Montgomery County Council Meets on May 14 and is Expected to Vote on Multiple Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Resolutions
For Immediate Release: Tuesday, May 13, 2025
The Montgomery County Council will meet on Wednesday, May 14 at 9:30 a.m. to vote on Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) transportation fees, charges and fares, the Water Quality Protection Charge, WSSC Water System Development Charge, and the Regulation for Systems Benefit Charges and Solid Waste Service Charges. In addition, the Council will hold a proposed closed session, review FY26 Operating Budget items and is expected to vote on a resolution to approve the FY26 County 911 fee.
More detail on each agenda item is provided below.
Proposed Closed Session
The Council intends to meet in closed session to consult with counsel to obtain legal advice, under Maryland Code, General Provisions Article Section 3-305(b)(7). The topic is legal advice on contractual rights and obligations of the County.
Review: The Council will meet to continue review of FY26 Operating Budget items, including a proposed FY26 Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) funding package, three items for the reconciliation list that relate to Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) compensation adjustments and base budget funding and other items to add to the reconciliation list for further consideration.
Resolution to approve the FY26 County 911 Fee
Vote expected: The Council is expected to vote on a resolution to increase the County 911 fee from 75 cents to $1.47 for each telephone subscriber, which is expected to raise an additional $12.5 million in revenue to close the projected gap between expenditures and current collection levels. The 911 system is administered by MCPD through the Emergency Communications Center, and operational expenditures for the 911 system are projected to be $25.5 million annually. The PS Committee unanimously recommends the fee increase.
Vote expected: The Council is expected to vote on a resolution to approve FY26 fees, charges and fares. The resolution includes four changes to the adopted FY25 resolution, including making Ride On buses fare-free for riders, implementing the provisions of Bill 29-24E – Transportation – Parking Permit for Specialized Service Providers – Established, removing the “daily maximum” and obsolete fee provisions in the Silver Spring Parking Lot District and eliminating garage-specific fees from the Silver Spring Parking Lot District.
The Transportation and Environment (TE) Committee recommends approval. In addition, the Council indicated its unanimous support for the committee’s recommendations with a preliminary vote on May 6, 2025.
Vote expected: The Council is expected to vote on a resolution to increase the Water Quality Protection Charge Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU) Rate from $136.50 to $147. The Council first created the Water Quality Protection Charge as part of Bill 28-00 in 2001 and made substantive changes to the charge in 2013 as part of Bill 34-12. The Council is required under County Code to set the ERU rate each fiscal year by resolution. The resolution must be adopted no later than the date the Council approves the annual operating budget.
The TE Committee recommends approval of the FY26 Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Water Quality Protection Fund budget as transmitted by the County Executive. On May 8, the Council preliminarily approved the FY26 DEP Water Quality Protection Fund budget and the FY26 Water Quality Protection Charge as recommended by the County Executive.
Introduction and vote expected: The Council is expected to vote on WSSC Water’s proposed 2.5 percent increase to the FY26 System Development Charge to address an ongoing revenue gap in the fund. The System Development Charge is paid by new development to cover the impact of that new development on WSSC Water infrastructure.
For the FY26 WSSC Water Operating Budget review process, WSSC Water proposed increasing the System Development Charge for FY26 by 2.5 percent and raising the maximum allowable rate by 2.5 percent to give WSSC Water and counties the flexibility to raise rates in the future. The Council met on May 5 and concurred with WSSC Water’s recommendations. At a bi-county meeting held on May 8, the Montgomery County and Prince George’s County Councils jointly approved the FY26 rates as proposed by WSSC Water.
Vote expected: The Council is expected to vote on Executive Regulation 9-25, Systems Benefit Charges, which establishes the calculated amount of solid waste generated per dwelling unit for single-family and multi-family dwellings. To calculate the residential systems benefit charges, each single-family dwelling unit and each multi-family dwelling in a building, consisting of six or fewer dwelling units in the County, is estimated to produce 1.5777 tons per year of solid waste. Each dwelling unit in a building with seven or more dwelling units is estimated to produce 0.7502 tons per year of solid waste.
Advertisement
Review and vote expected: The Council is expected to vote on a resolution to establish the FY26 Solid Waste Service Charges. In an amendment to the Solid Waste Disposal Fund budget transmitted on April 24, the County Executive’s assumptions would result in increases in solid waste service charges. The changes include increases of $85.04 for single-family properties, $14.56 for multi-family properties and an 86.2 percent increase for non-residential charges.
The County Executive also recommends a slight increase in the Disposal Charge, from $55.91 to $56.21, which is assessed to single family homes in both subdistricts A and B. The County Executive recommends no changes to the leaf vacuuming charge, the $160 Refuse Collection Charge, and the $70 per ton Transfer Station Refuse Tipping Fee. The County Executive did propose an increase, from $84 to $93 per ton, for the tipping fee for refuse in open top containers and declared Construction and Demolition (C/D) waste.
The TE Committee concurs with the County Executive’s recommendations.
Vote expected: The Council is expected to vote on a resolution that proposes increasing the County income tax rate for Tax Year 2025 (Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2025) from 3.2 percent to 3.3 percent, as recommended by the County Executive on April 24, 2025. The Council sets the County income tax rate by resolution. The current income tax rate of 3.2 percent was set by the Council on May 14, 2003.
The Council must act before May 15, 2025, if it elects to increase the income tax rate with an effective date for Tax Year 2025, as required by the state’s enacted Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act of 2025. According to the Maryland Code, as amended by the General Assembly on April 7, 2025, through House Bill 352, the County may increase the County income tax to 3.3 percent of an individual’s Maryland taxable income for a taxable year beginning after Dec. 31, 2024.
At a meeting held on May 1 , the Government and Operations and Fiscal Policy (GO) Committee reviewed the impact on residents and the fiscal impacts of the proposed resolution and alternatives. A public hearing on the income tax increase was held on May 13 .
The Council 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: 25-167
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=47054