When David Jenkins, La Plata, Maryland Town Council member, attended the Local-Motive session “Parsing Through Your Local Budget to Find Some Real Answers”—co-presented by Chuck Marohn of Strong Towns and Michel Durand-Wood, author of the Dear Winnipeg blog—he left with a new mission: to take a hard look at his own city’s finances. Inspired by the session, David worked directly with Michel, who helped him build spreadsheets, translate Canadian concepts to the American context, and uncover critical insights about La Plata’s fiscal health.

David, a longtime Strong Towns member and leader of Strong Towns Charles County, has been working to shift the conversation in his community. He’s passionate about helping residents and local leaders understand the Growth Ponzi Scheme, the illusion of wealth in suburban expansion, and what truly makes a city financially resilient.

In this episode, one local leader took action—armed with spreadsheets, Strong Towns principles, and expert guidance—to challenge the status quo and advocate for a stronger La Plata.

YouTube Interview Link

📌 Links referenced in this episode:

🎙️ David’s full podcast episode on La Plata’s finances: Watch here

📊 The Local-Motive session that inspired him: Parsing Through Your Local Budget

💰 The Strong Towns campaign for transparent local accounting: Learn more

🏘️ Get involved in the Strong Towns Local Conversations program: Sign up here

📖 Michel Durand-Wood’s new book on municipal finances: You’ll Pay for This

This is the next episode in a series of podcasts and videos about La Plata’s budget, which aims to provide transparency and information as the Town Council prepares the FY 2026 budget.

This episode is based on work by Strong Towns’s priority campaign – Transparent Local Accounting - “Local government should be the place where residents collectively shape their cities. But to do that, you need clear, accurate, accessible information about your local finances. Local governments must be properly funded, but your money must also be properly stewarded.”

YouTube Link

Sources:
Strong Towns Transparent Local Accounting

Parsing Through Your Local Budget to Find Some Real Answers

Strong Towns Financial Action Guide

La Plata Calendar for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Budget

This episode is about the need for a La Plata Economic Development function.

At the December 10, 2024, Town Council meeting, Town of La Plata Ordinance 24-20, Tourism Zones was introduced as a first reading.

This is based on State enabling legislation enacted by the Maryland General Assembly in 2024, House Bill 1281/Senate Bill 0014 (Maryland Code, Local Government § 18-401), which enables municipalities to create tourism zones to encourage the growth and expansion of tourism-related businesses within areas designated by those jurisdictions.

I was not in favor of moving the proposed tourism ordinance to legislation for this and other reasons, including:

*Limited administrative or staff capacity to run this program
*No incentives were provided
*What are fiscal impacts – costs, revenue generation?
*Can current town functions support tourism or diversity in our tax base?

Are there other options – form an Economic Development Commission or function, combining current town activities?

YouTube Video Link

Downtown La Plata Development

My Third Year as Town Council Member

La Plata 2025 Election

Ordinance 24-20 - Tourism Zones