Don't Let County Executive Leggett Kill Clean Energy Program in MoCo

County Executive Leggett Kills Funding for Clean Energy Rewards

Action by Council Can Still Save the Program

Montgomery County has been building an impressive green infrastructure, block by green block, these past several years, but County Executive Ike Leggett's decision to kill one of the County's most successful green programs is a significant step backwards. In his recently announced budget plan, Mr. Leggett has proposed to entirely kill the Clean Energy Rewards Program. This makes no sense, and we need to get the County Council to act to reverse Mr. Leggett's mistake.

The concept of the Clean Energy Rewards program is simple. Montgomery County electricity users get, in effect, a tax credit against the County energy tax if they buy clean energy. When the Program was created, after a bill championed by Council Member George Leventhal passed the County Council, the idea was to use some funds from the County energy tax to fund the program. Clean Currents has been a certified vendor in the program since its inception. It has worked remarkably well. People, businesses, faith institutions and others have bought clean energy for the very first time. Tons of carbon, the main greenhouse gas causing climate change, have been offset. In fact, the program is one of the most cost effective ways the county has been able to reduce or offset carbon emissions. Montgomery County is the only county in the nation with a program like this. It has won national acclaim, deservedly so, for running this program.

Last year, the program cost the County $550,000. Mr. Leggett is now proposing to raise the energy tax by an additional $50 million. Some of that tax revenue should go to fund the Clean Energy Rewards Program. It is hard to understand why the County Executive did not merely raise the energy tax another half million dollars so that he could fund this incredibly effective green program. He says he had to make "hard decisions," to balance the budget. But I would suggest that being environmentally responsible is for the good times and the bad. For the good budgets and the lean ones. Opposition to progressive environmental standards often comes in the guise of "it will hurt the economy." But here in Montgomery County, our leaders must not fall for that line of thinking. They must stand up for environmental protection in all times. The issue of tackling climate change cannot wait until some future time. We must act now to start addressing it. That's what Cong. Chris Van Hollen says, it is what other progressive leaders say, and it must be what Montgomery County says.

Let's reverse this bad decision. Please send an email immediately to Council President Nancy Floreen asking her to restore funding for Clean Energy Rewards.

Her email is councilmember.floreen@montgomerycountymd.gov

If you want to email other Council Members, please go to

http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/csltmpl.asp?url=/content/council/index.asp