You Matter: Get Involved
Write, Call or Email Your Councilmember
When contacting the County Council or your Councilmember, thank them for their past support of Montgomery Parks and urge them to continue their financial support at the highest possible level.
Send Written Material to:
Montgomery County Council
Office of Legislative Information Services
Council Office Building
100 Maryland Avenue, 5th Floor
Rockville, Maryland 20850
Emails and Phone Numbers:
Phil Andrews, 240-777-7906
Roger Berliner, 240-777-7828
Marc Elrich, 240-777-7966
Valerie Ervin, 240-777-7960
Nancy Floreen, 240-777-7959
George Leventhal, 240-777-7811
Nancy Navarro, 240-777-7968
Hans Reimer, 240-777-7964
Craig Rice, 240-777-7955
All written material becomes a part of the public hearing record.
Start or Sign a Petition
In your petitions thank the County Council for their past support of Montgomery Parks and urge them to continue their financial support at the highest possible level. Petitions may be presented to the Clerk of the Council at the time of the public hearing or may be mailed or delivered to:
Montgomery County Council
Office of Legislative Information Services
Council Office Building
100 Maryland Avenue, 5th Floor
Rockville, Maryland 20850
Who Decides: Montgomery County’s Leaders
Montgomery County Delegation to the Maryland General Assembly
Funding support the Department of Parks receives from the Montgomery County Delegation in Annapolis goes to support any number of park facilities or programs. For instance, previous funding through state bonds sponsored by Maryland Delegates and Senators has gone to pay for interpretive displays at Montgomery Park historic sites.
Montgomery County Executive
Although the Montgomery County Department of Parks is not directly a county government agency since it reports to a separate board, the County Executive oversees the enforcement of the laws of Montgomery County and provides Executive direction to all departments and offices of the County government; and develops policies; proposes plans, programs, budgets, and legislation to the County Council. The County Executive’s direction and budget proposals strongly impact Montgomery Parks, specifically our Capital Improvements Program and operating budgets.
Montgomery County Council
The County Council’s responsibilities are specified by the County Charter and state law. Some of the Council’s principal responsibilities, especially as they affect Montgomery Parks, are: appropriate money to fund the capital and operating budgets and set the local property tax rate and other local taxes; approve the six-year capital improvements, public services, and fiscal policy programs; set the tax rates required to fund the County budgets; and appoint the members of the Montgomery County Planning Board.
Montgomery County Planning Board
The five-member Montgomery County Planning Board—also the Parks Commission—works to maintain and improve quality of life in our community. Acting upon such issues as growth, transportation, environmental protection, agriculture, historical preservation and forest conservation, the Planning Board is largely responsible for setting land use and protecting parkland resources throughout the 323,000-acre county.
Other Ways to Get Involved
Attend a Public Meeting
There are countless opportunities throughout the year to weigh in on parks matters, especially on individual parks or programs important to you. We post upcoming public meetings on the “Community Corner” section of our homepage. View Community Corner.
Volunteer
Each year over 1,500 individual parks volunteers and 400 groups donate more than 60,000 hours of service to Montgomery Parks. Lend a hand.
Donate
Donations to Montgomery Parks bridge the gap between annual budget realities and the needs of managing more than 34,000 acres of parkland. Your generous support has added trees, benches, one-of-a-kind memorials, gardens, walkways, and a myrad of extra amenities to the park system and as well as provided support for park events and park improvements. Give a gift.
