[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6163096,"mediaKeyId","5436612-eaef049249a0770c6d87b6e22a913b6c","parentId",5436612,"title","Council committee approves $1.995M state Amos grant distribution for volunteer fire stations and equipment","audioSeconds",82,"startMs",4245000,"endMs",4327000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5436612-eaef049249a0770c6d87b6e22a913b6c&start=4245&end=4327","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5436612-eaef049249a0770c6d87b6e22a913b6c/thumbnail_4245000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6163096/Montgomery-County/Maryland/Council-committee-approves-1995M-state-Amos-grant-distribution-for-volunteer-fire-stations-and-equipment","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6163096-b5cfa0459dbddb47fd07948ec1767268/orig.mp4?Expires=1771156603&Signature=TcTfJkhCGD7Kt~V6Y5LGNg8zGV4Q2Bu7kOJhjGvdH8bpjpDtEFYbIenuyovKkvA6w9neGN0BsDJUzVCv8LrNNe5q93NPC9Yp1F99vlf5lwE1jS5TKwLzZ97DixYsOuUs7C0e4cZnj6805NXkgW1zakY1ZV~zenDczBJHVtlyfVREYzjmU-ESKiuVIqrnm8cdqicoEr1R0FqqShoQYl~gVDAZHnPz77Vd0uq4sno74GXFjADNGlWfIrHAsIvoVfF2a7hn~FapSDZjcI4Ja-ugwpGRGCNRm~RzQe760MdGfPDyGc-Y7ilq-4Jo-J88sVM8X8M5ay24t0-kz9iCd9tfnA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Montgomery County, MD","date","2025-07-22T02:53:42Z","article","Montgomery County's public safety work session on July 21 included a committee recommendation to approve Supplemental Appropriation 2576, which allocates a State 508 award from the Senator Amos Fire, Rescue and Ambulance Fund to local volunteer fire and rescue departments for station renovations and equipment.

The supplemental appropriation matters for local emergency services because it directs nearly $2 million in state grant funds to renovation and apparatus acquisition priorities identified by volunteer departments and vetted through a county review process.

Council staff said the county executive transmitted the supplemental appropriation June 11; the council introduced it June 24 and held a public hearing July 15 with no public speakers. The award amount in the packet matches the state grant: $1,995,000. Montgomery County staff and the volunteer fire association said the appropriation will not affect the county's general fund undesignated reserves.

Eric Bernard, executive director of the Montgomery County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association (MCVFRA), described the longstanding application process used for AMOS/EMST/ESPP funds. Departments submit applications during a roughly 30‑day window; a volunteer association funding committee reviews submissions and makes recommendations to the MCVFRA board. Departments may file appeals within 30 days of recommendations. The fire chief then convenes subject matter experts to review technical specifications for apparatus and equipment; when MCFRS and MCVFRA reach consensus, the recommendations proceed to council for appropriation.

Council staff noted the Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice supplied an equity and impact assessment (transmitted July 9) that said the supplemental request did not document a process for considering racial or other disproportionalities in how apparatus, capital equipment, or facility renovations are distributed. Staff recommended approval as submitted by the executive but offered to brief the committee on the application and approval process, which committee members requested and received.

Dominic Delpozo, fiscal management division chief in fire and rescue, and other staff said the FY25 requests from local fire departments totaled about $4.5 million; the state award and approved distributions comport with the $1,995,000 state grant. Bernard and MCFRS leaders described a multi‑stage review that includes a retired county financial staffer who reviews documentation and coordinates follow‑up with departments before committee consideration.

After the overview, a committee member moved to approve the supplemental appropriation and another member seconded the motion. The committee approved the item by unanimous voice vote; members recorded no speakers at the public hearing and no opposition on the record.

The funds are expected to be used for renovation of volunteer fire stations and purchase of apparatus and equipment as listed in the departments' applications. Staff flagged that adding additional datasets or reporting requirements (for example, to track how HHS‑partnered responses intersect with emergency medical calls) would require legislative changes and additional resources.

The committee concluded by voting to recommend approval to the full council; staff and association leaders said they will proceed to implement the approved allocations and handle any appeals per the established process.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","July 21, 2025 - PS Committee Worksession","oneSentenceSummary","Montgomery County's public safety work session on July 21 recommended approval of Supplemental Appropriation 2576, allocating a State 508 Senator Amos Fire, Rescue and Ambulance Fund award of roughly $1,995,000 to local volunteer fire and rescue departments for station renovations and equipment.","taxTitle","Montgomery County, Maryland","taxId",3351,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6163101,"Montgomery County reviews 2024 police data, launches post‑911 survey pilot to measure service",3760,497000,4257000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5436612-eaef049249a0770c6d87b6e22a913b6c&start=497&end=4257","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5436612-eaef049249a0770c6d87b6e22a913b6c/thumbnail_497000.jpg","/articles/6163101/Montgomery-County/Maryland/Montgomery-County-reviews-2024-police-data-launches-post911-survey-pilot-to-measure-service","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6163101-7a8b90700f3e14b68246241c75f4db81/orig.mp4?Expires=1771156603&Signature=FqqhrCUzHBl7zopk7NOddETB0u5bn-NCrnMMBOMwzoukB7y0Ne8h4hBW6VU2HHRKVas4KimwqnWAKIISqtE6m7jCJ2JkFLsWUlXWuqtnSv8ZIk7GZyftjYlSqA8bb6G~xgayasbKll~PkJ9sy2mCakHvT5eOxaM4xaePoF9rGgd6mDQgVwG5vJrLXscG9K0f9P4QALBjuOWlahLRxkWUb9KpIYUkB75-IIqC430Qj7yIrRKPYncN2jSGX0IywsP60ZzrZDCLWwcX03euv~nxPCduN75MZck2sdYG6YTNYvlnZeYvE4f6UuNo80fyRgAz9zSB~naI3PAUvWpZi0FwAg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","At a July 21 public safety work session, Montgomery County Council staff presented the county's 2024 Police Statistical Data Report and Montgomery County Police Department leaders described an August pilot that will send a short, multilingual survey by text to people after certain 911 or nonemergency calls.

The briefing matters because the report compiles disaggregated data the county is required to publish under local bills and state law, while the new survey pilot aims to provide regular, case‑linked community feedback about dispatch and officer performance.

Council staff told the committee that the department transmitted the calendar‑year 2024 report on Feb. 1 and released it to the council Feb. 25; the council held a public hearing March 18. Kristen Farag, the council staff member presenting the packet, said the report included most required datasets but noted the department had not completed an annual officer survey because that survey has not been funded in recent operating budgets. Farag summarized the department's November community survey (a Microsoft Forms release) as drawing 84 responses, 81 of them from county residents, with about 82% of respondents saying they either \"highly trust or mostly trust\" the Montgomery County Police Department to provide for their safety and about 79% saying they feel \"very safe or mostly safe\" in their neighborhoods. Farag said the November respondents skewed older (more than 60% age 56+) and were disproportionately white compared with county demographics, and she recommended targeted outreach or weighting to improve representativeness for future surveys.

Montgomery County Police officials described the planned pilot. Assistant Chief Nicholas Oggstein and Lieutenant Cody Fields said the Emergency Communications Center will send a roughly 15‑question text after the call is closed for a subset of call types; questions cover who the resident interacted with (dispatcher, officer or other staff), whether they were treated with respect and fairness, whether dispatch or officers processed the call in a reasonable time, and whether the person received needed help. Fields said the pilot will avoid sending surveys in cases that could re‑victimize callers (for example, certain sexual assault or child abuse calls), and that the vendor Axon will support text delivery and multilingual capability.

Council members raised representation and scope concerns. Councilmember Kristen asked how immigration or ICE concerns would be captured without conflating county police with federal enforcement; Oggstein said the survey will not include other federal agencies and is intended to capture the respondent's interaction with Montgomery County Police. Several councilmembers suggested a separate countywide survey or canvassing to reach residents who do not contact police and to capture broader public safety perceptions.

Staff and police officials noted limits to the pilot: only callers who generate an incident number in the communications center will receive the text, so contacts that are diverted entirely to other providers without creating an incident in the CAD will not be surveyed. The department said it will evaluate responses from the August–December pilot and adjust question content and distribution as needed.

The statistical report itself documented staffing and operational trends. Farag said the authorized sworn complement changed little from 1,281 officers in 2021 to 1,276 in 2024, but filled positions declined by about 128 officers over the period. The report shows a decline in officers assigned to neighborhood patrols (from 59% of field sworn in earlier years to about 50% in 2024) and a marked rise in patrol overtime; staff noted overall overtime rose by about 117% and said the approved FY25 overtime appropriation of $11.5 million is well below the department's internal projection at the time of the recommended budget (department staff said overtime spending was projected closer to $22.4 million and later estimated nearer to $25 million).

The report also showed complaint and investigative shifts under Maryland's Police Accountability Act of 2021. Farag said Internal Affairs investigations rose from 30 in 2022 to 58 in 2023 and to 110 in 2024; she attributed the increase to both state and local changes that now require certain community‑member complaints to be handled by IAD rather than at district levels. The department reported that total civilian complaints by district remained stable year‑to‑year, that use‑of‑force incidents rose modestly between 2023 and 2024 (reported in the packet), and that use‑of‑force‑related complaints that were sustained were rare in 2024.

The committee discussed whether the Feb. 1 statutory deadline to submit the police report creates timing conflicts with other annual reports; council staff suggested exploring a legislative change to shift reporting deadlines to reduce duplication and increase data accuracy. Police leaders also said they contracted for a staffing study of investigative services and were performing an internal patrol staffing analysis to be shared with the committee later this fall.

The session closed with the department and staff agreeing to run the pilot, return to the committee with pilot response metrics after December, and consider supplemental community outreach methods (canvassing, countywide surveys) to address representativeness.

For follow up, staff recommended the committee consider whether to seek a legislative change on the Feb. 1 deadline, what additional survey resources would be required to reach non‑callers, and whether to require additional datasets (for example, HHS‑partnered responses) by ordinance.","Council staff and Montgomery County Police Department presented the 2024 Police Statistical Data Report and described an August pilot to send a multilingual text survey after certain 911/nonemergency calls; the report highlights officer attrition, rising overtime and internal‑affairs investigations, and gaps in representative survey responses.","actionData","errors"]

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Council committee approves $1.995M state Amos grant distribution for volunteer fire stations and equipment

Montgomery County reviews 2024 police data, launches post‑911 survey pilot to measure service