This month the Mongomery Council Council will begin Public Hearings on the FY2023 Operating Budget which will occur from April 19th to April 21st. On March 15th Montgomery County, Executive Marc Elrich released his recommendation for the Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) Operating Budget. This year's budget request is $6.3 billion, which is a 5.7 percent increase from the County's FY2022 all funds budget. This year's budget is notable for its record investments for Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), Montgomery College, affordable housing, economic development, public safety, and its efforts to combat climate change.
A full summary of the budget can be found in the Council's press release which can be found here. Highlights from the report include:
Public Schools & Services for Children:
Largest Budget EVER for Montgomery County Public Schools if approved - $2.9 billion - $147.6 million increase from FY22
$117.4 million ABOVE the State’s Maintenance of Effort Requirement
Funds 99 percent of the Montgomery County Board of Education’s Request.
Support for Individuals and Families:
$5.5 million total programming dollars across County government to support newly arriving migrant and asylum-seeking children, adolescents, and a families
Significant funding increases for the African American Health Program ($2.9 million) Latino Health Initiative ($2.2 million), and Asian American Health Initiative ($1.2 million)
$2.6 million for the Guaranteed Income Pilot Program once approved
Environmental Sustainability & Climate Change:
$18.6 million in new funds for the Montgomery County Green Bank
New $1 million program to provide incentives for residential, multifamily, and commercial buildings to replace fossil fuel equipment and appliances with electric ones
Transportation and Transit
Restores Ride On service and Call-N-Ride to pre-pandemic levels and maintains Bikeshare program
Reduces regular fares on all Ride On routes by one-half, bringing the cost of most Ride On trips to $1
Aggressively moves forward with a transition to a zero-emissions County fleet by providing $1.8 million to replace fossil-fueled County vehicles with zero-emission vehicles (this is in addition to the funding included in the capital budget to move to a zero-emissions bus fleet)
Enhanced funding for installation and support for the County’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure
Affordable Housing
$57 million for the Montgomery Housing Initiative operating budget
$42.7 million for existing capital projects
Public Safety:
Police Department
Enhances police recruitment and retention by strengthening the competitiveness of police compensation in relation to neighboring jurisdictions
Expands the police recruitment unit to attract top talent
Adds three civilian staff to support Public Information Act requests
Adds two sworn positions to support random review of police footage
$75,000 to purchase non-lethal pepper-ball guns
Leverages funds from the State's Emergency Service Transporter Supplemental Payment Program to:
Expand the Mobile Integrated Health Program to address the needs of frequent 911 callers
Funds two new positions to expand mental health services for fire and rescue personnel
Libraries and Recreation:
Montgomery County Public Libraries (MCPL)
$1.5 million in additional funding to fill additional librarian positions to support additional hours and improve customer service
$900,000 in additional funds to purchase eBooks to reduce wait times for residents seeking information
Community Partners:
New Office of Grants Management is established
$8.2 million for community grants in the Community Grants Non-Departmental Account
$3 million for capital cost-sharing community grants
Effective and Sustainable Government:
$2.3 million increase for Board of Elections for general election support
$2.5 million to fully fund the recommendation for the Public Elections Fund
If you would like to sign up to testify at the April Budget Public Hearings you can do so by going to this link.
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