Montgomery County Council President Kate Stewart announced Monday the formation of a new public-private initiative to support local businesses and employees affected by the recent federal budget cuts.
“The goal of the coalition is to provide resources and information to help keep businesses across Montgomery County open and our residents gainfully employed,” Stewart said during her weekly meeting with the media.
Mobilize Montgomery is a coalition consisting of Montgomery County Government, Maryland Department of Labor, WorkSource Montgomery, Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation, Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce, the City of Gaithersburg, Rockville Chamber of Commerce, the Maryland Women’s Business Center and Rockville Economic Development, Inc, as well as additional local chambers.
The coalition will be a one-stop shop of resources to help the more than 77,000 federal workers in the county, she said. Its microsite will feature webinars, job postings websites and business incentives.
“Montgomery County has long been home to thousands of federal workers and businesses that rely on federal contracts, and in this time of cuts and chaos from the federal government, those impacts can ripple through our economy,” said County Executive Marc Elrich.
Mobilize Montgomery is designed “to help businesses stay open, keep people employed, and strengthen our local economy,” Elrich said in a news release.
“The drastic federal funding cuts and layoffs from the Trump Administration are directly impacting our residents and forcing contractors and small businesses to scrap projects and announce layoffs due to unpaid invoices and the elimination of federal support,” according to Stewart.
