Montgomery County Council Meets on May 7 to Review FY26 Operating Budgets
For Immediate Release: Tuesday, May 6, 2025
Also on May 7: Public hearing on a resolution to approve amendments to the Comprehensive Water Supply and Sewerage Systems Plan
The Montgomery County Council will meet on Wednesday, May 7 at 9:30 a.m. The meeting will begin with a proclamation, presented by Natali Fani-González, recognizing National Physical Fitness and Sports Month. At 1 p.m. , the Council will present two additional proclamations. The first, presented by Council President Kate Stewart with the County Executive Marc Elrich, will recognize Everett Alvarez’s Congressional Gold Medal Award. The second, presented by the Education and Culture (EC) Committee, will recognize Education Appreciation Week.
More detail on each agenda item is provided below.
Advertisement
Budget Consent Calendar
Each item on the Council’s Consent Calendar can be found on the Council agenda for Wednesday, May 7, which is available on the Council website .
Public Hearings
The Council will hold the following public hearing beginning at 1:30 p.m. Residents will continue to have the opportunity to testify remotely for public hearings or provide in-person testimony at the Council Office Building in Rockville for many public hearings.
Advertisement
FY26 Operating Budget
The Council will review the following Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Operating Budgets items:
Advertisement
- Housing Opportunities Commission: The County Executive recommends an increase of $758,817, or 9.15 percent, from the FY25 approved Operating Budget. The recommended increase reflects continuation of current staffing and service levels. The Planning, Housing and Parks (PHP) Committee recommendations can be found on page 1 with additional information in the staff report.
- Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA): The County Executive recommends an increase of $5.2 million, or 6.7 percent, from the approved FY25 Operating Budget. These expenditures are partially supported by revenue collections estimated at more than $59.8 million, which is an increase of $2.5 million, or 5.2 percent, over the FY25 approved amount. This includes the General Fund, Grant Fund, and Housing Initiative Fund (HIF) portions of the DHCA operating budget. Regarding revenues and fees, the PHP Committee recommends approval of the proposed increase in the short-term rental registration fee, but does not support recommended increases in the multi-family rental license registration fee and Common Ownership Community fee. Additional committee recommendations can be found on page 2 with additional information in the staff report.
- Housing Initiative Fund (HIF): Within the DHCA FY26 Operating Budget, the County Executive recommends an increase of more than $3.6 million, or 6.5 percent, from the approved FY25 Operating Budget for HIF expenditures. In addition, the HIF operating budget includes revenues collected from a portion of the recordation tax premium that is dedicated to providing rental subsidies to low- and moderate-income tenants. The County Executive recommends an increase of more than $2.3 million, or 10.1 percent, from the approved FY25 Operating Budget for these rental assistance programs funded through the HIF. The PHP Committee recommendations can be found on page 2 with additional information in the staff report.
- Montgomery County Green Bank Non-Departmental Account (NDA): The County Executive recommends a decrease of $3.4 million, or 17.6 percent, from the approved FY25 Operating Budget. The recommendation includes a $2.29 million discretionary reduction to reduce the County’s contribution to the Green Bank from 10 percent to 8.75 percent of energy tax revenues. An additional $1 million reduction is due to lower projected energy tax revenue in FY26 compared to FY25. The Transportation and Environment (TE) Committee recommends maintaining funding as recommended by the County Executive. The committee also recommends splitting the more than $2.29 million component of the reduction into two tranches of more than $1.14 million and placing both on the reconciliation list to be added back into the FY26 Operating Budget.
- Office of the People’s Counsel: The County Executive recommends $261,783 to fund the Office of the People’s Counsel for FY26. The Office of the People’s Counsel has not been funded since FY10. The PHP Committee recommendations can be found on page 1 with additional information in the staff report.
- Department of Permitting Services: The County Executive recommends an increase of more than $2.9 million, or 6.4 percent, from the approved FY25 Operating Budget. The recommendation includes $309,170 in staffing enhancements, a more than $2.4 million increase for compensation adjustments and $158,038 in required operating expenses. The Economic Development (ECON) Committee recommendations can be found on page 1 with additional information in the staff report.
- Worksource Montgomery NDA: The County Executive recommends an increase of $218,221, or 9.6 percent, from the approved FY25 Operating Budget. The recommendation includes $150,000 in programmatic and staffing enhancements and the three percent inflationary adjustment for nonprofit providers. The ECON Committee recommends supporting the County Executive’s recommended FY26 Operating Budget.
- Office of Consumer Protection: The County Executive recommends an increase of $168,255, or 5.9 percent, from the approved FY25 Operating Budget. The increase includes $189,136 for compensation adjustments and required operating expenses to maintain a continuation of current staffing and service levels and a reduction of $20,881 in miscellaneous operating expenses. The Public Safety (PS) Committee voted unanimously to support the County Executive’s recommendation. The committee also voted to add two new positions to the reconciliation list with the expectation that these positions would be included in an Executive operating budget amendment.
- Police Department: The County Executive recommends an increase of more than $22.5 million, or 6.8 percent, from the approved FY25 Operating Budget for the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD). The PS Committee voted unanimously to recommend the proposed FY26 Operating Budget and one Capital Improvements Program (CIP) project, with the addition of two amendments. The amendments include a recommendation to place two non-recommended reductions on the reconciliation list and an adjacent to the Firearms Training Center project.
- FY26 County 911 Fee Increase: The County Executive recommends an increase to the County 911 fee from 75 cents to $1.47 on 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.
- Police Accountability Board NDA: The County Executive recommends an increase of $103,134, or 13 percent from the approved FY25 Operating Budget for the Police Accountability Board NDA. The increase is due to compensation and funding for technology support. The PS Committee recommends approval of the budget as submitted the County Executive, with the exception of three items to be placed on the reconciliation list.
- Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS): The County Executive recommends an increase of $18.2 million, or 6.2 percent from the approved FY25 Operating Budget for MCFRS. This includes a $22.6 million increase for compensation adjustments and required operating expenses. The PS Committee recommends approval of the proposed operating budget and two CIP amendments recommended approval with the two amendments. The amendments include adding the Hyattstown engine reduction and two basic life support transport units and associated staff to the reconciliation list. In addition, the committee recommends approving draft budget resolution language for Emergency Medical Service Transporter fees and Emergency Service Supplemental Transporter Payment Program fund distribution to local fire and rescue departments.
- Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (OEMHS): The County Executive recommends a $956,179, or 20 percent from the approved FY25 Operating Budget for OEMHS. The recommendation includes more than $1.2 million in programmatic enhancements and shifts from grant funds. The changes include an increase for federal Urban Area Security Initiative Emergency Management Support Program funding and a reduction for regional preparedness program previously funded by a federal grant. The PS Committee recommends approval of the budget as recommended by the County Executive.
- Office of Animal Services: The County Executive recommends an increase of $502,521, or 4.8 percent from the approved FY25 Operating Budget for the Office of Animal Services. The increase reflects a continuation of current staffing and service levels. The PS Committee recommendations can be found on page 1 with additional information in the staff report.
- Arts and Humanities Council NDA: The County Executive recommends an increase of $205,455, or three percent, from the approved FY25 Operating Budget. The increase is due to a three percent inflationary adjustment to nonprofit service providers. The Arts and Humanities Council has requested an additional $500,000 in funding above the Executive’s recommendation to support grant programs. The Education and Culture (EC) Committee is supportive of the three percent inflationary increase as proposed by the County Executive. In addition, the committee recommended adding two tranches of one-time funding, each in the amount of $100,000 dollars to this NDA to provide additional funds for Arts and Humanities Council grants.
- 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. The Government Operations and Fiscal Policy (GO) Committee recommends approval of the budget as recommended by the County Executive. In addition, the committee requested additional information regarding the commission’s one-time budget request for upgrades to electronic systems, which was not part of the Executive’s recommended operating budget.
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: 25-153
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=47001