Per Montgomery County: The Montgomery County Council will meet on Thursday, May 25 at 9 a.m. The meeting will begin with two proclamations. The first, presented by Councilmembers Stewart and Albornoz, will recognize Foster Care Month. The second, presented by Councilmember Stewart, Council President Glass and Councilmember Balcombe will recognize Chesapeake Bay Day. In addition, the Council will hold a final vote on County’s $6.7 billion FY24 Operating Budget and the $5.7 billion amended FY23-28 Capital Improvements Program (CIP).
More detail on each agenda item is provided below.
Legislative Session
Expedited Bill 26-23, Special Capital Improvements Projects – White Flint Fire Station 23
Introduction: The Council will introduce Expedited Bill 26-23, Special Capital Improvements Projects – White Flint Fire Station 23, which would authorize the planning, design and construction of the White Flint Fire Station 23 project in the North Bethesda and Garrett Park area. The County Charter and County Code require certain capital improvement projects to be individually authorized if the locally funded cost is projected to exceed $24,196,000 in FY24 dollars. The estimated locally funded cost of this project is more than $38.2 million.
The lead sponsor is the Council President, at the request of the County Executive. A public hearing is scheduled for June 13, 2023. A Public Safety (PS) Committee meeting to review Expedited Bill 16-23 is tentatively scheduled for June 20.
Expedited Bill 27-23, Police – Policing Advisory Commission – Repeal
Introduction: Councilmembers Katz and Luedtke will introduce Expedited Bill 27-23, Police – Policing Advisory Commission – Repeal, which would repeal the law regarding the Policing Advisory Commission. According to the sponsors of the expedited bill, the establishment of the Police Accountability Board and the Administrative Charging Committee is duplicative of the Policing Advisory Commission and the latter is no longer required.
The Policing Advisory Commission was established by Bill 14-19, which was enacted on Dec. 3, 2019 and took effect on March 13, 2020. Subsequently, on April 10, 2021, the Maryland General Assembly amended the Maryland Public Safety Article to require that each County have a Police Accountability Board. The County, pursuant to this state mandate, enacted Bill 49-21, which took effect on May 2, 2022, to establish a Police Accountability Board for the County. Members of the Police Accountability Board were appointed on June 28, 2022 by Resolution 19-1313 to terms that begin on July 1, 2023.
A public hearing is scheduled for June 13, 2023. A PS Committee meeting to review Expedited Bill 27-23 is tentatively scheduled for June 26.
Consent Calendar
Each item on the Council’s Consent Calendar can be found on the Council agenda for Thursday, May 25, which is available on the Council website.
FY24 Final Budget Action
The Council will hold a final vote on County’s $6.7 billion FY24 Operating Budget and the $5.7 billion amended FY23-28 CIP. The Council’s budget deliberations this year focused on balancing the needs of Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) with those of other County agencies and departments, as well as reducing the 10-cent property tax rate proposed by County Executive Marc Elrich by more than half.
On May 18, the Council took straw votes to reduce the property tax rate to a 4.7-cent increase per $100 of assessed value, which will reduce the tax burden on property owners by approximately $118 million, while also funding MCPS at the largest year-to-year increase since the Great Recession. The Council also took action to use County resources efficiently by reducing the recommended budget by more than $49 million and identifying an additional $7.7 million in resources. The Council took a preliminary vote to fund a reconciliation list of high priority items to provide essential services for residents totaling $215.4 million. These combined actions reduce the tax supported Fiscal Year 2024 Operating Budget by $110.7 million compared to the Executive’s recommended budget.
With a total budget of $3.165 billion allocated for MCPS, which is approximately half of the County’s tax-supported budget, Montgomery County continues its strong and steadfast commitment to education. The County ranks near the top of all Maryland jurisdictions for total per pupil funding for MCPS. The budget agreement also fully funds Montgomery College at $345 million.
In addition, the Council approved Bill 17-23 on May 9, which amends the County’s recordation tax rates in a progressive way for property recordations valued at $600,000 or more. The additional resources generated through these updated rates will raise more than $187 million, which will help close the CIP funding gap and will fund essential construction projects for school and transportation infrastructure improvements. The recordation tax premium rates are projected to have no effect on the price of affordable housing and will raise $52 million more for rental assistance over five years.
This budget also will increase Montgomery County’s ongoing investments in education through youth programming, expand access to health and human services, generate solutions to develop affordable housing opportunities, increase rental assistance and support innovative ways to boost economic development in the County.
Moreover, the Council ensured that resources were maintained to honor the County’s long-term commitment to its retired employees and to fully fund the County’s reserves. Funding for these fiscal obligations helps the County retain its triple-A bond rating.
Vote expected: The Council is scheduled to vote to approve the following resolutions for the FY24 Capital Budget and amendments to the FY23-28 CIP:
- County Government
- Montgomery County Public Schools
- Montgomery College
- Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission
- Revenue Authority
- Housing Opportunities Commission
- Aggregate Capital Budget for County General Obligation Bonds – Spending
- Affordability Guidelines
- Aggregate Capital Budget for Park and Planning Bonds – Spending Affordability Guidelines
- FY24 State Participation
The Council is also scheduled to vote to approve the following resolutions for the FY24 Operating Budget:
- County Government
- Montgomery County Public Schools
- Montgomery College
- Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission
- Administrative Expense Budget of the Washington Suburban Transit Commission
- Aggregate Operating Budget – Spending Affordability Guidelines
In addition, the Council is scheduled to vote to approve the following resolutions:
- WSSCWater – FY24-29 Capital Improvements Program
- WSSCWater – FY24 Capital and Operating Budgets
- County Cable Communications Plan
- Resolution to establish the FY24 Property Tax Rates
- Resolution to authorize the substitution of Current Revenue for General Obligation Bonds in FY24
- Resolution to set amount of Property Tax Credit for Income Tax Offset
The Council meeting schedule may change from time to time. The current Council and Committee agendas, Council staff reports and additional information on items scheduled for Council review can be viewed at: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/COUNCIL/ondemand/index.html.
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.
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