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Gaithersburg
Officials
Gaithersburg
operates under the council-manager form of
municipal government, with the City Manager
being appointed by the City Council. The
Mayor and City Council are elected to staggered
four-year terms, and the Mayor serves as Council
President.
On Tuesday, June 24,
2008 Gaithersburg Mayor Sidney Katz was elected
president of the Maryland Municipal League (MML), a
voluntary, nonprofit, nonpartisan association
representing 157 municipal governments and two special
taxing districts in Maryland.
Headquartered in Annapolis, MML works to
strengthen the role and capacity of municipal government
through research, legislation, technical assistance,
training and the dissemination of information to its
members. It is the only statewide organization in
Maryland comprised solely of municipal officials,
devoted to the promotion of all branches of municipal
administration.
“I’ve dedicated most
of my adult life to public service, and I am truly
honored to be elected to serve as MML President for the
coming year,” said Mayor Katz. “This organization works
tirelessly to support the efforts taking place each and
every day at the local level. I look forward to working
with representatives throughout Maryland to empower and
enrich the experiences of those who serve on what I
consider to be the front lines of democracy.”
In his capacity as
president, Mayor Katz will preside over a 31-member
Board of Directors, including a first vice president, a
past president, 11 district vice presidents, 10 members
at large, and seven department representatives. The
group meets six times a year unless special meetings are
warranted. Elections take place at MML’s annual
business meeting, held during its convention each June.
Within MML, Mayor Katz
has served as an Executive Committee member since 2004.
From 2003 to 2007 he served as both District 5 Vice
President and Montgomery County Chapter President. He
also chaired the MML Leadership and Structure
Subcommittee. Katz was inducted into the MML Hall of
Fame in 1998, the same year he began serving as the
Mayor of Gaithersburg.
Council Vice President
Cathy
Drzyzgula |
Council Member
Jud Ashman |
Council Member
Michael A. Sesma |
Council Member
HenryF.Marraffa,
Jr. |
Council Member
Ryan
Speigel |
The Mayor and City Council meet the first and
third Mondays at 7:30 p.m. in the
City Hall Council Chamber, 31 S. Summit Ave.
They also conduct work sessions on alternate
Mondays and other evenings. For more
information please contact the office of the
City Manager at 301-258-6310 or
cityhall@gaithersburgmd.gov &
Gaithersburg Governance Information
Citizens can view archived city
council and planning committee meetings here:
City Website Archived Meetings
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Angel
Jones Appointed Gaithersburg City Manager
Following a six month search process the
Mayor and City Council announce the appointment of Angel
 Jones as Gaithersburg’s new City Manager. She will begin on
September 29, 2008.
“Angel
was our top candidate for the position and we are delighted
that she has agreed to come to Gaithersburg,” said Mayor
Sidney Katz. “She has an extensive background in community
development and collaboration, and we look forward to Angel
working closely with residents, staff and elected officials
to help our community navigate a future that is filled with
both challenge and opportunity.”
“The time has come to where a
culmination of all of my experiences will afford me the
opportunity to provide leadership to a great city!” said
Jones. “I am committed to ensuring transparency,
responsiveness and accountability. I consider myself
fortunate to have an engaged citizenry, a dedicated group of
elected officials and a professional and responsive
organizational team as my first city manager assignment.
I'm also excited to be returning to the east coast to join
family and reconnect with friends.”
With a municipal background spanning more
than two decades, Jones brings a range of experience to her
new position. Most recently she served as Assistant City
Manager in Eugene, Oregon, a community with just over
150,000 residents, 1,547 municipal employees and a budget of
$475.7 million. Other experiences include Executive
Director of Eugene’s Department of Library, Recreation and
Cultural Services, Deputy Director of the City of Richmond’s
Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities,
and Financial Manager/Analyst with Richmond’s Department of
Public Utilities. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in
accounting from Virginia Union University.
“Ms. Jones has the leadership qualities
and commitment to public service that exemplifies all that
we have come to expect from our employees. Her skills and
style of leadership will keep us moving forward in the next
era for Gaithersburg to make it an even greater place to
live, work, learn and play,” added Council Member Mike
Sesma. Council Member Jud Ashman also noted that “with her
experience in management and budgeting, her passion for
municipal government and community outreach, a truly
inspirational story and a long string of successes to her
name, Angel Jones is going to be a great leader for our
great City.”
Gaithersburg’s City Manager is appointed
by the City Council and serves as the chief administrative
officer for the City. Jones will manage Gaithersburg’s
administrative operations in accordance with policies and
procedures set forth by the City Council, with a
professional staff of 258 full time employees and a City
budget of $52.3 million. Her starting salary will be
$165,000, making her the highest paid employee in the City.
Acting City Manager James Arnoult has
been serving in the position since the October, 2007
retirement of David Humpton. “Jim has done an amazing job
during this period of transition,” said Mayor Katz. “He
guided us through a very challenging budget process and
worked diligently to keep the City’s operations running
smoothly. The Council and I are indebted to him for keeping
the staff motivated and for keeping the City moving
forward.” Arnoult will return to his position as Director
of Public Works after September 28.
In making their decision the Mayor and
Council commented that Jones has risen through the ranks of
municipal government and has a strong understanding of the
importance of City staff and services. “She is very
committed to building a sense of community, fostering open
and ethical government, and receiving regular feedback from
our citizens,” said Council Member Ryan Spiegel. |
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Lynn Board Appointed Gaithersburg City Attorney
At the February 19, 2008, meeting of the Gaithersburg Mayor and City
Council, N. Lynn Board was officially appointed Gaithersburg’s full-time
City Attorney. Ms. Board served as the Chief Legal Services Officer and
City Attorney for the City
 of Frederick, Maryland from 1990 to 2001, and
has been managing member of Lynn Board & Associates, LLC since 2001. In
that capacity she served as Town Attorney for the Towns of Thurmont and
Mount Airy, litigated condemnations, real estate, land development and
administrative appeal cases in State courts, and handled all aspects of
commercial and residential real estate transactions.
"We are thrilled to have someone with such an extensive background in
municipal law join our staff," said Mayor Sidney Katz. "There are many
complex issues facing this City on a daily basis and I am confident that
Ms. Board will be a tremendous asset to us."
The Gaithersburg City Attorney is appointed by the Mayor and Council
and represents the City in all legal matters, including the bringing and defending of suits. Ms. Board will attend Mayor and City Council and Planning Commission meetings, will advise elected officials and staff
on a wide range of legal issues, and will monitor changes in federal,
state and local laws and regulations that might impact the City. The
position has been vacant since the resignation of Cathy Borten in
September of 2007.
"I’m excited about this opportunity," said Ms. Board, who lives in
Frederick. "As a municipality, Gaithersburg enjoys an excellent
reputation. I look forward to working with its residents and lending my
expertise to address community issues."
Ms. Board began working on a part-time basis on February 25, and assumed full-time responsibilities on April 28, 2008.
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Gaithersburg, Maryland has been recognized by
Prevention magazine and the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA) as
one of the 100 Best Walking Cities in America. Five hundred cities across
the country were evaluated on 14 walking criteria, including the percentage
of adults who walk to work, the number of parks per square mile, safety, use
of mass transit, and the percentage of adults who walk for fitness.
Gaithersburg placed 63rd on the list."In recent years Gaithersburg has been named the
second most affordable city in America to raise a family by Frommers Guide
and the seventeenth best place in the country to live by Money magazine.
Today’s recognition by Prevention magazine confirms that Gaithersburg
continues to be a highly livable community, and that our emphasis on the
environment is enhancing the quality of life for our residents," said Mayor
Sidney Katz.
The top 10 most populous cities in each state were
selected for review. In their analysis of Gaithersburg, Prevention magazine
noted that "Along with a high number of residents who lace up walking shoes
for exercise and a decent showing of parks per square mile, Gaithersburg has
the lowest crime rate on our (Maryland) list, putting it in the nation’s top
20 safest cities for walkers."
Other cities in the metropolitan area that made the
top 100 Best Walking Cities list include Washington, DC at #5, Silver
Spring, MD at #17, Alexandria, VA at #21, Arlington, VA at #40, Bethesda, MD
at #62, Dundalk, MD at #91, and Baltimore, MD at #92.
For more information on the survey visit
www.prevention.com/bestcities.
2000AuroraArtisans.jpg) City
Receives Distinguished Budget Award for Sixth Consecutive
Year
The City of Gaithersburg received the Distinguished
Budget Presentation Award for fiscal year 2006 from the Government Finance
Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA). This award is
the highest from of recognition in governmental budgeting.
This is the sixth year that Gaithersburg has received
the award. It was presented to David B. Humpton, who was City Manager during
the Fiscal Year in question, and Harold Belton, Director of Finance and
Administration.
The City had to satisfy nationally-recognized
guidelines for effective budget presentation. These guidelines are designed
to assess how well a municipality’s budget serves as a policy document, a
financial plan, an operations guide, and a communications device.
The GFOA is a nonprofit professional association that
represents nearly 17,500 government finance professionals throughout North
America. The GFOA’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Awards Program is the
only national awards program in governmental budgeting.
Thirty years of Excellence
in Financial Reporting
For the 30th consecutive year the City of Gaithersburg has
received a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in
Financial Reporting by the Government Finance Officers
Association (GFOA) of the United States and Canada for its
comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR) for the fiscal year ending June
30, 2007. The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition
in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting, and its
attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its
management.
The Certificate was
presented to Harold Belton, Director of Finance and Administration, Tina H.
Smith, Comptroller and Ling Yan Angela Woo, Senior Accountant.
The CAFR has been
judged by an impartial panel to meet the high standards of the program
including demonstrating a constructive “spirit of full disclosure” to
clearly communicate its financial story and motivate potential users and
user groups to read the CAFR.
The GFOA is a nonprofit professional association
serving approximately 16,000 government finance professionals with offices
in Chicago, IL, and Washington, D.C.
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