Montco commissioners outline plans for 2025 at ‘State of the County’ address

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Montgomery County commissioners, local elected officials and community members gathered Tuesday for the annual “State of the County” address.

All three commissioners spoke about their 2024 accomplishments.

“Last year, I was honored to serve as chair of this esteemed board, the first Black woman to ever hold this position,” Commissioner Jamila Winder said. “That milestone is incredibly meaningful to me, to my family and to so many little Black and brown girls who look like me … While I may be the first Black woman to hold this seat, I will certainly not be the last. I believe that we will continue to make new and important firsts right here in Montgomery County, and we’ll do it together.”

Commissioner Tom DiBello, the lone Republican on the board, touted the commissioners’ bipartisan efforts to reduce homelessness through supporting additional short-term housing facilities in Lansdale and Pottstown.

“We may not all agree on everything as county commissioners, but that’s okay, because as three county commissioners, even though we make up different parties, we have come together to work as a unified unity team to focus on all of Montgomery County,” he said. “People don’t want to hear about politics. They don’t want to hear about division and all this other kind of stuff. When they’re dealing with specific issues, especially in their backyard, they’re looking for leaders like us to come together and provide solutions … to work towards that.”

County officials also highlighted other initiatives, such as a 24/7 emergency behavioral health center; a commission on LGBTQIA+ affairs; investment in affordable housing initiatives; “on the road” commissioners meetings; a successful election with a record number of people voting in Montco; and increased support for diversity, equity and inclusion.

Chair of the Board of Commissioners Neil Makhija outlined the board’s priorities for this year. Here’s what you need to know.

A new Office of Innovation, Strategy and Performance

The county is repurposing its Recovery Office, which has administered more than $161 million in federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, to become the Office of Innovation, Strategy and Performance.

Makhija said the new office will help make the county resilient to any future federal funding freezes similar to what happened in January.

“Each year, Montgomery County relies on over $150 million from the federal government. These grants help keep our communities healthy, our infrastructure strong, and our local economy moving forward. But in the face of this uncertainty of whether or not we will have certain buckets of funding or any funding at all, we can’t afford to sit still,” he said. “We can’t control the decisions made at the federal level, but we can make a difference in Montgomery County. It’s going to take creativity. We’re going to have to work harder, think smarter, and strive for innovative solutions that will make our county run more effectively, more efficiently and equitably for all residents.”

The new office will work with other county departments to streamline processes, support grant administration and improve government effectiveness and response.

“We’ll use data to advance policies and programs that are targeted, transparent and impactful, ensuring that every dollar goes further and reaches the people who need it most,” Makhija said.

Task force on artificial intelligence

Makhija said he will propose a new task force on the use of AI for public good.

“It’s much more than asking Alexa or Siri to turn on the lights,” he said. “This is actually an opportunity to leverage data and machine learning to enhance the way government works so that we can better solve problems and serve our residents. AI could be used for environmental monitoring to help mitigate risk from floods and storms, to analyze traffic patterns, road usage, to improve our infrastructure and community planning. It can also help our offices deliver faster services through smarter resource allocation, or provide historic data to judges that can give them the information they need to make more equitable decisions. AI can be something as simple and inclusive as providing a chatbot on our website to answer questions in any language.”

Makhija said there are already examples of AI use in county government, but the task force will help develop new ideas for how to use the latest technology going forward.

Consumer and worker protections

Makhija announced a new affirmative and policy litigation program in partnership with the county solicitor’s office and the District Attorney’s Office. The partnership “will ensure when profit-driven enterprises harm Montco residents, we will hold them accountable, as we have in the past, and we’ll do everything that we can to make sure that we protect Montco families.”

The county will also appoint a labor advocate, Makhija said, who will improve working conditions and ensure that all companies that have contracts with the county are adhering to fair labor practices.

Climate solutions

“We have to take action on climate urgently,” Makhija said, referencing flooding in Bridgeport after Hurricane Ida and a tornado in Upper Dublin as examples of the devastating impacts of climate change in the county. “That’s mitigating our emissions, adapting and creating resilient infrastructure in the face of these natural disasters.”

To help address climate change and its impacts, Makhija said the county plans to break ground on the Whitemarsh Wissahickon floodplain restoration project and continue a flood reduction study on the Perkiomen Watershed.

The county will continue to explore plans to install a hydroelectric dam on the Norristown dam and invest in electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

Montgomery County will also hire its first-ever chief sustainability officer in the coming months, to lead on climate and sustainability issues across the county.

Affordable housing and homelessness

Makhija said, in addition to the county’s effort to increase short-term transitional housing for people experiencing homelessness, more needs to be done to address the root cause of housing affordability.

“We need to come together to support a housing market that works for all incomes,” he said.

Makhija said the county wants to support communities working to build housing especially in transit-oriented development areas.

Serving immigrant communities

Montgomery County appointed Nelly Jiménez-Arévalo as its first-ever director of immigrant affairs earlier this month.

“While immigration policies, of course, are set at the federal level, our work centers on local initiatives and making sure that we respond and are responsive to those in the community,” Makhija said. “And that’s critical for so many reasons, for public safety, for ensuring that every resident has access to critical services. And we’re building trust, embracing differences and making Montco a place where everyone feels safe, secure and welcome. We’re going to make tremendous strides in doing so thanks to Nelly’s leadership.”

Investment in small businesses, main streets and revitalization efforts

Makhija said over the past 20 years, the county has invested $38 million in municipal grants to revitalize downtowns and main streets.

Over the next two years, the county will allocate $4 million in the Montco Forward program, which provides funding to small businesses throughout the county.