THE GAZETTE
Wednesday, November 13, 2013 o
Will study subsidy program for child care costs n
BY
RYAN MARSHALL STAFF WRITER
A new Montgomery County Council group will look at ways to help working parents get subsidies to pay for child care. The council approved a resolution Tuesday asking County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) to establish the work group to look at the county’s Working Parents Assistance program, which gives subsidies to families for child care. The work group should look at what standards are used to determine eligibility and what is required for child care providers to participate, according to the resolution. The group also should consider a minimum subsidy and the possibility of updating the rules of how the program is overseen. The Working Parents Assistance program began in 1986 to help families afford the high cost of child care and help lowincome families who earn too much to qualify for the State Child Care Subsidy Program. Income eligibility limits and
problems finding funding have limited the number of people who got the subsidies in recent years, according to the resolution. It calls for the work group to include members from the county’s Health and Human Services, the Commission on Child Care and local child care providers, among others. The subsidies are critically important for working families that can’t afford the extremely high cost of child care in the county, said Councilwoman Valerie Ervin (D-Dist. 5) of Silver Spring. Children need child care providers who provide early education to help prepare them for school, she said. Without the subsidies, many children won’t get that education, she said. Councilman Philip M. Andrews (D-Dist. 3) of Gaithersburg said the council wants to fully understand the needs of working parents in the county. The work group should look for ways the county can help working parents get high-quality child care, he said. rmarshall@gazette.net
Leggett wants state minimum wage hike Executive says other parts of issue need to be looked at further n
BY
RYAN MARSHALL STAFF WRITER
The sponsor of a bill to raise Montgomery County’s minimum wage still thinks a local increase is the way to go, even though County Executive Isiah Leggett and council colleagues are pushing for a statewide increase. Leggett told the Gazette on Tuesday that he’d prefer a statewide bill over the one currently being considered by the council to raise the wage in Montgomery in conjunction with similar efforts in Prince George’s County and Washington, D.C. Leggett said there’s also some value to having a higher wage in the Washington area — beyond any statewide increase — but what that number should be and how an increase is phased in should continue to be discussed. Councilman Marc Elrich (D-At Large) of Takoma Park has proposed lifting the minimum wage from $7.25, the current state rate, to $11.50 in Montgomery County by 2017.
Man arrested for attempted rape Employee punched her assailant, who ran away
n
BY ST. JOHN BARNED-SMITH STAFF WRITER
A 31-year-old Silver Spring man is behind bars on attempted rape charges. According to Montgomery County police, Yera Basnueva, of the 12000 block of Valleywood Drive, entered a Mr. Smoothie in
Rockville on Monday at around 9:23 a.m., and began talking to a store employee. After about 30 minutes, Basnueva asked to use the bathroom. When he came out of the bathroom, his pants were down and he grabbed the woman and pushed her onto the store counter, according to a statement detailing his arrest. Basnueva tried to sexually assault the victim and punched her in the face, but fled after the woman punched him and
kicked him. The act was caught on the store’s video surveillance, police said. Police arrested Basnueva Monday night and charged him with attempted first-degree rape and second-degree assault. He is being held without bond. Lawyers for Basnueva were not listed online. Calls to phone numbers listed online for Basnueva were not answered. sjbsmith@gazette.net
He said he would prefer a state increase — or, ideally, a federal one — in the minimum wage, but doesn’t think that’s realistic. “I have my preferences, and then I live in the real world,” Elrich said Tuesday. He said a statewide increase makes sense for much of the state, where costs of living are much lower than in Montgomery, he said. He also said he thinks a state increase will likely be below what Montgomery residents need to survive. Also on Tuesday, Councilman Roger Berliner (D-Dist. 1) of Bethesda sent a letter to Leggett asking him to let the council know his position on Elrich’s bill and whether he believes Montgomery should have a wage that’s higher than the rest of the state’s. He also asked Leggett if working with Prince George’s and the District would hurt the county economically and whether the executive would support an analysis to determine the costs and benefits before the council votes on the bill. In the letter, Berliner wrote that he strongly supports raising the minimum wage at the state level, but
thinks Montgomery should wait to take action on its own bill until it sees what the General Assembly does in its session that begins in January. Several states, including California, Oregon, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Jersey, have raised their wages above the federal level of $7.25 an hour, and Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) has made it clear it will be a priority for him in the coming session, Berliner wrote. “Given these favorable prospects at the state level, I do not see the value in moving county legislation before the next legislative session ends,” Berliner wrote. Councilman Hans Riemer (D-At Large) of Silver Spring sent a memorandum to his council colleagues on Nov. 4 outlining several suggested changes to the bill and urging that the state take the main role for setting minimum wage policy. In the memo, he called Elrich’s plan to coordinate the increase with efforts in Prince George’s and the District a “positive development,” but cautioned against any effort to actually join the bills together. “[W]e cannot control
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the actual laws that will be passed in those jurisdictions or how they may or may not be amended in the future, and our laws should not be formally linked,” Riemer wrote. Elrich said he’s willing to consider amendments to the bill suggested by Riemer, such as dropping exceptions in the bill that aren’t in the state’s minimum wage law or allowing the enforcement of the bill to be conducted by the state rather than the county. Riemer suggests a $1 county wage increase could be implemented over three years after a state increase has been phased in. Elrich called Riemer’s two-step phase-in plan “absolutely meaningless.” “What are you going to tell people? ‘Wait five years, you’ll be fine?’” Elrich asked. He said he did support Riemer’s suggestion to have the state’s Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation supervise the enforcement of the minimum wage, rather than the county’s Office of Human Rights, as is currently in the proposed bill. rmarshall@gazette.net
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Work group to focus on working parents
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