Notice of Public Hearing & Possible Board Action

Possible Adoption of Montgomery County’s Healthy Lawns Act:
Prohibiting the Use of Cosmetic Pesticides on Lawns
Monday, December 14, 2020 at 7:30 p.m. (virtual)

The Chevy Chase Village Board of Managers will hold a Public Hearing on possible adoption of Montgomery County’s Healthy Lawns Act (the Act).  Broadly, the Act forbids the use of synthetic herbicides and other pesticides on lawns.  This would include the “weed and feed” products commonly used by homeowners, as well as products applied by lawn care companies.  The Act does NOT exempt chemicals used for the control of biting insects and disease vectors, such as mosquitos and ticks.  If adopted by the Village Board of Managers, the Act would become law and apply within the Village’s municipal boundaries.  A comprehensive description of the law, including the motivation for it and arguments in favor of it can be viewed on the county’s website at:  https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/lawns/law/. 
 
A letter was mailed to all Village households on October 19, 2020 advising that the Board is seeking opinions and feedback from residents regarding adoption of the Act.  A link to the letter and other supporting materials and information is located on the Village website at https://www.chevychasevillagemd.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=284.
 
The regular meeting of the Village’s Board of Managers will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, December 14, 2020 and will be held virtually with members of the Board and public attending via phone and video conference.  To join via video conference, either click on the following link or copy and paste it into your web browser:  https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/663154621.  To join by phone, dial 1 (877) 309-2073 (toll free).  The meeting access code (for online or phone access) is: 663-154-621.
 
Residents who are unable to attend the Public Hearing may submit written testimony for the record before the December 14 meeting either by e-mail to ccv@montgomerycountymd.gov or directly to the Village office at 5906 Connecticut Avenue, Chevy Chase, MD 20815.

Before Sending a Check as a Donation Around
the Holidays, Montgomery County Office of Consumer Protection Advises Residents to Check on the Charity

The holiday season sees an increase in charitable donation drives. It also sees an increase in scammers pretending to be charities. This year, the Montgomery County Office of Consumer Protection (OCP) advises residents to follow warnings issued by the Maryland Secretary of State and the State Attorney General that the COVID-19 health crisis is adding an extra layer of complexity.

As the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) noted, because of COVID-19, many charitable organizations are faced with greater demand for their services this year, but have received less in donations as people have less to give. Charities—and scammers—are focusing their efforts on donations toward coronavirus-related response programs, such as aid to the unemployed, families of those ill with COVID-19 or toward care packages to thank healthcare workers. It is important for residents to make sure that donations will be used wisely and well.  

Charity fraud schemes either seek money for non-existent nonprofits or take money for organizations that do little or no work, siphoning donations to the charity’s creator. Whether donating at the cash register, responding to unsolicited inquiries (through email, social media, crowdfunding, calls or mail) or donating in the spirit of National Giving Month, OCP wants residents to reach out for more information on whether a charity is legitimate before they reach for their wallets. 

There are some regular tricks and scripts that scammers use. A resident may receive a mailer thanking them for a donation or pledge that they never made. The resident may feel obligated to return the pledge card with a donation. Criminals can manipulate the phone number a resident sees on caller ID to make a call look like it is from a local area code if the scammer is pitching itself as a local charity, trying to make the resident feel more comfortable about accepting the call and listening to a pitch. Some scammers use the names of legitimate organizations or names similar to reputable organizations. Scammers also make many vague and sentimental claims and leave the resident to fill in the blanks on forms about how their donation will be used. Residents then assume that the donation they will make will address those situations.

Scammers may also try to entice a resident into making a donation by claiming that the donation will be tax deductible, but for many taxpayers, that is not the case. And a payment to a bogus charity is never tax deductible.

Montgomery County’s OCP has recently investigated two types of charity scams. 

After a complaint regarding donation boxes on counters at local retailers, OCP discovered a company that made Lucite boxes and sold route information to donation hustlers. The company also provided scripts on how to advertise as a charity and escape prosecution for false advertising. The schemes often claim to support charities that help find missing children and pets or say the funds will go toward research on cancer and other disease. Consumers see the boxes near the cash registers at restaurants, nail salons and other local shops and believe the endeavors had been vetted by the retailer. They drop in loose change (sometimes in exchange for candy of dubious quality or age). OCP engaged in outreach to business owners to warn that their goodwill was being misused and worked with the local disseminator of the boxes to have its boxes removed.

OCP also investigated a complaint from a local volunteer firefighter and uncovered a scam political action committee (Heroes United PAC) that claimed to be collecting charitable donations on behalf of “Volunteer Firefighters Association.” The PAC reported to the Federal Election Commission that it collected $4.6 million nationwide in 2018. It used telemarketing vendors, caller ID spoofing and three local maildrops to mislead consumers into thinking that their donations would be used locally for volunteer firefighters. Instead, more than 90 percent of the donations were retained by third-party vendors and less than 10 percent were used for so-called “political action.” OCP entered into a settlement agreement for refunds to be offered to County residents who made donations to the Heroes United PAC.

The following tips can help residents avoid these schemes:

1. Check with the Maryland Secretary of State’s Office at 410-974-5521 or https://sos.maryland.gov/Charity to be sure the charity is registered.
   
   
2. Give to established charities or groups whose work you know and trust.
   
   
3. Use trusted research sites like Charity Navigator, Guidestar, Charity Watch or org to get backgrounds on the charity, its financing and use of funds. In addition, search its name plus “complaint,” “review,” “rating” or “scam.”
   
   
4. Be wary of new organizations that claim to aid victims of recent high-profile disasters.
   
   
5. Never agree to give money over the phone or to a door-to-door solicitor. Ask for written information about the charity and read it before deciding on whether to donate.
   
   
6. Give using a check or credit card. If a charity or organization asks for a donation through cash, gift card, virtual currency or wire transfer, it is probably a scam. Review checking and credit card statements closely to make sure you were only charged the amount you agreed to donate – and that you are not signed up to make a recurring donation.
   
   
7. Practice good cyber hygiene:

• Do not click links or open email attachments from someone who is unknown.
• Manually type out links instead of clicking on them.
• Do not provide personal information in response to an email, robocall or robotext.
• Check the website's address—most legitimate charity organization websites use “.org” rather than “com.”
• Be skeptical of social media posts

• The full name, address and phone number of the charity.
• If the charity (and paid fundraiser, if one is used) is registered with the Maryland Secretary of State.
• How much of the donation will go to the charity and how much goes to the fundraiser who contacted you.
• For what purpose will the contribution be used.
• If the contribution is tax deductible.

# # #

Media contact: Neil H. Greenberger, 240-205-1915 or neil.greenberger@montgomerycountymd.gov

Sign-Up for Montgomery County’s COVID-19 Updates

Montgomery County is continuously pushing out useful information and updates related to the COVID-19 health emergency.  Please visit the below site to sign-up for the county’s COVID-19 updates: 
 

https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/MDMONTGOMERY/signup/14849

Join the Village Listserv on Groups.io

CCVillage (CCVillage@Groups.io), is the neighborhood mailing list (listserv) for residents of Chevy Chase Village.  As residents continue to practice social distancing, CCVillage is a resource to allow neighbors to stay connected with one another other.  For more information and to join, visit:

https://www.chevychasevillagemd.gov/Archive.aspx?ADID=806

Are You Prepared?

It is important to be prepared for local weather emergencies. In order the assist residents in their preparedness, the Village in partnership with the Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (OEMHS) offer a number of helpful tools, plans and free alerts to assist and keep you informed. Click on the below link to view this information:

https://www.chevychasevillagemd.gov/Archive.aspx?ADID=813

Emergency Contact Sheet

EMERGENCY - 911
 
Chevy Chase Village Police 
Non Emergency/24hrs - 301-654-7300

Montgomery County Police 
Non Emergency/24hrs - 301-279-8000

Bethesda - Chevy Chase Rescue Squad - 301-652-0077

Chevy Chase Fire Dept
(Opposite Columbia Country Club) - 240-773-4707

Bethesda Fire Dept
(Wisconsin Ave and Bradley Blvd) - 240-773-4706

National Capital Poison Center
(George Washington University Hospital) - 800-222-1222

Utilities
 

Potomac Electric Power Company (PEPCO)

Emergency-Live wires down, power failure - 877-737-2662

Customer Service - 202-833-7500

Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission

Emergency - 301-206-4002

Complaints, Leaks, Information - 301-206-4001

Washington Gas

Emergency - 703-750-1400

Information & Customer Service - 703-750-1000

Comcast - 800-934-6489

Verizon - 800-837-4966

**A cut out sheet is also located on page two of the January 2019 Crier.

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