mega thread for stupid MoCo laws and ordinances

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
- Ambulance tax of $600, that was then voted down by voters in referendum, and passed again by the Council, overriding the will of voters, because the Council said voters were "misinformed"

I'm really curious about this one. I've never understood why this was controversial. Most jurisdictions bill for ambulance services, so when I found Montgomery County's practice very surprising when the referendum came up.

They've always claimed that they just bill the insurance company, not individual. Has that not been true in practice? Or are you concerned about non-residents getting bills?

To me, the issue was the voters spoke, and the Council overrode them. I don't really care what the issue is, if the voters choose one path via referendum (assuming it's legally possible to implement), the Council should respect that decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:closing school in bethesda when there were some snowflakes up in freaking damascus or god knows where.

Bizarre complaint. Is there any jurisdiction in this area that makes snow-related closure decisions on a school-by-school basis, rather than countywide?

The point is snowflakes aren't a reason to close schools. And certainly snowflakes on Monday aren't a reason to close schools until Thursday.

It sounds like you live in Bethesda, and not in Damascus or Clarksburg, so on what basis are you making your determination about road conditions in Damascus and Clarksburg after a snowstorm?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:closing school in bethesda when there were some snowflakes up in freaking damascus or god knows where.

Bizarre complaint. Is there any jurisdiction in this area that makes snow-related closure decisions on a school-by-school basis, rather than countywide?

The point is snowflakes aren't a reason to close schools. And certainly snowflakes on Monday aren't a reason to close schools until Thursday.

It sounds like you live in Bethesda, and not in Damascus or Clarksburg, so on what basis are you making your determination about road conditions in Damascus and Clarksburg after a snowstorm?

No, I'm near Clarksburg.

And by the second or third day, it's easy to see the roads are fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
- Ambulance tax of $600, that was then voted down by voters in referendum, and passed again by the Council, overriding the will of voters, because the Council said voters were "misinformed"

I'm really curious about this one. I've never understood why this was controversial. Most jurisdictions bill for ambulance services, so when I found Montgomery County's practice very surprising when the referendum came up.

They've always claimed that they just bill the insurance company, not individual. Has that not been true in practice? Or are you concerned about non-residents getting bills?

To me, the issue was the voters spoke, and the Council overrode them. I don't really care what the issue is, if the voters choose one path via referendum (assuming it's legally possible to implement), the Council should respect that decision.

OK, but why was anyone against the referendum? It seems like a weird thing to put to a referendum, in part because it seemed like an obviously good idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:closing school in bethesda when there were some snowflakes up in freaking damascus or god knows where.

Bizarre complaint. Is there any jurisdiction in this area that makes snow-related closure decisions on a school-by-school basis, rather than countywide?

The point is snowflakes aren't a reason to close schools. And certainly snowflakes on Monday aren't a reason to close schools until Thursday.

It sounds like you live in Bethesda, and not in Damascus or Clarksburg, so on what basis are you making your determination about road conditions in Damascus and Clarksburg after a snowstorm?

No, I'm near Clarksburg.

And by the second or third day, it's easy to see the roads are fine.

No you’re not. In your previous post, you called the upper county “god knows where” and made obvious you live in Bethesda.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:closing school in bethesda when there were some snowflakes up in freaking damascus or god knows where.

Bizarre complaint. Is there any jurisdiction in this area that makes snow-related closure decisions on a school-by-school basis, rather than countywide?

The point is snowflakes aren't a reason to close schools. And certainly snowflakes on Monday aren't a reason to close schools until Thursday.

It sounds like you live in Bethesda, and not in Damascus or Clarksburg, so on what basis are you making your determination about road conditions in Damascus and Clarksburg after a snowstorm?

No, I'm near Clarksburg.

And by the second or third day, it's easy to see the roads are fine.

No you’re not. In your previous post, you called the upper county “god knows where” and made obvious you live in Bethesda.

That was the other poster. I'm the poster that agreed that the closures are ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Zoning laws that permit for-profit companies to buy SFHs next door to elementary schools and operate businesses serving people with severe mental health issues, impulse control issues, addiction, etc.

ICYMI: this just happened in Brookeville, MD Nextdoor to Greenwood Elementary, and the County Council was on notice and did nothing. Moreover, they made clear they had no interest in amending the zoning laws to prevent this moving forward.

Insane.

[Anonymous]

Developers getting subsidies from the county for apartments that rent for over $10,000 a month.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
- Ambulance tax of $600, that was then voted down by voters in referendum, and passed again by the Council, overriding the will of voters, because the Council said voters were "misinformed"

I'm really curious about this one. I've never understood why this was controversial. Most jurisdictions bill for ambulance services, so when I found Montgomery County's practice very surprising when the referendum came up.

They've always claimed that they just bill the insurance company, not individual. Has that not been true in practice? Or are you concerned about non-residents getting bills?

To me, the issue was the voters spoke, and the Council overrode them. I don't really care what the issue is, if the voters choose one path via referendum (assuming it's legally possible to implement), the Council should respect that decision.

Pure democracy is mob rule.

One might ask, who is billed $600 if you don't have insurance?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:closing school in bethesda when there were some snowflakes up in freaking damascus or god knows where.

Is there a law or ordinance on that? That would explain the consistency of ridiculous decisions.

The law is not MoCo, it is education law. Kids need equal access to education, and MCPS provides bussing for kids who receive special education. So, if you can't open schools in one part of the county, then you can't open schools in the entire county due to access issues. It's not enough that PP's Bethesda kid can walk to school. The kid in Damascus who gets a bus to school because he uses a wheelchair, or the kid in Potomac who gets a bus away from home school to access the SESES program, also need to get to school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
- Ambulance tax of $600, that was then voted down by voters in referendum, and passed again by the Council, overriding the will of voters, because the Council said voters were "misinformed"

I'm really curious about this one. I've never understood why this was controversial. Most jurisdictions bill for ambulance services, so when I found Montgomery County's practice very surprising when the referendum came up.

They've always claimed that they just bill the insurance company, not individual. Has that not been true in practice? Or are you concerned about non-residents getting bills?

To me, the issue was the voters spoke, and the Council overrode them. I don't really care what the issue is, if the voters choose one path via referendum (assuming it's legally possible to implement), the Council should respect that decision.

Pure democracy is mob rule.

One might ask, who is billed $600 if you don't have insurance?

This. No one gets billed if you dont have insurance, and chances are your insurance company doesn't pay the full $600 even if you have insurance. It's a way for county residents to pay LESS for emergency services because insurance will pick up some of the cost

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
- Ambulance tax of $600, that was then voted down by voters in referendum, and passed again by the Council, overriding the will of voters, because the Council said voters were "misinformed"

I'm really curious about this one. I've never understood why this was controversial. Most jurisdictions bill for ambulance services, so when I found Montgomery County's practice very surprising when the referendum came up.

They've always claimed that they just bill the insurance company, not individual. Has that not been true in practice? Or are you concerned about non-residents getting bills?

To me, the issue was the voters spoke, and the Council overrode them. I don't really care what the issue is, if the voters choose one path via referendum (assuming it's legally possible to implement), the Council should respect that decision.

Pure democracy is mob rule.

One might ask, who is billed $600 if you don't have insurance?

This. No one gets billed if you dont have insurance, and chances are your insurance company doesn't pay the full $600 even if you have insurance. It's a way for county residents to pay LESS for emergency services because insurance will pick up some of the cost

My insurance got billed and then I got billed for the remaining amount. It took six months and a lot of phone calls to get the remainder forgiven, and I had to get a council office involved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
- Ambulance tax of $600, that was then voted down by voters in referendum, and passed again by the Council, overriding the will of voters, because the Council said voters were "misinformed"

I'm really curious about this one. I've never understood why this was controversial. Most jurisdictions bill for ambulance services, so when I found Montgomery County's practice very surprising when the referendum came up.

They've always claimed that they just bill the insurance company, not individual. Has that not been true in practice? Or are you concerned about non-residents getting bills?

To me, the issue was the voters spoke, and the Council overrode them. I don't really care what the issue is, if the voters choose one path via referendum (assuming it's legally possible to implement), the Council should respect that decision.

Pure democracy is mob rule.

One might ask, who is billed $600 if you don't have insurance?

This. No one gets billed if you dont have insurance, and chances are your insurance company doesn't pay the full $600 even if you have insurance. It's a way for county residents to pay LESS for emergency services because insurance will pick up some of the cost

My insurance got billed and then I got billed for the remaining amount. It took six months and a lot of phone calls to get the remainder forgiven, and I had to get a council office involved.

Keep that in mind the next time you make the mistake of getting sick.

[Anonymous]

The proliferation of No [Right] Turn on Red signs on every intersection near my home in Rockville. In intersections with very good visibility and very few pedestrians. Who is this helping?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The proliferation of No [Right] Turn on Red signs on every intersection near my home in Rockville. In intersections with very good visibility and very few pedestrians. Who is this helping?

It’s helping Evan Glass’s ego.