For Immediate Release: Friday, March 13, 2026
Committees will receive updates on police staffing and a briefing on the 2025 Police Accountability Board Annual Report, review the Fiscal Year 2027-2032 Capital Improvements Program and the proposed designation of the Rose-Budd House to the Master Plan for Historic Preservation
The Public Safety (PS) Committee will meet on Monday, March 16 at 9:30 a.m. to receive an update on Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) staffing and a briefing about the 2025 Police Accountability Board Annual Report.
The members of the PS Committee include Chair Sidney Katz and Councilmembers Dawn Luedtke and Kristin Mink.
The joint Planning, Housing and Parks (PHP) and Health and Human Services (HHS) Committee will meet at 1 p.m. to review the Fiscal Year (FY) 2027-2032 Capital Improvements Program (CIP) for the Western County Recreation Center.
The members of the PHP Committee include Chair Andrew Friedson, Council President Natali Fani-González and Councilmember Will Jawando.
The members of the HHS Committee include Chair Laurie-Anne Sayles and Councilmembers Friedson and Dawn Luedtke.
The Planning, Housing and Parks (PHP) Committee will meet at 1:30 p.m. to review the FY27-32 CIP for Recreation and Agriculture Land Preservation projects. In addition, the committee will review the proposed designation of the Rose-Budd House to the Master Plan for Historic Preservation.
More detail on each agenda item is provided below.
Update: The PS Committee will receive an update on MCPD staffing as a follow-up to a committee meeting held on Nov. 3, 2025. This committee meeting will include an update on the final version of an Investigative Services Bureau (ISB) study and a study on Patrol Services. Previously the committee had received an update on preliminary findings from the ISB and Patrol Services Studies. According to MCPD representatives, the department now has 182 sworn vacancies, which reflects a 14 percent vacancy rate in available sworn positions.
Police Accountability Board Annual Report – 2025
Update: The PS Committee will receive a briefing about the 2025 Police Accountability Board Annual Report. County Code requires the Police Accountability Board to submit a report to the Executive and Council on an annual basis that identifies any trends in the disciplinary process of police officers in the County and recommends changes to policy that would improve police accountability.
The Police Accountability Board appoints civilian members to the Administrative Charging Committee and trial boards, receives complaints of police misconduct filed by a member of the public, reviews the outcomes of disciplinary matters on a quarterly basis, and advises the County Executive and Council on policing matters.
The Police Accountability Board was created in 2022 after the Maryland General Assembly passed the Maryland Police Accountability Act (MPAA) of 2021, which repealed and replaced the Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights (LEOBR). The MPAA required each county and Baltimore City to establish a Police Accountability Board and an Administrative Charging Committee. These are two distinct entities that provide separate but complementary accountability and oversight for policing in Montgomery County.
Review: The joint PHP and HHS Committee will review the $21.7 million FY27-32 CIP for the Western County Recreation Center. This project provides for the design and construction of a new community facility to serve Poolesville and neighboring communities in western Montgomery County. This area of the County currently does not have a local recreation facility for this purpose. The facility will be located at Dr. Dillingham Park, owned by the Town of Poolesville, which will be leased to the County.
FY27-32 Capital Improvements Program (CIP) – Culture and Recreation – Recreation
Review: The PHP Committee will review 12 projects within the more than $165.7 million FY27-32 CIP for Recreation, which represents an increase of more than $35.7 million, or 27.46 percent, from the Amended FY25-30 CIP. The increase is due to cost escalations within the the Recreation Facilities Refurbishment- Centers project and the Recreation Facilities Refurbishment- Outdoor Pools project. The CIP includes one new project, which would provide for installation of a new natural grass field at the North Potomac Community Center to replace the existing artificial turf field that is approaching the end of its useful life.
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Proposed designation of the Rose-Budd House to the Master Plan for Historic Preservation
Review: The PHP Committee will review the proposed designation of the Rose-Budd House in the Master Plan for Historic Preservation. The Rose-Budd House is the ancestral home of the Budd, Riggs, and Rose family built by Perry Budd in 1912 and is located in Sandy Spring. At the owners’ request, the property is under consideration for designation in the Master Plan for Historic Preservation.
Designation of a property as a master plan historic site or historic district, indicates that the property is of special historic significance and would be protected under the Historic Resources Preservation chapter of the County Code. Designation requires the review of the Historic Preservation Commission, the Planning Board and the County Council. The Council received a briefing on the proposed designation at a meeting held on Feb. 24.
Additional information is available on the Planning Board website and in the Planning Board’s draft of the Rose-Budd House Proposed Historic Designation.
FY27-32 Capital Improvements Program (CIP) – Agricultural Land Preservation
Review: The PHP Committee will review the more than $2.9 million FY27-32 CIP for Agricultural Land Preservation Easements. This CIP provides funding for one ongoing project that primarily supports acquisition of land for preservation through an easement. The objective of the project is to protect and preserve agricultural land from development and retain a significant farming sector throughout Montgomery County. As of June 30, 2025, the County has permanently preserved 72,008 acres for agricultural use. Montgomery County leads the State of Maryland in the number of acres preserved and has the highest percentage of farmland under agricultural land preservation easements of any county in the nation.
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: 26-093
Media Contact: Sonya Healy 240-777-7926, Benjamin Sky Brandt 240-777-7884
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