HOUSE MEETINGS:  AIM leaders committed to do 100 House Meeting on the Economy. As of May 2009, AIM has completed 103.  This means we have had face to face conversations with over 1,300 county residents. There were three top areas of concern for AIM leaders that came up in the house meetings.  Tied for First Place: Affordable housing & Youth. The very close second place was Safety Net, protecting our most vulnerable.

AIM’S 2009 BUDGET PRIORITIES
Please see Trainings to see how you can get engaged in one of AIM’s issue area


INVESTMENT IN YOUTH

  • Higher Education. Montgomery County will announce a plan of action to guarantee 2 years of post-high school education by next year’s budget cycle. It will provide sufficient scholarships for students who want to attend Montgomery College, so everyone who qualifies can attend.
  • Summer Jobs for Youth. Double the existing funding for summer jobs for youth.
  • Recreation Centers Built on Time -- at Scotland, Ross Boddy, Plum Gar & Good Hope.

SAFETY NET

  • Safety Net. Make sure that the programs to protect the most vulnerable are not cut. AIM will focus on those groups not protected by the federal government like the homeless and those without health care.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING

  • Housing Initiative Fund. Increase funding for affordable housing to $80M in 2010.
  • Accessory Apartments. Increase affordable housing in the county by creating regulations that facilitate more Accessory Apartments.
     

BEGINNING RESEARCH AND LESSONS ON AIM’S BUDGET PRIORITIES
Please see Trainings to see how you can get engaged in one of AIM’s issue area.
 

  1. INVESTMENT IN YOUTH

    Higher Education.  Montgomery County will announce a plan of action to guarantee 2 years of post-high school education by next year’s budget cycle. It will provide sufficient scholarships for students who want to attend Montgomery College, so everyone who qualifies can attend. Montgomery College provided scholarships for 9,800 students last year. Yet, still 2,575 students who wanted to attend were not able to do so, because the college had no more financial aid. Once K-12 was enough education to ensure a person a good paying job with benefits, those times are over. As Business Week stated, our economy has quickly shifted to “ideas driven industries” that demand workers with college degrees. The fact that we are in the midst of an economic crisis is why we must ensure our youth go to college.

    Summer Jobs for Youth.  Double the funding for jobs for youth this summer. There needs to be jobs for our youth this summer. This will help them obtain job experience. Currently, it is even harder for youth to get summer jobs due to our economic crisis. Not only are there fewer jobs, but jobs that youth once were able to obtain are now being filled by unemployed adults. We know that the money the youth earn will assist our economy because 99% of that money will be spent in Montgomery County stores.

    Recreation Centers built on time-- at Scotland, Ross Boddy, Plum Gar & Good Hope. Last summer, AIM leaders won $29.7M to renovate four neglected community centers.
     
  2. SAFETY NET

    Safety Net. Make sure that the programs to protect the most vulnerable are not cut. AIM will focus on those groups not protected by the federal government like the homeless and those without health care. Many safety net items like unemployment insurance and breakfast programs in schools will be funded with federal money. AIM wants to make sure that safety net items not protected by federal mandates are also protected. Concern about the most vulnerable was mentioned in every AIM House Meeting.
     
  3. AFFORDABLE HOUSING

    Housing Initiative Fund.  Increase funding for affordable housing to $80M in 2010.

    Accessory Apartments. Increase affordable housing in the county by creating regulations that facilitate more Accessory Apartments. This is the right time to make this process easier since it cost the county no money and it will greatly increase our affordable housing stock. Accessory Apartments are sometimes also called mother-in-law apartments. It is when you turn a section of your home into a separate apartment to be rented out. Right now, you can only do this in rural areas of the county. Otherwise, one must go through a very difficult and sometimes impossible process. This issue is dear to many AIM leaders, because they see it as a win-win in many ways. It creates more affordable housing and it provides an additional income for senior members who can then stay in their homes longer. It also allows the renter to keep an eye on the senior member.