The Washington Post reports that the Montgomery County planning agency will close the first week of August to save an estimated $500,000.

“This has been a very difficult year for everyone, and, of course, we were not immune to that,” said Marye Wells-Harley, vice chairman of the county Planning Board, which oversees parks and planning. The new chairman, Françoise Carrier, was not yet on the board when the decision to shut down the agency was made in a closed session June 3; she took over in late June from Royce Hanson, whose four-year term had ended.

The shutdown is also expected to save about five jobs, Wells-Harley said.