College Park council forms childcare task force to study access, affordability

The College Park City Council on Jan. 20 approved a resolution to establish a nine‑member childcare task force charged with reviewing state legislation, assessing local child care access and affordability, and reporting recommendations to the council later this year.

The task force will include a liaison from the city’s Education Advisory Committee and is intended to reflect diverse experience across the city’s four council districts. Assistant City Manager Bill Gardiner described the scope: “The charge of the task force would be to work with the lobbyists and review and monitor state legislation, and report to the council bills that involve or impact childcare that the council may wish to comment upon,” Gardiner said during the meeting.

Why it matters: Council members said they want better information before deciding whether the city should pursue legislation or budgetary subsidies to address the high cost and limited supply of child care. The task force is intended to gather data on existing programs, interview families and providers, and surface options the council could consider.

What the resolution says: The draft resolution in the council packet called for eight appointed members plus an Education Advisory Committee liaison (nine total), with appointees ideally including one or two residents from each district. The council amended the charge during debate to explicitly include family child‑care providers, franchise or chain centers, and before‑and‑after‑school care in the task force’s review. Council members also agreed to extend the task force reporting date; at the meeting they amended the draft deadline and directed staff to set the report date to late summer 2025 (the council discussed August/September as options).

Council debate: Several council members said they supported creating the task force to produce detailed facts. Council Member Mackey said the group should include information on staffing ratios and costs for both centers and family providers. Council Member Riggs voiced caution about the city’s ability to effect change given limited regulatory authority, but said he was open to further deliberation. Council Member Whitney argued for staff to cross‑check homestead or tax credit lists against rental lists as part of broader equity work; that issue was discussed separately during the meeting.

Outcome: The motion to create the task force passed. The council incorporated the changes discussed on the record (expanded provider types to review and a later reporting date). The resolution as approved directs staff to return with appointment processes and to post an application for residents once the item is finalized.

Next steps: Staff will post the application when the appointments process is opened, run the recruitment process, and return to council with member appointments and a workplan in a future meeting. The task force will be asked to deliver a written report to the mayor and council after completing its review.