After a more than two-year battle, the 850-household Rollingwood Village in Chevy Chase is only two steps away from passing the rare threshold of becoming incorporated.
This week Montgomery County Council members introduced a resolution that, if passed, would permit Rollingwood residents to vote on the proposed split during a fall referendum.
For the 2,200 person community, being incorporated means that an independent seven-member council would manage its budget and maintain public services such as street clearing and tree removal, rather than relying on the county’s government.
According to research just compiled by the group pushing for incorporation, breaking Rollingwood off from the rest of the county will cost the county at most $1 million a year.
At the same time, preliminary budget figuresfor the incorporated municipality are for Rollingwood’s expenses to hover around $1 million annually, with the jurisdiction pulling in $1.3 million a year, mainly from income tax revenue.
“Our hope is that, given the small impact on the county, the council will at least let the citizens vote and voice their opinions,” said 18-year Rollingwood resident Charles Garrison, a member of the organizing committee.
Currently Montgomery County has 19 incorporated municipalities, with North Chevy Chase the most recent one to be incorporated 11 years ago. In letters to the council a handful of these jurisdictions have come out in favor of Rollingwood’s efforts to become separate from the county.
Garrison said it’s important to realize that the process to independence is far from a whimsical one. His committee first had to submit a petition signed by at least 25 percent of the village’s residents supporting incorporation. Several public hearings have taken place, with at least one more set for the next month.
And leading up to the council’s current involvement, a county liaison was appointed to help Rollingwood residents come up with a budget and charter for the village.
The desire for Rollingwood to become incorporated became clear in 2002 when the state legislature redrew the district lines — in the process splitting Rollingwood in two — without consulting residents.
A lawyer eventually got a judge to overturn the decision. But the case illustrated the need for the Chevy Chase village to have a “seat at the table,” he said.
“We don’t want to be dependent on citizens pushing for us to be heard,” Garrison said. “We want a voice.”
