Montgomery County Council Committee Meetings on May 2, 2025 – MocoFeed

Montgomery County Council Committee Meetings on May 2, 2025

For Immediate Release: Thursday, May 1, 2025

Committees will review FY26 Operating Budgets, FY25-30 CIP amendments for early care and education and a supplemental appropriation for the UM3-Institute of Health Computing

The joint Health and Human Services (HHS) and Education and Culture (EC) Committee will meet on Friday, May 2 at 9:30 a.m. to review the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Operating Budgets and FY25-30 Capital Improvements Program (CIP) amendments for early care and education items within the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).

The members of the HHS Committee include Chair Gabe Albornoz and Councilmembers Dawn Luedtke and Laurie-Anne Sayles.

The members of the EC Committee include Chair and Council Vice President Will Jawando and Councilmembers Albornoz and Kristin Mink.

The Economic Development (ECON) Committee will meet at 1 p.m. to review a $3 million supplemental appropriation for the UM3 – Institute for Health Computing Non-Departmental Account (NDA). In addition, the committee will review the FY26 Operating Budgets for the UM3 – Institute for Health Computing NDA, Business Center Team, Small Business Support Services NDA, Conference Center NDA, and Incubator Programs NDA.

The members of the ECON Committee include Chair Natali Fani-González and Councilmembers Marilyn Balcombe, Evan Glass and Sayles.

The Government Operations and Fiscal Policy (GO) Committee will meet on at 1:30 p.m. to review the FY26 Operating Budgets for the Office of Procurement, Leases NDA, Office of Management and Budget, Charter Review Commission NDA, Office of the County Executive, Community Engagement Cluster, Ethics Commission, Merit System Protection Board, Payments to Municipalities NDA, Future Federal/State/Other Grants NDA, Grants to Municipalities in Lieu of Share Tax NDA, County Associations NDA, Boards, Committees, and Commissions NDA, the Council of Governments NDA and the Public Technology, Inc NDA.

The members of the GO Committee include Chair and Council President Kate Stewart and Councilmembers Andrew Friedson and Sidney Katz.

More detail on each agenda item is provided below.

Review: The joint Committee will review FY26 Operating Budgets and FY25-30 CIP Amendments for early care and education items within DHHS. The County Executive’s recommended FY26 Operating Budget for these items includes more than $1.3 million for Early Childhood Services positions and more than $5 million for the Early Care and Education NDA. The County Executive also recommends more than $4 million in total funding for the Early Care and Education Initiative to continue ongoing services and programs and a shift of $1 million in funds from Children’s Opportunity Alliance NDA to the early Care and Education NDA to create pre-kindergarten seats.

In addition, the County Executive recommends a shift of $535,781 for five Early Childhood Services positions, previously funded by the Early Care and Education NDA, to the Consolidated Local Implementation Grant. Other recommendations include $175,340 for the Maryland Family Network Grant and $130,888 for the Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Grant. The County Executive also transmitted an amendment to the FY25-30 CIP for the Child Care Renovations – Playgrounds project that increases FY26 expenditures by $850,000 to reflect the addition of new state aid.

On April 24 , the joint committee reviewed school-based service areas and on April 28 , the HHS Committee reviewed additional services within the children, youth and families area.

Review: The ECON Committee will review a $3 million supplemental appropriation for the UM3 – Institute for Health Computing NDA, which would be used to purchase advanced computational equipment. This appropriation is needed to provide a pass-through of a Federal Congressionally Directed Spending/Community Project Funding (CDS/CPF) grant requested by the County for the institute.

The UM3 Institute for Health Computing is a partnership with the County, the University of Maryland in Baltimore, the University of Maryland at College Park, and the University of Maryland Medical System Corporation to explore how artificial intelligence, machine learning and clinical analytics can facilitate knowledge discovery for human health and wellbeing.

The ECON Committee also will review the FY26 Operating Budgets for the following items:

• UM3 – Institute for Health Computing NDA: The County Executive recommends a decrease of $1.3 million for the UM3-Institute for Health Computing NDA, which would reduce the appropriation to $5 million. This represents the amount the County has agreed to provide the UM3-IHC NDA annually through FY29.
• Business Center Team: The County Executive recommends a decrease of $63,487 from the approved FY25 Operating Budget for the Business Center Team. The decrease reflects a shift of $80,414 in contract funding to the Office of the County Executive’s administration budget.
• Small Business Support Services NDA: The County Executive recommends an increase of $69,087, or three percent, from the approved FY25 Operating Budget. The recommended increase includes $36,387 in funding for non-profit service providers and a $32,700 increase for compensation adjustments.
• Conference Center NDA: The County Executive recommends an increase of $9,064 from the approved FY25 Operating Budget for compensation adjustments and required operating expenses.
• Incubator Programs NDA: The County Executive recommends an increase of more than $2.1 million from the approved FY25 Operating Budget for the Incubator Programs NDA for programmatic and staffing enhancements. The recommendation includes $2 million in programmatic and staffing enhancements and a $152,136 increase for compensation adjustments and required operating expenses.

The Government Operations and Fiscal Policy (GO) Committee will meet on at 1:30 p.m. to review the FY26 Operating Budgets for the following items:

• Office of Procurement: The County Executive recommends an increase of more than $1.1 million, or 20.5 percent, from the approved FY25 Operating Budget. The changes include increases of $445,303 for personnel costs and $710,365 for operating costs.
• Leases NDA: The County Executive recommends a reduction of more than $1.5 million, or 8.34 percent, from the approved FY25 Operating Budget. The recommendation includes $1.76 million in reduced lease costs and the elimination of $314,835 in one-time enhancements.
• Office of Management and Budget: The County Executive recommends an increase of $742,979, or 9.66 percent, from the approved FY25 Operating Budget. The recommendation includes a shift of $299,927 related to the transfer of two positions to office’s shared services program from the Community Engagement Cluster budget. The recommendation also includes a $501,024 increase for compensation adjustments and required operating expenses.
• Charter Review Commission NDA: The County Executive recommends an increase of $1,000 from the approved FY25 Operating Budget. This increase occurs in each even-numbered year to support the Charter Review Commission’s preparation of its biennial report.
• Office of the County Executive: The County Executive recommends an increase of more than $988,677, or 14.2 percent, from the approved FY25 Operating Budget. The change is largely due to an increase in personnel costs.
• Community Engagement Cluster: The County Executive recommends an increase of $172,119, or 1.7 percent, from the approved FY25 Operating Budget for the Community Engagement Cluster. The increase reflects a continuation of current staffing and service levels.
• Ethics Commission: The County Executive recommends a decrease of $50,655, or 12 percent, from the approved FY25 Operating Budget. The recommendation reflects the continuation of current staffing and service levels.
• Merit System Protection Board: The County Executive recommends an increase of $65,938, or 21 percent, from the approved FY25 Operating Budget. The recommendation includes $56,450 in programmatic and staffing enhancements and a $9,488 increase for compensation adjustments and required operating expenses.
• Payments to Municipalities NDA: The County Executive recommends an increase of $725,944, or 3 percent, from the approved FY25 Operating Budget. The reimbursement provided through this NDA offsets instances of tax duplication for public services in municipalities, as authorized by Section 30A of the Montgomery County Code.
• Future Federal/State/Other Grant NDA: The County Executive recommends $20 million for this NDA, which is level with the approved FY25 Operating Budget. This NDA enables the County to implement new grant-funded programs up to $200,000 each and provides funds for grant continuations and enhancements without having to process each individual supplemental appropriations through the Council. Upon approval by the County Executive, funds in this program are transferred to the receiving department’s grant account.
• Grants to Municipalities in Lieu of Share Tax NDA: The County Executive recommends $28,020 for this NDA, which is level with the approved FY25 Operating Budget. This NDA funds payments required in accordance with state law.
• NDAs: County Associations, Boards, Committees, and Commissions; Council of Governments; Public Technology, Inc: The County Executive recommends a decrease of $20,000 from the approved FY25 Operating Budget for the Boards, Committees, and Commissions NDA; no change for the County Associations approved operating budget; a $181,615 increase for the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments NDA; and no change for the Public Technology, Inc. NDA.

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: 25-146
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=46964