Dear Friends,
The County Council has been reviewing alternatives to my recommended budget, and the GO committee has recommended elimination of the County’s broad-based and most beneficial property tax credit for owner-occupied residences, the poorly named Income Tax Offset Credit (ITOC). Eliminating the ITOC increases the property tax for homeowners while holding commercial property owners harmless. This is a targeted tax increase for the County’s homeowners. At the same time, the Council President has proposed changes to the county income tax that reduces taxes for everyone with incomes less than $900,000. The loss in revenue is $64.9 million in the upcoming fiscal year 2027, and it more than doubles next year to $157.5 million loss, and the funding deficit grows in each successive year. Elimination of the ITOC does raise revenues; however, that number is not as big as the loss in revenues from the income tax changes by the second year (FY28). In other words, these changes put the county on a path that would likely require either additional reductions next year or a tax increase of some kind.
I proposed a budget that would fully fund our schools by implementing a 6.3 cent property tax, which is a lower burden than eliminating the ITOC on all homeowners with homes valued at less than $1,090,000. I also recommended an increase in the Working Families Income Supplement, which specifically helps low-income workers and their families. By contrast, the Council appears headed toward a path that is detrimental to government revenues and even worse for homeowners.
Let’s do the math:
- Under my recommended proposal, a family with a $600,000 home would have paid $378 more in property taxes per year than under current rates.
- Under the Council’s proposal, 200,000 of our home-owner households will now pay an extra $692 this year because the tax credit is being eliminated.
- The 600,000-dollar home will see its tax bill go up under this Council plan by 12.7%[SD1] .
- Meanwhile, commercial properties in the County get away with no change in their bills.
Why does this matter? As illustrated in the chart below, even with the 6.3-cent increase that I proposed, Montgomery County still has the lowest commercial property taxes in the DC area – and the lowest residential except for Washington DC. Frederick County is $1.11 per $100 of valuation; Howard is $1.34; Prince George’s is $1.36; DC ranges from $1.66 to $1.89; and Fairfax also fluctuates between $1.27 and $1.50.
The Council-backed plan will raise taxes only on residential properties and leave commercial taxes unchanged. Homeowners alone take the hit.
I have been pushing the Council for years to adopt a tax system similar to those used in Washington, DC and Virginia, where residential and commercial property taxes are taxed at different rates: commercial being higher, with the money dedicated to infrastructure. We have had a bill in Annapolis the last two years that we cannot get out of the legislature, even though it passed the House. The Council would not support it.
By contrast, the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo), and its majority of Republican jurisdictions, supported allowing higher taxes on commercial properties, too. Municipal governments like Gaithersburg and Rockville already have this authority. You can read about MACo’s position here. Those revenues could help our budget and free up existing tax dollars for other uses, but without support from our own County Council, we’re still stuck with the same old system.
The legislation is what we call enabling. All it would do is allow us to create legislation and would not mandate anything. The Council wouldn’t even support being enabled to do this, and I’ll tell you why. I can pretty much guarantee that if residents understood that we could do this and that D.C. and Northern Virginia counties were doing it, they would expect us to do the same. There are some interests that would not be happy with that.
This stance is concerning if you want to see more development. Our transportation infrastructure is seen as inadequate, even though transportation is crucial to growth. In fact, in 2018, Washington DC regional business leaders highlighted the importance of investing in transportation infrastructure.
Yet, our budget has never had enough money to support major transportation improvements. We’re actually issuing bonds for less than we did 20 years ago because we can’t afford them. Having the lowest commercial tax rate has not paid off. Companies go to D.C. and across the river to pay higher taxes because they get the infrastructure they need for economic development. Our County is living proof that you can be the cheapest date – and still not get asked out.
Furthermore, this is the same County Council that is giving tax breaks and handouts to developers through legislation such as the 20-year 100% tax abatement (elimination) for certain office-to-residential conversions. This law does not include any evaluation of what, if any, abatement is needed. We presented the Council examples of projects in the County that made the conversion and didn’t need or ask for a penny. Without evidence, they decided that developers shouldn’t pay taxes.
Another example is a 15-year tax abatement for building on a Metro station – again, no demonstration of need. If you go to the Grosvenor Metro, you’ll see a new development there, Strathmore Square, where the owners pay no taxes until after 2040. One of the buildings is worth almost $120 million, has mostly luxury apartments renting for up to $12,000 a month, and they pay zero taxes. Meanwhile, a similar older building next door pays almost $1 million per year in taxes. Over 15 years, it’s more than $16 million in lost revenue from Strathmore Square.
When I presented my budget in March, I acknowledged the necessity of making difficult decisions, including the reality that raising taxes is not a simple undertaking. I accepted full responsibility for every recommendation in my proposed budget. Transparency and honesty are essential for maintaining integrity in leadership.
We cannot simply cut our way out of the challenges we face; revenues are necessary to protect the services that are too important to lose.
My approach is focused on protecting families directly. Now we are facing a budget plan that would effectively raise costs for all homeowners, including condominium owners and retirees on limited incomes. My recommended budget preserves those tax credits and provides additional support for lower-income households.
Finally, regarding the debate over the compensation of our dedicated County workers and school employees, as County Executive, I have a legal obligation to honor our contractual agreements, and I believe it is the right thing to do.
The County’s law, enacted by the County Council, requires the Executive’s Office to bargain with our employee groups collectively and to use binding arbitration to resolve any impasse. We are required to negotiate in good faith and present reasonable offers. By negotiating responsibly, this year we secured agreements for cost-of-living adjustments for our general workforce and our unionized firefighters that are actually slightly below the current 3% inflation rate in our region.
Choosing a different path that does not respect fair negotiation is a “non-starter.” Without those agreements, we’d face higher costs when a neutral arbitrator considers what we’ve been paying and the impact of inflation on what our employees deserve. By sticking to our word and offering reasonable adjustments that track inflation or below, we are protecting the County’s long-term fiscal health while ensuring our employees can afford to live and work here.
We need a serious plan to fix our revenue stream, make it more progressive, but we must do so without creating a crater in our budget. My GROWTH District idea offered a solution, but it has been postponed without introducing a viable alternative.
Your input can still matter. Reach out to County Councilmembers and help them remember that this is about supporting our schools. The additional revenue from increased property taxes would be spent exclusively on education. If the Council supports differential taxation in the legislature next year, we could reduce some of these increases, which I would be more than happy to do. By rejecting my recommended budget, the Council needs to find another way, or reduce support for our kids, our housing, and our social services.
But what really worries me is that, by taking this approach, we are handing Trump and Project 2025 a victory. We’ve heard from the White House and congressional Republicans that they are shrinking the federal government and passing the responsibility, but no money, onto the states and local jurisdictions. No one is happy about this, but if our response is to say that we won’t step into the breach to maintain these things, then they will go away; we’ll decrease school spending and social services, and hand Trump the victory they really want, which is the destruction of social supports at all levels of government. I’m not willing to be complicit in letting this happen here.
In 2023, the Council answered the call to invest in our future. It remains as true now as it did then that a failure to address the critical funding our school system needs can lead to the unwinding of all our other efforts to make this County more economically competitive, attract jobs, and maintain a quality of life for current and future residents.
Montgomery County has the means to meet these obligations, and it is the responsible way to move forward.
Annual Count Shows Fewer Families Going Unhoused
The region’s annual Point in Time (PIT) Count is a census of unhoused individuals in our County, required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for communities receiving federal funding. Since 2007, HUD has mandated annual PIT counts for both sheltered and unsheltered populations.
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On a regional scale, we collaborate with the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments on this issue, and their regional report based on the PIT count will be released in a few weeks. I want to focus specifically on our numbers.
We’ve seen a significant 47% decrease in homelessness impacting families. Just a year ago, we were facing an 80% surge in family homelessness because of post-pandemic economic instability, the eroding safety net, and rents that are still too high. We didn’t just throw our hands up. We invested significantly in the Short-Term Housing and Resolution Program (SHaRP).
Let me tell you why SHaRP is the smartest investment this County can make: it provides a real bridge to stability. SHaRP doesn’t just offer a temporary bed; it also provides a security deposit, a 12-month rental subsidy, and navigation services. It gives families the breathing room they need to stabilize while living in their own homes, rather than in a shelter or a motel.
Since we started this in early 2025, SHaRP has helped over 300 households find permanent housing. That is more than 1,000 adults and children who have the stability of a home again, which is an incredible success. It’s more humane and cost-effective than motels. Today, there are 60 families experiencing homelessness who remain in motels, which is well below our funding limit of 75. By moving families into permanent housing faster, we reduce the trauma of homelessness for children and save the taxpayers from the high costs of long-term emergency shelter.
If we don’t fund this in the FY27 budget, our capacity to help new families will drop by 68 households, and those families will end up right back in our shelters and overflow motels.
We still have work to do. While family numbers are down, our chronically homeless population—mostly individual adults—saw a 14% increase compared to the 2025 PIT count. One big reason is that there is not enough deeply affordable housing available. My administration plans to take the success we’ve had with families and expand SHaRP funding to support individual adults.
We also have to be vigilant because the winds in Washington are shifting. The Department of Housing and Urban Development is moving away from the “Housing First” model and cutting funding for permanent housing. They want to go back to temporary solutions like transitional programs, even though we know “Housing First” and programs like permanent supportive housing are the right approaches. We see them working every day, and the 96% housing retention rate for permanent supportive housing is proof of that.
We’re also tackling the structural issues, like the fact that 64% of our unhoused neighbors are Black or African American, despite making up only 18% of our population. That is why we are focusing on racial equity and dismantling the systemic barriers that lead to these disparities.
Our goal remains to drive down the number of unhoused individuals in our community, starting with families and moving next to every individual who needs a roof over their head. We have the right program in place, but keeping it funded is more important than ever, given the ongoing threat to federal aid. We need the resolve to keep this lifeline open for families and people in need.
Farmers Take Devastating Hit From Spring Freeze and Severe Drought
We heard this week from farmers that the overnight freeze on Tuesday, April 21, may have done tens of millions of dollars in damage across Montgomery County. This is devastating news for an industry that works hard to produce our locally grown produce.
Farmers use warming devices and techniques to prevent produce from freezing, but that can only do so much, and timing is critical. An earlier freeze didn’t have the same impact because the fruit wasn’t budding then. Last week’s freeze killed a lot of product.
Farmers in the County estimate 80% of blackberries and 60% of apples and cherries are gone. The frost also hit developing blackberries, peaches, grapes, and baby fir trees hard.
Farmers who have reached out to us and spoken with the media call the damage catastrophic. They said this will impact next year’s yield, but not necessarily what will be available this spring, summer, and fall.
Our Ag Reserve was created in 1980 and encompasses 93,000 acres. It supports roughly 350,000 jobs and contributes about $8.25 billion in economic impact during a normal year. At last count, there were 42 farms specializing in fruit and orchards, which contributed to the $71 million in market value sold by our local farmers in 2022. But clearly, this won’t be a normal year. Farmers encourage you to continue to support local farms, even if you’re not getting everything you would normally buy. This is an opportunity to try new foods and continue supporting local growers. You can find a map of farmers markets on the Office of Agriculture website.
Another problem is the lack of rain. As you can see from the chart above, 100% of Montgomery County is now in severe drought. Through the start of this week, our area received only about 11 inches of rain for the year, close to two inches below average.
In fact, the entire D.C. region is in the same boat and has been for a while. The U.S. Drought Monitor (graphic above) shows that eight of the past 12 months have been drier than normal. Most of the County and State are under severe drought conditions, which ranks in the middle on a scale of 1 to 5.
In 2002, the drought caused smaller streams to dry up. It reduced streamflow and increased salt levels in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, leading to fish kills and the spread of invasive species. Agriculture has been impacted by droughts and periods of lower rainfall, leading to livestock sell-offs and lower crop yields.
Simple daily changes can significantly reduce water demand during a drought.
- Fix Leaks Promptly: A single dripping faucet can waste up to 2,700 gallons of water per year.
- Optimize Bathroom Use:
- Take short showers (2–3 minutes) instead of baths.
- Turn off the tap while brushing teeth or shaving to save hundreds of gallons monthly.
- Install low-flow showerheads and dual-flush or high-efficiency toilets.
- Kitchen Efficiency:
- Only run dishwashers and washing machines with full loads.
- Avoid using running water to thaw food; defrost it in the refrigerator overnight instead.
- Reduce use of sink garbage disposals, which require significant water.
- Reuse “Gray” Water: Capture excess water (e.g., from showers or rinsing vegetables) in buckets to water indoor plants or garden beds.
Drought can also impact our water supply. The situation can reach the level of water restrictions to ensure that we have enough water for everyone, but we’re not there yet. You can help protect our waterways by following these tips shared by WSSC:
- Pick up litter and placing it in covered trash or recycling bins.
- Use fertilizers and pesticides sparingly.
- Wash your car at a car wash, not in your driveway or in the street.
- Keep leaves out of storm drains.
- Pick up after your pet.
- Plant ground cover to prevent erosion of bare soil on your property.
There are more ideas on how to help your neighborhood and protect our waterways on mygreenmontgomery.org.
Importance of Early Childhood Education Investments/Opening of New CentroNía Early Child Care Center in Wheaton.
Last week, I was in Wheaton for the announcement of a third CentroNía location. This partnership serves as a promise to our children, and the event allowed me to thank everyone who made this expansion possible.
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High-quality early childhood education is a necessity—not a luxury. In a diverse community like ours, that means providing learning that is culturally responsive, bilingual, and inclusive. Specifically serving children ages two to five, this facility offers comprehensive services. This is a major boost for the local workforce, and this facility will also provide child care options for County employees who work in the building, making it easier for those who serve our community to ensure their own children are in a safe, enriching environment while they work. [JD6]
In addition, this center offers comprehensive services that promote children’s development and family stability. That’s quite the investment, considering that it helps kids learn, supports our working families, and strengthens our entire workforce.
We often think of roads and bridges as infrastructure, but child care is just as critical. Parents can’t work without reliable, affordable care. By investing here, the County is closing economic and cultural gaps, ensuring every child has access to opportunity, regardless of their home language or neighborhood.
After getting its start in Silver Spring, the Wheaton location will be CentroNía’s third center in the County. Building a stronger community starts with our youngest learners, and this foundation will help generations of families that call Montgomery County home. Learn more about early childhood learning opportunities by visiting montgomerycountymd.gov/childlink.
Silver Spring Crime Decrease
New statistics available through Data Montgomery show that crime was significantly lower in Downtown Silver Spring last year.
- Gun assaults were down 53%.
- Carjackings were down 35%.
- Overall crime was down 12%
Not only are the numbers telling the story, but so are residents and business owners. I want to thank The Banner Montgomery for its article on the reaction to our lower crime numbers and ABC7 News for focusing on the improved numbers in a recent report.
As good as this news is, we are not back to where we were before the pandemic. COVID-19 knocked us back, the courts got overwhelmed, and officers couldn’t be out there the way they needed to be.
So, what did we do? We added patrol officers by paying for more overtime shifts, but we also got smarter about how to use technology. We are optimizing our Drones as First Responder program because they can provide real-time information to our police officers, keeping them safer and making us more efficient. The drones are not about surveillance; they help us catch criminals and deter them from targeting Downtown Silver Spring and other areas in the community.
We also worked with the shelters and got more unhoused neighbors inside. We passed legislation that said, “If you’re serving alcohol at four in the morning and your block looks like a street fight waiting to happen, you need a safety plan.” That’s just common sense.
That late-night crowd that was coming in from outside the area and causing mayhem in the overnight hours has thinned out. The people who live in Downtown Silver Spring tell us they feel the difference. Everyone deserves to feel safe, and that is the recipe for Silver Spring to thrive.
I must also thank the officers and police department leaders who are committed to community-based policing. Many communities like ours adopted changes a few years ago to address community concerns about bias and profiling in policing. We have built trust and shown our residents that our police officers have community safety top of mind.
We’ve got more work to do. On housing. On mental health services. On making sure we’re not just pushing problems from one block to the next. But we should also recognize the progress we’ve made. We are recruiting new police officers who want to help our community. That’s a goal we all share.
And this news is more good news for Silver Spring, who over the last two years have earned the following accolades:
- #1 Best Place to Live for Families (2024): Fortune Magazine recognized Silver Spring for its excellent education, resources for aging, and overall community well-being.
- One of the Nicest Places in America: Reader’s Digest honored the area for its kindness and community spirit, featured on the TODAY Show.
- Top 5 Most Diverse Cities in the U.S.: Ranked by WalletHub for its unique blend of cultures and perspectives.
- #3 Most Generous City in the U.S.: GoFundMe recognized the area for its philanthropy.
- Best Places to Live on the East Coast: Travel + Leisure praised the area’s, walkability, diverse culture, and green spaces.
Congratulations to the residents and businesses of Silver Spring on their progress and success. For more information about resources, activities, and events in the Silver Spring region, check out: montgomerycountymd.gov/silver-spring-regional-services.
A Great Impact on the Scientific Community
J. Craig Venter helped lead the effort to decode the human genome, work that reshaped medicine and accelerated discovery across nearly every field of science.
For Montgomery County, Craig Venter’s impact is not abstract. His work helped reinforce this region’s reputation as a global center for life sciences. That recognition played a direct role in transforming our economy. He changed the DNA of our community by infusing our life sciences sector with an entrepreneurial and competitive spirit. His work furthered our County’s transformation from a place many once saw only as a bedroom community of the nation’s capital to one defined by research, science, and innovation on the international stage.
His legacy continues today through the J. Craig Venter Institute, which maintains a significant presence here in Rockville. The institute brings together scientists at the forefront of genomics, synthetic biology, and public health, and it remains a foundation of our life sciences ecosystem.
Before all of this, he was a researcher at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), where he founded the Institute of Genomic Research in 1992. His life speaks to the importance of the work being done every day by scientists at NIH and other federal agencies, as well as by innovative companies in Montgomery County, where researchers drive discovery, strengthen our economy, and improve lives. It has real benefits for people’s health, for our economy, and for our understanding of what’s possible. We are fortunate to be home to this scientific community. And we should never take it for granted.
J. Craig Venter moved science forward in ways that created opportunity far beyond the lab. Montgomery County is one of the places shaped by that work. His work continues through the people and institutions he helped shape.
Our thoughts are with his family, his colleagues, and all those carrying on that work.
May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month
May is a special time in Montgomery County as we honor the generations of Asian American and Pacific Islander residents who enrich our history, shape our present, and inspire our future.
Over the past few weeks, our County has been alive with celebrations from Holi to Songkran to Boishakhi. I am pleased to help honor so many different Southeast Asian New Year traditions. These events showcase the incredible cultural richness that thrives in every corner of Montgomery County.
We are one of the most diverse jurisdictions in the nation, and today, our Asian community makes up 16% of our residents. Seeing families and friends gather in such large numbers reminds us how much stronger and more vibrant our County is because of its diversity.
This Sunday, May 3, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., we are proud to host the 5th Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month celebration at Seneca Valley High School in Germantown. The event is organized by our Office of Community Partnerships and the Asian American Health Initiative, in partnership with 18 local nonprofit organizations. These organizations play a vital role in supporting the community by providing culturally and linguistically appropriate services. They are often able to address needs in ways government alone cannot. We are deeply grateful for everything they do to keep our communities healthy, informed, and connected.
We also understand that many residents are concerned about federal immigration enforcement. Our State and County leaders are committed to protecting all our communities. Recent legislative and policy actions underscore our commitment to ensuring that residents feel safe engaging with county services.
Our values remain unchanged: we support our diverse communities and are dedicated to the safety and well-being of every resident. If you witness or experience a hate crime or bias incident, please get in touch with the Montgomery County Police Department or report it online through the Hate/Bias Incident Complaint Form. Every report matters.
As we celebrate AAPI Heritage Month, let’s take the time to honor the cultures, traditions, contributions, and partnerships that make Montgomery County such an extraordinary place to live. Thank you to everyone who helps strengthen and uplift our community.
As always, my appreciation for all of you,
County Executive
Read the original article at mcgov