For Immediate Release: Wednesday, March 5, 2025
The Montgomery County Council is scheduled to hold five committee meetings on Thursday, March 6. The Government Operations and Fiscal Policy (GO) Committee will meet at 9:30 a.m. to review a resolution to establish the Infrastructure Funding Workgroup.
This GO Committee meeting will be conducted on the fourth floor of the Council Office Building in the Capital Crescent Trail Conference Room.
The members of the GO Committee include Chair and Council President Kate Stewart and Councilmembers Andrew Friedson and Sidney Katz.
The Health and Human Services (HHS) Committee will meet at 9:30 a.m. to review a nearly $1.3 million supplemental appropriation for the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) State Opioid Response IV Grant and a more than $2.9 million supplemental appropriation for the DHHS Behavioral Health Crisis Stabilization Center and Mobile Crisis Team pilot. This HHS Committee meeting will be held on the seventh floor hearing room.
The members of the HHS Committee include Chair Gabe Albornoz and Councilmembers Dawn Luedtke and Laurie-Anne Sayles.
The joint HHS and Education and Culture (EC) Committee will meet at 10 a.m. to review the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Capital Budget and Amendments to the FY25-30 CIP for childcare renovation projects within the DHHS. This joint HHS and EC Committee meeting will be held on the seventh floor hearing room.
The members of the EC Committee include Chair and Council Vice President Will Jawando and Councilmembers Albornoz and Kristin Mink.
The Education and Culture (EC) Committee will meet at 1:30 p.m. to receive an update on attendance and engagement at Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS). This EC Committee meeting will be held on the seventh floor hearing room.
The Economic Development (ECON) Committee will meet at 1:30 p.m. to receive a briefing about the Incubators Non-Departmental Account (NDA) as the part of the committee’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 budget follow up.
This ECON Committee meeting will be conducted on the fourth floor of the Council Office Building in the Capital Crescent Trail Conference Room.
The members of the ECON Committee include Chair Natali Fani-González and Councilmembers Marilyn Balcombe, Evan Glass and Sayles.
More detail on each agenda item is provided below.
Resolution to Establish the Infrastructure Funding Workgroup
Review: The GO Committee will review a resolution to establish the Infrastructure Funding Workgroup, which would recommend strategies to fund infrastructure and growth-related needs in the County. The workgroup would determine and assess the County’s various infrastructure needs and research a variety of funding mechanisms for this infrastructure. The resolution would require the workgroup to meet with both developers and community members and provide opportunities for public feedback. In addition, the resolution would require the workgroup to update the GO Committee on its progress by March 2026 and submit a final report to the Council by June 30, 2026. This would allow the Council to review the final report and incorporate it into the 2028-2032 Growth and Infrastructure Policy if needed.
On Nov. 12, 2024, the Council voted to enact Expedited Bill 16-24, Development Impact Tax – Amendments, which amended the law governing transportation and school development impact taxes. During the GO Committee meetings on Bill 16-24, held on Oct. 10 and 17, 2024, the committee recognized the need for study and review of current impact taxes. The committee then recommended the formation of a workgroup to study the County’s infrastructure needs and provide recommendations on how funding for those needs can be generated.
Review: The HHS Committee will review a nearly $1.3 million supplemental appropriation for the DHHS State Opioid Response IV Grant. In 2019, the Maryland General Assembly passed legislation requiring local correctional facilities to conduct mental health and substance use assessments of each inmate to determine if Medication Assisted Treatment was required. The program’s intent is to prevent known high-risk opiate overdosing and death of returning residents post-incarceration. The grant provides funds to bring the County’s program up to the mandated minimums in standards of care and licensing requirements. The funding will provide approximately $730,000 for personnel services and $568,000 for operating expenses needed to meet these standards.
Review: The HHS Committee will review a more than $2.9 million supplemental appropriation for the DHHS Behavioral Health Crisis Stabilization Center and Mobile Crisis Team pilot. The funding is needed to increase the capacity and reach of services through additional staff and the development and implementation of the stabilization room and Crisis Center Mobile Crisis Outreach Team. Funds will be used for securing medical equipment, medications, training, staff development and consultant services. The increase will prepare the programs to become licensed and eligible for reimbursement through Maryland Medicaid.
Review: The joint HHS and EC Committee will review the FY26 Capital Budget and Amendments to the FY25-30 CIP for childcare renovation projects within DHHS. The committee will review three umbrella projects that provide for the design and construction of multiple childcare projects taking place through the six-year CIP period. The recommended changes across all three projects include adjustments to keep expenditures approximately level within the six-year period during the biennial year. The recommended amended costs involve a less than 10 percent change from the approved FY25-30 allocations with a few exceptions noted in the staff report.
The projects provide for the renovation or replacement of childcare facilities in County buildings with features that are not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In addition, the projects provide for the renovation or replacement of childcare playgrounds at existing facilities to ensure compliance with ADA laws and child care accreditation and safety standards; and the replacement of County-owned modular childcare facilities to bring these facilities into compliance with accreditation standards.
Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Attendance and Engagement
Update: The EC Committee will receive an update on attendance and engagement at MCPS. The meeting will continue the committee’s examination of MCPS programs, policies and implementation intended to address the needs of the most severely impacted students. The EC committee previously received an update on MCPS’ interventions for highly impacted groups at a meeting held on Feb. 26, 2025. The committee also received an update on attendance and truancy in a joint meeting with the Public Safety (PS) committee held on Nov. 13, 2023.
Student attendance has an impact on student achievement and graduation rates. In addition, it is an issue that disproportionally affects students receiving special education services, emerging multilingual learners and students receiving free and reduced meals. The update will include an overview of the MCPS policy on student attendance, which includes strategies to promote regular student attendance, regular analysis of attendance data, a continuum of strategies to notify parents and guardians when attendance becomes a concern and a root cause analysis problem-solving approach that is coupled with targeted interventions.
Incubators NDA FY25 Budget Follow-Up
Briefing: The ECON Committee will receive a briefing about the Incubators NDA as the part of the committee’s FY25 budget follow up. The briefing will include an overview of the performance of Incubators in FY25 and discuss strategies for strengthening and growing the County’s business incubation. This briefing is part of a series of ECON Committee meetings on the progress of departments and agencies under the committee’s jurisdiction.
The Incubators NDA provides for facility lease payments, portfolio management services, and program funding for the County's Business Innovation Network. The Innovation Network consists of three Innovation Centers located in Silver Spring, Rockville and Germantown. The NDA also supports the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence in Shady Grove, which is a partnership between the National Institutes of Technology, the state of Maryland and Montgomery County.
The Committee 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: 25-072