The Montgomery County Council issued the following statement after County Executive Marc Elrich transmitted his recommendations for the County’s $6 billion Fiscal Year 2022 Recommended Operating Budget to the Council:

This past year has been unlike any other and the County Executive’s recommended operating budget provides a strong starting point for the Council’s work on the final County budget for fiscal year 2022. The Council appreciates the hard work by the County Executive and his staff for putting together a budget of this scale and complexity during an unprecedented time.

Now, the Council begins its process of carefully evaluating the County services that are vital to relief efforts for our residents and investing in essential services that will spur economic recovery while maintaining reserves and holding the line on taxes. Some of the shared priorities in the recommended operating budget include: fully funding the budgets for Montgomery County Public Schools and Montgomery College, making significant investments in affordable housing and early care and education, reimagining public safety by enhancing mental health services and crisis response, supporting safety net services and ramping up funding for the Earned Income Tax Credit that will put more money in the pockets of our residents.

We recognize what a difficult year this has been for business owners, public health professionals and all of our residents. We will be taking all of this into consideration these next two months, as we finalize a budget that will make the investments necessary to restore our public health and put our County on the road to financial recovery.

This budget funds many of the needs in our community, thanks in part to the more than $203.7 million coming to Montgomery County Government through the American Rescue Plan, with another $100 million going to Montgomery County municipalities. The Council is incredibly grateful to our federal delegation for working so closely with us this past year, listening to our needs and working hard to pass the American Rescue Plan. Now it’s our job to make sure this new budget allows us to thrive in the coming year and sets our County up for long-term success.

The Council will work collaboratively with Executive staff and community members throughout this review. We also look forward to hearing from our residents during the budget process.”

Some of the shared priorities in the recommended operating budget include: fully funding the budgets for Montgomery County Public Schools and Montgomery College; making significant investments in affordable housing and early care and education; reimagining public safety by enhancing mental health services and crisis response; supporting safety net services; and ramping up funding for the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Get Involved

The Council’s public hearings on the operating budget are scheduled for April 6, 7 and 8. Those interested in testifying at the public hearings can sign up online starting March 19 at https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/COUNCIL/PHSignUp.html or by calling 240-777-7803. The Council also encourages residents to use #MoCoBudget2022 to communicate their views on the budget via social media.