The City very much values the important work being done by Takoma Park employees and is committed to continuing the collective bargaining process with AFSCME. The COVID-19 pandemic has created hardship for many and caused uncertainty regarding the fiscal climate. The recent rise in inflation is one of the many unforeseeable impacts of the pandemic on our employees and residents alike.

With uncertainties created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the City continues to work to promote a safe work environment for our staff and ensure they are supported, as well as continue to provide services and programs, such as rental and food assistance, to residents who have been most impacted by COVID-19.

Specifically, for City employees, the Council worked with City staff to:

• Provide hazard pay to:  Police Patrol Officers, other front-facing officers, and some command staff, Police Dispatch; and Public Works employees in Sanitation, Building Maintenance, Custodial staff, Equipment Maintenance, Right of Way Maintenance, Vegetation Maintenance, and Urban Forest.
• Avoid layoffs, retain and continue to pay staff who were unable to perform their job duties in light of pandemic-related complications.
• Pay administrative leave to those who could not work due to COVID-related program closures.
• Offer a retirement incentive to anyone eligible for retirement in an effort to avoid layoffs.
• Increased the amount of vacation leave employees could carry over into the calendar year 2021, from 240 hours to 300 hours, given the impact of the pandemic on travel/vacation.

We will continue to find ways to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on our employees and the whole community, and the City looks forward to the opportunity to continue the discussions with AFSCME. The City and AFSCME will be continuing mediation soon and the City looks forward to continuing that process.

Additional Information:

• The City is roughly halfway through a three-year Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), and during the wage negotiations earlier this year under the terms of that CBA, the City offered to increase the pay scale for employees in the AFSCME bargaining unit by 1.8%. The City provided the same percentage adjustment to non-union employees, and Takoma Park’s police union agreed to that same pay adjustment earlier this year.
• The City Code sets out the process for resolving issues if we are unable to reach an agreement during negotiations, which includes mediation. Two mediation sessions with AFSCME and City representatives were held recently in an effort to reach an agreement.
• Regarding ARPA funds, City staff and Council are actively considering how to allocate funds the City received from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). ARPA federal funds can be targeted to assist the most vulnerable in our community (both short and longer-term), as well as provide hazard pay for front-line workers, replace lost city revenue, and improve water and broadband infrastructure, but cannot be used to reduce taxes, increase salaries, or fund regular ongoing City programs and services.
• Regarding current compensation for City employees:
  • • For full-time City employees, the lowest salary is $43,340, with health, dental, and vision plans provided with no premium cost to the employee for employee-only coverage.
    • The City provides a competitive benefits package beyond paid health insurance premiums for employee coverage, which also includes: a variety of paid leave options, availability to flexible spending accounts, a City match to an optional 457 deferred compensation account, three employee assistance programs, tuition reimbursement, and more.
    • The City is also about to conduct a compensation study and will adjust salaries as needed during our next budget discussions in the Spring.

City Manager Jamal Fox has implemented a mask mandate for all city buildings and facilities in the City of Takoma Park. The mask mandate applies to all employees, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, and all visitors until further notice. 

Please be advised that all employees and visitors will wear a mask for all indoor public spaces while in the city buildings and facilitates such as;

• Community Center/Police Department
• Takoma Park Maryland Library and computer center
• Public Works
• Recreation Center
• Heffner building

The City will take a healthy approach to stay the current course with our Mask Mandate policy for reasons listed below until further notice! 

• Due to many reports regarding the potential serious flu season and COVID-19 surge over the next few months through the holidays.
• Public health professionals say there is a new and more contagious COVID-19 variant, Delta Plus (as described in the media), now in the nation.
• Vaccines for children ages 5-11 are in the early stages of deployment and will need time to be effective.
• CDC is considering “test to stay” in school programs, an alternative to quarantining students. This will allow students who test negative to continue to attend classes at school rather than be quarantined at home. This program potentially would have an impact on our recreation programs.

Read the original mandate here

If you have any questions or need additional information, please feel free to contact:

Donna Wright, Communications Manager
donnaw@takomaparkmd.gov  |  202-754-2963

Chief Antonio B. DeVaul is pleased to announce the release of Arrest and Traffic Stop Data from 2015-2020 and Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) calls from 2018-2020.

The Takoma Park Police Department has traditionally released information on all arrests, traffic stops, and calls for service data in the department’s annual report. The information released goes beyond the basic data previously released.

The release is consistent with one of the recommendations made by the Takoma Park Reimagining Public Safety Task Force to increase transparency and awareness surrounding public safety data and the department’s goal to be fully transparent with our community.

The City of Takoma Park has prepared interactive web pages with data on police interactions with the public. The arrest information is interactive and is broken down by race, gender, age, residency, initiation, type-specific, and offense. By race, the information is disaggregated by type of arrest, race, gender and race, age and race, initiation and race, specific type and race, and offense and race. We are also disaggregating the data for residents of Takoma Park by race, race and gender, and Ward of residency.

The traffic stop information is disaggregated by stops overall for race, the outcome of stops, outcome of stops over time, residence, the reason for the stop, gender, and age. The stops are also disaggregated by race for outcomes of stop, the outcome of stops over time, the reason for the stop, gender, age, race, age and gender.

The Takoma Park Police Department is committed to transparency and accountability. We remain committed to treating every person in Takoma Park equitably with dignity, and respect. To ensure transparency and accountability, on an annual basis the department will release arrests, traffic stops, and Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) call information.

Policing Data: Webpage and Release Link https://takomaparkmd.gov/government/police/policing-data-release/

We look forward to welcoming back all Takoma Park residents into our City facilities on Monday, August 23rd!  All City facilities will be open to the general public.  The Recreation Center and Community Center will return to normal building hours and allow limited room rentals once again. The Library, Computer Center and Passport Services will have extended hours.

To keep everyone in our community healthy, please follow our COVID-19 protocols when entering City facilities:

• All staff and visitors must wear a mask covering nose and mouth inside City facilities at all times. Outdoors on City property, masks are optional.
• We have placed hand sanitizer dispensers at all entrances to City facilities, for your convenience.

Reopening Hours

Community Center (7500 Maple Ave)

• Monday-Friday, 8:30 am – 9:30 pm
• Saturday, 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
• Sunday, 12:00 – 5:00 pm

Library

• Monday-Thursday, 10:00 am – 8:00 pm
• Friday-Sunday, 12:00 – 6:00 pm

Computer Center

• Monday-Thursday, 12:00 – 8:00 pm
• Friday-Sunday, 12:00 – 6:00 pm

Public Works Department

• Monday-Friday, 8:30 am – 5:00 pm
  See the full Public Works staff directory.

Recreation Center (7315 New Hampshire Ave)

• Monday, Wednesday, Friday 2:30 – 9:00 pm
• Tuesday and Thursday, 12:00 – 9:00 pm
  Note: Tuesdays and Thursdays 12:00-2:00pm are reserved for senior use only.
• Saturday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
• Sunday, Closed

Updates You Need to Know

Permits and Licenses
Most City permits and licenses are available online, with online payment, and do not require a visit to City facilities.  For a full list of permits and licenses, and to inquire with the issuing department about online availability, visit this link.

Notary and Passport
Both Notary and Passport services will continue by appointment only at the Community Center.

• To make a passport appointment, please call 301-891-7100.  Passport hours are Monday-Thursday, 9:00 am – 1:00 pm
• To make a notary public appointment, please call 301-891-7214.

Recreation Department

• Indoor, outdoor and virtual classes will resume in September. Registration for City residents opens Tuesday, August 24th. Review program offerings here.
• Interested in renting a room in a City facility or a park shelter? Residents can reserve a shelter here. Limited room reservations available, please call 301-891-7290 for more information.
• The Community Center Game Room will be open for drop-ins from 7:00 – 9:00 pm on weekdays but with COVID-19 capacity limits.

COVID Prevention Reminders

• Masks are required indoors for both staff and visitors to City buildings.
• Masks are optional for City staff and visitors outdoors.
• COVID testing sites are available within 5 miles of Takoma Park.
• Get the Vaccine! Help keep your loved ones, neighbors and co-workers safe. Click here for a list of vaccine locations within 5 miles of Takoma Park.

COVID-19 safety protocols for City facilities are subject to change at any time by City Manager determination should there be updates to State or County health guidance.

For more information on reopening, including up-to-date information on department hours and any schedule changes, as well as COVID-related resources, we encourage you to check our COVID-19 Resource Page regularly.

When you’re walking around Takoma Park, look down at your feet to see poems by local residents imprinted in new sidewalks across the city.

Seven poems have been stamped so far in an interactive public art project organized by the City of Takoma Park’s Arts and Humanities Division. A contest was held earlier this year where city residents of all ages could enter their original poems. A committee of local poets chose 10 adults and 10 children as the winners who each received a $100 prize. The poems are being stamped now during new sidewalk construction or sidewalk repairs.

“It’s exciting to see poetry by local residents in unusual locations,” Arts and Humanities Coordinator Brendan Smith said. “Takoma Park is a very walkable city so we wanted to bring some poetry to people where they live.”

The project was inspired by a sidewalk poetry program started by artist Marcus Young with Public Art Saint Paul in St. Paul, Minn. Sidewalk poetry has spread to other cities across the country.

Nala Miller’s poem about her little green ball is stamped at the entrance to Opal Daniels Park at 7414 Carroll Avenue. Nala just turned 8 years old and was very excited to see her poem in the sidewalk. She will be a third grader at Piney Branch Elementary School this fall.

Richard Weil’s sidewalk poem is located at 8106 Flower Avenue. “My wife and I moved here 40 years ago because we discovered a beautiful wooded place where there is a diversity of creative people who look out for each other,” he said.

Aissatou Thiam is 7 years old, and her short, funny poem about ants in her pants is located on Flower Avenue across the street from the Sligo Seventh Day Adventist Church near the Carroll Avenue intersection.

More poems will be stamped across the city during new sidewalk construction or repairs. You can read all 20 winning poems here.