Rollingwood Village residents who sought to form their own municipality are taking another shot at convincing Montgomery County Council members they have the right to segregate their community from the rest of the county.
In July, council members unanimously voted down a proposal signed by more than 500 individuals from the 850-family Chevy Chase community.
The proposal said Rollingwood would handle its own basic services, have a distinct governmental body and reap tax money from its citizens.
The council scheduled a public hearing on its decision for Thursday night.
“We are fulfilling our obligation under the state statute to hear from the community again any information they think is appropriate to get us to reconsider our earlier decision,” Council Member Roger Berliner, who represents Rollingwood Village residents, said.
Berliner said there were both financial and other concerns about allowing the community to incorporate.
Steve Vaskov, a Rollingwood resident, said he did not believe the county’s financial standing would be hurt by a loss of revenue from Rollingwood residents’ income tax.
“The first year of implementation the county would only lose about $300,000,” Vaskov said. “Yeah, every dollar matters, but when you’re talking about a county budget of over $4 billion and reserves of over $200 million, the yearly … loss of $300,000 cannot be said to be so significant.”
Berliner disagreed. “I think it all depends on your opinion of what is a drop in the bucket,” he told The Examiner. “I fought very hard to find $240,000 to fund midnight to 8 a.m. staffing of a hotline for mentally distressed people who are on the edge of suicide … these dollars, they do count.”
J.P. Montalvan, a Rollingwood resident also testifying in favor of incorporation, said the county charter “clearly states it is in the public interest to foster the concept of municipal home rule.”
He added the fight for secession may not end even if the county affirms its rejection of the Rollingwood proposal.
“There may be legal recourse,” Montalvan said, “and there may also be recourse with respect to our state delegation.”
