For Immediate Release: Monday, April 28, 2025
The Montgomery County Council will meet on Tuesday, April 29 at 9 a.m., and the meeting will begin with three proclamation presentations. The first, presented by the Economic Development (ECON) Committee with County Executive Marc Elrich, will recognize Building Safety Month. The second, presented by Councilmembers Sidney Katz, Andrew Friedson and Evan Glass will recognize Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day). The third, presented by the Transportation and Environment (TE) Committee, will recognize Earth Month.
The joint Education and Culture (EC) and Planning, Housing and Parks (PHP) Committee will meet at 2 p.m. to review the Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) Operating Budgets for the Historical Activities NDA and school-based programs and the County’s Out-of-School-Time System within the Department of Recreation.
The TE Committee will meet at 2 p.m. to review an FY26 resolution on transportation fees, charges, and fares and the FY26 Operating Budget for the Department of Transportation’s mass transit fund.
More detail on each agenda item is provided below.
The Council will hold the following hybrid public hearing at 9:45 a.m. Residents can visit the Council website to learn about the multiple ways to provide testimony.
Compensation and Benefits for All Agencies
Review and vote expected: The Council will review and is expected to vote on FY26 compensation and benefits for all County agencies. County-funded agencies have requested tax-supported FY26 Operating Budgets with a combined $4.8 billion for compensation, which represents a 9.5 percent increase from FY25. This includes the net cost of all recommended FY26 pay adjustments and benefit cost increases; the annualized cost of FY25 compensation enhancements; the net increase in positions; lapse and turnover savings; and changes in retiree health costs. Across County-funded agencies, employee compensation costs comprise 72 percent of all tax-supported agency expenditures within the County Executive’s more than $6.6 billion recommended tax-supported FY26 Operating Budget.
Review and vote expected: The Council will review and is expected to vote on resolutions to indicate the Council’s intent to approve or reject provisions of County government employee collective bargaining agreements. Unless the Council extends this deadline, the Council must indicate by resolution its intention to appropriate funds for each collective bargaining agreement for FY26 on or before May 1. The agreements before the Council for FY26 are with the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), the Municipal and County Government Employees Organization (MCGEO) and the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF).
The GO Committee unanimously recommends approval.
Expedited Bill 2-25, Taxation - Payments in Lieu of Taxes - Affordable Housing Amendments
Vote expected: The Council is expected to vote to reenact Expedited Bill 2-25, Taxation - Payments in Lieu of Taxes - Affordable Housing Amendments, which the Council voted to approve on April 8. The legislation was subsequently vetoed by County Executive Elrich on April 21. Under the County Charter, the Council may override the Executive’s disapproval if seven Councilmembers vote to reenact the bill within 60 days after the Executive’s disapproval.
Expedited Bill 2-25 would require the director of the Department of Finance to offer a payment in lieu of taxes for a residential development resulting from the conversion of a property that was designated for commercial use but had at least a 50 percent vacancy rate at the time of the development application.
To be eligible for the payment in lieu of taxes, the conversion of the property must comply with the requirements set forth in companion Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) 25-02, ZTA 25-03 and Subdivision Regulation Amendment (SRA) 25-01, and provide for a certain percentage of affordable housing units. The bill would require the payment in lieu of taxes that would exempt 100 percent of the real property tax that would otherwise be levied for a period of 20 years. Additionally, 17.5 percent of the dwelling units must remain restricted to households earning 60 percent or less of the area median income.
Councilmembers Friedson and Natali Fani-González are the lead sponsors of Bill 2-25. Councilmembers Dawn Luedtke, Marilyn Balcombe, Laurie-Anne Sayles and Council President Kate Stewart are cosponsors of Bill 2-25.
Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) 25-05, Development Standards - Optional Method Public Benefits
Introduction: The PHP Committee will introduce ZTA 25-05, Development Standards - Optional Method Public Benefits, which would update the public benefit system in the Commercial/Residential and Employment Zones. ZTA 25-05 would create new optional method public benefits using a tiered system that is more closely tied to Floor Area Ratio (FAR) than the prior point system, with categories that have been updated to align with County policy priorities.
The County has had a public benefits point system since 2010, which allows developers to receive additional approved density in exchange for providing certain public benefits in the Commercial/Residential and Employment Zones. In October 2024, the Planning Department completed an Incentive Zoning Update, which included recommendations designed to update the public benefits point system. The update takes into consideration recent County policies and initiatives, such as Thrive Montgomery 2050, the Climate Action Plan and implementation of the County’s Racial Equity and Social Justice Act.
The PHP Committee reviewed the proposal at meetings held on Dec. 2 and Dec. 9, 2024. The PHP Committee recommends introduction of ZTA 25-05 to implement the proposal. A public hearing is scheduled for June 10.
Resolution to Increase County Income Tax Rate
Introduction: At the request of the County Executive, the Council will introduce a resolution to change the County income tax rate for Tax Year 2025 (Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2025) to 3.3 percent. The Council sets the County income tax rate by resolution. The current income tax rate of 3.2 percent was set by the Council on May 14, 2003.
The Council must act before May 15, 2025, if it elects to increase the income tax rate with an effective date for Tax Year 2025 as required by the state’s enacted Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act of 2025. According to Maryland Code, as amended by the General Assembly on April 7, 2025, through House Bill 352, the County may increase the County income tax to 3.3 percent of an individual’s Maryland taxable income for a taxable year beginning after Dec. 31, 2024.
The Government and Operations and Fiscal Policy (GO) Committee is scheduled to review the fiscal impacts from the proposed resolution and alternatives on May 1, 2025. A public hearing is scheduled for May 13.
Each item on the Council’s Consent Calendar can be found on the Council agenda for Tuesday, April 29, which is available on the Council website.
The joint EC and PHP Committee will meet at 2 p.m. to review the FY26 Operating Budgets for the Historical Activities NDA and school-based programs and the County’s Out-of-School-Time System within the Department of Recreation.
The members of the EC Committee include Chair and Vice President Will Jawando and Councilmembers Gabe Albornoz and Kristin Mink.
The members of the PHP Committee include Chair Friedson, Councilmember Fani-González and Vice President Jawando.
The TE Committee will meet at 2 p.m. to review an FY26 resolution on transportation fees, charges, and fares, and review the FY26 Operating Budget for the Department of Transportation’s mass transit fund.
The members of the TE Committee include Chair Glass, Councilmember Balcombe and Council President Stewart.
More details about the agenda items for each committee meeting can be found below.
The joint EC and PHP Committee will review the FY26 Operating Budgets for the following items:
The TE Committee will review the FY26 Operating Budgets for the following items:
The Council 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: 25-142