support from the federal government,” said Congressman Trone. “Local governments provide the emergency services and resources that are instrumental to the health and safety of our communities, and they cannot weather this crisis alone. I want to commend the local governments from across Maryland’s 6th District for coming together across party lines to urge leadership in Congress to prioritize local government funding.”
Congressman Trone sits on the Joint Economic Committee, which last month released a report about the Massive Aid to State and Local Governments Needed to Slow Economic Damage caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.
Local elected officials from every county in Maryland’s Sixth District joined in signing the letter, including:
Allegany County Elected Officials
- Jake Shade, President, Board of Commissioners, Allegany County
- Raymond Morriss, Mayor, City of Cumberland
- Laurie Marchini, Councilmember, City of Cumberland
- Richard Cioni, Councilmember, City of Cumberland
- Eugene Frazier, Councilmember, City of Cumberland
- George Edwards, Maryland State Senator, District 1
- Mike McKay, Maryland State Delegate, District 1C
Frederick County Elected Officials
- Jan H. Gardner, County Executive, Frederick County
- M.C. Keegan-Ayer, President, County Council, Frederick County
- Kai Hagen, Councilmember, At-Large, Frederick County
- Michael O’Connor, Mayor, City of Frederick
- Kelly Russell, Alderman, President Pro Tempore, City of Frederick
- Ben MacShane, Alderman, City of Frederick
- Derek Shackelford, Alderman, City of Frederick
- Roger Wilson, Alderman, City of Frederick
- Ronald Young, Maryland State Senator, District 3
- Karen Lewis Young, Maryland State Delegate, District 3A
- Kenneth Kerr, Maryland State Delegate, District 3B
Garrett County Elected Officials
- Paul C. Edwards, Chairman, Board of Commissioners, Garrett County
- Peggy Jamison, Mayor, Town of Oakland
- Richard Carlson, Mayor, Town of Accident
- Donald Dawson, Mayor, Town of Deer Park
- Spencer Schlosnagle , Mayor, Town of Friendsville
- Mark Diehl, Mayor, Town of Grantsville
- Robert Reckart, Mayor, Town of Kitzmiller
- Carolyn Corley, Mayor, Town of Loch Lynn Heights
- Wendell Beitzel, Maryland State Delegate, District 1A
Montgomery County Elected Officials
- Marc Elrich, County Executive, Montgomery County
- Sidney Katz, President, County Council, District 3, Montgomery County
- Tom Hucker, Vice President, County Council, District 5, Montgomery County
- Andrew Friedson, Councilmember, District 1, Montgomery County
- Evan Glass, Councilmember, At-Large, Montgomery County
- Gabe Albornoz, Councilmember, At-Large, Chair, Health and Human Services Cmte., Montgomery County
- Will Jawando, Councilmember, At-Large, Montgomery County
- Jud Ashman, Mayor, City of Gaithersburg
- Neil Harris, Councilmember, City of Gaithersburg
- Ryan Spiegel, Councilmember, City of Gaithersburg
- Laurie-Anne Sayles, Councilmember, City of Gaithersburg
- Michael A. Sesma, Councilmember, City of Gaithersburg
- Robert T. Wu, Councilmember, City of Gaithersburg
- Craig Zucker, Maryland State Senator, District 14
- Cheryl Kagan, Maryland State Senator, District 17
- Nancy King, Maryland State Senator, District 39
- Brian Feldman, Maryland State Senator, District 15
- Pamela Queen, Maryland State Delegate, District 15
- Kathleen Dumais, Maryland State Delegate, District 15
- Julie Palakovich Carr, Maryland State Delegate, District 17
- Vaughn Stewart, Maryland State Delegate, District 19
- Kirill Reznik, Maryland State Delegate, District 39
- Lesley Lopez, Maryland State Delegate, District 39
- Gabriel Acevero, Maryland State Delegate, District 39
- Charlotte Crutchfield, Maryland State Delegate, District 19
Washington County Elected Officials
- Jeff Cline, President, Board of Commissioners, Washington County
- Cort Meinelschmidt, Commissioner, Board of Commissioners, Washington County
- Robert E. Bruchey, II, Mayor, City of Hagerstown
- Emily Keller, Councilmember, City of Hagerstown
- Austin Heffernan, Councilmember, City of Hagerstown
- Shelley McIntire, Councilmember, City of Hagerstown
- Ralph Salvagno, M.D., Mayor, Town of Hancock
- William Green Mayor, Town of Williamsport
You can see a copy of the letter here.
You can see individual testimony from Gaithersburg Mayor Jud Ashman here.
You can see individual testimony from Hancock Mayor Ralph Salvagno, M.D. here.
See below for the text of the letter:
Dear Speaker Pelosi, Leader McCarthy, Leader McConnell, and Leader Schumer:
We write as the undersigned elected leaders in Maryland’s 6th Congressional District to urge you to provide desperately needed funding for local governments, regardless of population size, in the next emergency coronavirus package.
Our local governments have faced enormous costs while responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, including rapid activation and expansion of emergency services, transitioning to telework to ensure continuity of municipal services, providing overtime and hazard compensation for first responders, furnishing personal protective equipment, and more. Without stabilization funding, these expenses will prevent local governments from continuing to offer essential services for residents.
In addition to incurring the significant expenses required to combat COVID-19, municipalities and counties are experiencing a precipitous decline in revenue. Stay-at-home orders and social distancing have led to decreases in property taxes, local income taxes, parking fees, hotel occupancy fees, and other revenue sources. State governments are not in a position to help, as many are facing worse revenue shortfalls and increased expenses. In Maryland alone, Governor Hogan is anticipating at least a $2.8 billion shortfall due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Only the federal government has the capacity to provide the direct and equitable relief that the state and local governments need to continue to operate.
Attached for your consideration are some individual testimonies from local leaders from Maryland’s 6th Congressional District, detailing the unique burdens that managing a responsible COVID-19 response has placed on their budgets. We thank you for your attention to this important request.
Sincerely,
Congressman David Trone was elected to the House of Representatives in November 2018 to serve the 6th District of Maryland, which includes all or part of Montgomery, Frederick, Washington, Allegany, and Garrett Counties. Trone serves on the Education and Labor, Foreign Affairs, and Joint Economic Committees, where he is fighting to make progress on issues that matter to Marylanders, including the opioid epidemic, criminal justice reform, and funding for medical research.
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