For Immediate Release: Friday, March 14, 2025
Committees to review FY26 Capital Budget and Amendments to the FY25-30 CIP for Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service, Recycling and Resource Management, Storm Drains, Stormwater Management and the FY26-31 CIP for WSSC Water; review legislation to amend the Emergency Medical Services Insurance Reimbursement Program and expand consumer protection laws to include landlord-tenant matters
The Public Safety (PS) Committee will meet on Monday, March 17 at 9:30 a.m. to review the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Capital Budget and Amendments to the FY25-30 Capital Improvements Program (CIP) for the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS), including the White Flint Fire Station 23, Rockville Fire Station 3 Renovation and the Clarksburg Fire Station projects. Additionally, the committee will review Bill 1-25, Public Safety – Emergency Medical Services Insurance Reimbursement – Amendments, and Bill 6-25, Consumer Protection – Defective Tenancies as Deceptive Trade Practices.
The meeting will take place in the Council’s seventh-floor hearing room. The members of the PS Committee include Chair Sidney Katz and Councilmembers Dawn Luedtke and Kristin Mink.
The Transportation and Environment (TE) Committee will meet at 9:30 a.m. to review amendments to the FY25-30 Recycling and Resource Management CIP. In addition, the committee will review FY26 Capital Budget and amendments to the FY25-30 CIP for Storm Drains and Stormwater Management. The committee also will review the FY26-31 CIP for WSSC Water.
The meeting will take place in the Davidson Memorial Hearing Room, which is located on the second floor of the Council Office Building. The members of the TE Committee include Chair Evan Glass, Councilmember Marilyn Balcombe and Council President Kate Stewart.
More detail on each agenda item is provided below.
Review: The PS Committee will review the FY26 Capital Budget and amendments to the CIP for MCFRS. The CIP includes the White Flint Fire Station 23, Rockville Fire Station 3 Renovation and the Clarksburg Fire Station projects.
Amendments to the Rockville Fire Station 3 Renovation project shifts funding from FY26 to FY27, due to project delays. The project provides partial funding for the renovation of the station, which was constructed in 1965. The scope of work includes structural repairs, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility improvements, replacement of the roof and paved parking lot surface, increases to the living and bunk space, and other improvements.
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The costs for the White Flint Fire Station 23 total project have increased by $6.9 million from the approved FY25-30 CIP due to last year’s two-year deferral of construction. This project provides for a new five bay station in the Rockville/White Flint area and the purchase of associated apparatus. The new facility will be located south-east of Route 355 and Randolph Road.
Total costs for the Clarksburg Fire Station project have decrease by $1.3 million to reflect project savings. These savings were transferred to the Public Safety Communications Center Phase II, Electrical Distribution and HVAC Upgrade project. This project provided for a new Fire and Rescue Station in the Clarksburg area, which opened on Nov. 1, 2024.
Bill 1-25, Public Safety – Emergency Medical Services Insurance Reimbursement – Amendments
Review: The PS Committee will review Bill 1-25, Public Safety – Emergency Medical Services – Insurance Reimbursement – Amendments, which would amend the Emergency Medical Services Insurance Reimbursement Program to allow fire and rescue service personnel to ask for information related to an individual’s insurance coverage for the limited purposes of providing transportation to an alternative destination or providing treatment in place. The bill defines terms related to this broadened permission and generally amends the law governing insurance reimbursement to accommodate the broader scope.
The lead sponsor of Bill 1-25 is Council President Stewart, at the request of County Executive Elrich. Councilmember Luedtke is a cosponsor.
Bill 6-25, Consumer Protection – Defective Tenancies as Deceptive Trade Practices
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Review: The PS Committee will review Bill 6-25, Consumer Protection – Defective Tenancies as Deceptive Trade Practices, which would expand the Office of Consumer Protection’s authority to investigate and enforce consumer protection laws in landlord-tenant matters that may include unfair or deceptive trade practices. The bill would expand the definition of a person to include a landlord, clarify consumer goods and services include rental housing, remove the exemption for defective tenancies or complaints related to landlord-tenant matters, and clarify the enforcement and penalties under the Montgomery County Code. The purpose of Bill 6-25 is to implement stronger protections for renters under the County’s consumer protection laws.
The lead sponsor of Bill 6-25 is Councilmember Mink. Council President Stewart, Vice President Will Jawando and Councilmember Luedtke are cosponsors of Bill 6-25.
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Amendments to the FY25-30 Recycling and Resource Management CIP
Review: The TE Committee will review the County Executive’s recommended $77.9 million amended FY25-30 Recycling and Resource CIP, which is an increase of more than $8.5 million, or 12 percent, from the approved FY25-30 CIP. The CIP consists of four projects, including the Oaks Landfill Leachate Pretreatment Plant retrofitting, full upgrade of the existing Recycling Center Complex, Gude Landfill remediation and the new Organics Processing Facility. The changes include a cost increase of $1.7 million to the Oaks Landfill leachate pre-treatment project, which provides for the installation of new and upgraded leachate pretreatment equipment. The changes also include a project delay in the full upgrade of the existing Recycling Center Complex, resulting in $6.8 million in costs moving into the FY25-30 period from FY24.
Review: The TE Committee will review the FY26 Capital Budget and Amendments to the FY25-30 CIP for the more than $35 million approved Storm Drains CIP and the more than $306 million approved Stormwater Management CIP. In the FY25-30 Storm Drains CIP, the County Executive is recommending a technical amendment to the facility planning project, which reflects a project acceleration of $378,000 from FY25 to FY24.
In amendments to the FY25-30 Stormwater Management CIP, the County Executive is recommending an increase of $1.9 million for Phase 2 modeling work in the Comprehensive Flood Management Plan. The expected increase is based on cost experience from the nearly completed modeling work for the Sligo Creek watershed. In addition, the County Executive is recommending shifting $1.5 million in funding from the implementation of the Flood Management Plan to the comprehensive Flood Management Plan project to partially offset the cost increase.
The County Executive also is recommending an increase of $2.4 million to provide for three new upstream mitigation projects in the Stormwater Management Retrofit Countywide project. The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) plans and implements the Stormwater Management CIP program and coordinates with multiple departments to manage stormwater in the County.
Review: The TE Committee will review the proposed FY26-31 CIP for WSSC Water, which includes nearly $4.9 billion in funding over the six-year period and represents a decrease of $1.8 million from the approved FY25-30 CIP. Under Maryland Public Utilities Code, WSSC Water must prepare and submit a six-year CIP proposal to the County Executives and County Councils of Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties by Oct. 1 of each year.
Unlike other County agency CIP proposals that are reviewed biennially, Montgomery County reviews the WSSC Water CIP every year. The FY26-31 CIP has five new projects, including the Fraley Farm West Water Main, which is a $1 million developer-funded project to extend a water main along Bowie Mill Road to serve 42 homes. Four other new projects include the Lead Reduction Program, Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Management Strategy, master planning and facilities planning and investment and hi-Influent infiltration basin rehabilitation.
The Committee meeting schedule may change from time to time. View the current Council and Committee agendas, Council staff reports and additional information on items scheduled for Council review on the Council website .
Council and committee meetings are streamed live on the Council’s web page via YouTube and on Facebook Live and can be watched on County Cable Montgomery on Xfinity/RCN 6 HD 996/1056, Fios 30, and on the CCM live stream .
Release ID: 25-090
Media Contact: Sonya Healy 240-777-7926, Benjamin Sky Brandt 240-777-7884
For updates and link to press release, see here: http://www2.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgportalapps/Press_Detail.aspx?Item_ID=46714