Press Releases - County Council

Montgomery County Charter Review Commission to Hold Virtual and In-Person Public Listening Sessions on Potential Charter Amendments

For Immediate Release: Thursday, October 30, 2025

From the Montgomery County Charter Review Commission

ROCKVILLE, Md., Oct. 30, 2025—The Montgomery County Charter Review Commission will hold two public listening sessions with the public on November 19, 2025, to receive input on the matters discussed below concerning potential amendments to the County Charter. Public comments can also be submitted in writing.

One listening session will be held in-person in the Council Office Building in Rockville on Wednesday, November 19, 2025, from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. The in-person session will be recorded so that the public can view it online afterward. A second listening session will be held virtually on November 19, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., which will also be recorded and posted online.  Details on how to participate are provided below.  

Topics for the Listening Sessions

The Montgomery County Charter is the constitution of the County government. As provided in the Charter, the Charter Review Commission is an 11-member multi-partisan body appointed by the County Council in coordination with the County Executive, to study and recommend changes to the Charter. The Commission’s recommendations may lead to proposed amendments being placed by the Council on the ballot to be voted upon by registered voters.

As a best practice, governments must maintain adequate fund balances to mitigate current and future risks (e.g., revenue shortfalls and unanticipated expenditures) and to promote stable tax rates. Fund balance levels are an important consideration in long-term financial planning. Credit rating agencies monitor levels of fund balance and the unrestricted fund balance in a government’s general fund to evaluate a government’s continued creditworthiness.

The Commission is seeking public input on the need for and the potential benefits of amending the County’s Charter to address how the County government manages budget reserves.  Specifically, the Commission seeks public input on whether to revise the Charter to address three areas:

• Minimum Reserve Requirement: Should the County Charter be revised to establish a mandatory minimum threshold for surplus funds or total budget reserves, to ensure fiscal stability and preparedness for unforeseen expenditures? Currently, the Charter contains no target for minimum reserves although the Council has enacted legislation creating such a target and adopted a fiscal policy to implement that law. The Charter, in Section 310, specifies only a maximum for the amount of unappropriated surplus that may be in the Unrestricted General Fund, which is 5 percent of the previous year’s revenues. Section 310 allows, but does not mandate that the Council establish additional reserves by creating a surplus in funds other than the General Fund.
  • The Council has established by legislation a Revenue Stabilization Fund (“RSF”) for reserves in addition to any surplus in the General Fund. The County Code requires that annual contributions be made to the RSF as needed to attain total budget reserves of 10% of the preceding year’s governmental revenues. In addition, the Council has adopted Resolution 19-753 stating its policy for the establishment and use of the County Government Reserves and other fiscal policies to ensure budget flexibility and structural stability.
  • If a minimum reserve requirement is added to the Charter, that requirement would not be subject to repeal or weakening in future legislation enacted by the Council as a reaction to temporary fiscal pressure because changing the Charter’s reserve requirement would need voter approval.
• Access Protocols: Should the Charter be revised to define a formalized process or set of criteria governing the conditions under which reserve funds may be accessed, as a means to promote transparency and accountability in fiscal decision-making?
• Risk Management Review: Should the Charter be revised to require the County to conduct regular, periodic risk management assessments to inform reserve policy and ensure that fiscal planning adequately accounts for emerging risks and potential liabilities?

Details on Public Participation

Members of the public are invited to share their views on the subjects described above either in-person or during an online session. Written comments are also welcome. The in-person listening session will be held on Wednesday, November 19, 2025, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Council Office Building, located at 100 Maryland Ave., Rockville, MD. The hearing will be held on the 3rd floor.  To register to speak at the in-person listening session, please sign up by clicking here: CRC in-person registration.

If you have a prepared written statement, which is not necessary, please bring courtesy copies to share with the Commissioners or send a copy of the statement by email to [email protected].

A remote, virtual listening session will also be held on Wednesday November 19, 2025 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.  If you would like to speak at the remote virtual session, you must preregister at least two business days in advance of the listening session using CRC virtual registration, or you may call 240-777-7905 to register. If you have not preregistered, the Commission cannot guarantee that you will be able to speak at the session. 

If you would like to attend the virtual session without speaking, please use the following link to login to the virtual meeting: CRC virtual zoom link.

The Commission is required to submit a report to the County Council on its activities in every even-numbered year, on or before May 1. The report may include the Commission’s recommendations for possible Charter revisions, if any.  Those recommendations can lead to proposed Charter amendments being adopted by the Council and submitted for voter approval at the next election.

The Commission presented its previous report to the Council on April 24, 2024.  Previous reports of the Charter Review Commission, the minutes and recordings of prior meetings, and a link that can be used to access a copy of the County Charter can be viewed on the Commission’s webpage using this link.

Questions about registration can be addressed to Stephen Mathany via email at [email protected] or by phone at 240-777-7905.

Residents wishing to participate and needing accessibility accommodations or translation services must email Lucia Jimenez at [email protected] at least two business days in advance of the listening session.

All speakers at each of the Listening Sessions will have three minutes to speak. If you have spoken at a previous listening session, you may be placed at the end of the queue to speak again.

Members of the public are welcome to submit written comments to the Charter Review Commission by email to: [email protected].

Comments sent by postal mail should be addressed to:

Charter Review Commission

Council Office Building

100 Maryland Ave., 6^th Floor

Rockville, MD  20850

If a listening session is canceled due to inclement weather, please submit written comments. Emergency closure information is available at: https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/cupf/info-cupf/emergency.html. 

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Release ID: 25-363
Media Contact: Stephen Mathany 240-777-7905