Montgomery College FY23 Operating Budget and FY23-28 CIP Amendments Follow-up Review: The Council will review the FY23 Operating Budget for Montgomery College. The recommended FY23 budget for Montgomery College is more than $321 million, which is an increase of 2.8 percent from the FY22 approved budget. The college’s budget assumes no tuition increase and more than $55 million in state aid funding. In addition to an overview of the operating budget, the committee will discuss a summary of the Board of Trustee’s request and County Executive’s budget recommendation, COVID-19 relief funding, racial equity information, enrollment trends, tuition revenue, employee compensation and benefits. In addition, the committee will discuss current funding for the East County Education Center. The E&C Committee reviewed this budget at a meeting held on April 25 and recommends a total appropriation of more than $321 million, fully funding the College’s request. In addition, the Committee recommends a County Contribution of more than $147 million which is a $2 million increase over Maintenance of Effort (MOE) and the approved FY22 budget. The Committee also added two tranches of $500,000 each to the reconciliation list. Montgomery County Public Schools FY23 Operating Budget and FY23-28 CIP Amendments Review: The Council will review the FY23 Operating Budget and FY23-28 CIP for Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS). The recommended FY23 budget for MCPS is more than $2.9 billion, which is an increase of 5.3 percent from the FY22 approved budget. On April 20, the E&C Committee received an overview of MCPS’ FY23 Operating Budget as requested by the Board of Education and recommended by the County Executive. The E&C Committee reviewed the budget at a meeting held on April 29 and unanimously recommends a total appropriation of $2.9 billion with a County contribution of $1.8 billion. In addition, the Committee unanimously recommended approval of the County Executive’s affordability reconciliation current revenue reductions impacting the technology modernization project. Department of Recreation FY23 Operating Budget Review: The Council will review the FY23 Operating Budget for the Department of Recreation. The recommended FY23 budget for the department is more than $55 million, which is an increase of more than $6.4 million or 13.3 percent from the FY22 approved budget. The Planning, Housing and Economic Development (PHED) Committee reviewed this budget at a meeting held on April 27 and recommended a reduction of $782,057 to the Department’s FY23 Operating Budget attributable to an increase in the department’s lapse assumption, which is derived from the unspent personnel costs averaged from the last three fiscal years. The Committee also recommended approval of service increases recommended by the County Executive which include: enhanced seniors programs and senior program support, the acquisition of a wheelchair-accessible vehicle for the department’s senior programs, funding for independence day fireworks displays in Germantown and Wheaton, and the opening of the South County Regional Recreation and Aquatic Center. Recreation – School Based Programs, Out-of-School Time Programs, and Skills for the Future Review: The Council will review the FY23 Operating Budget for school-based programs and out-of-school time programs. The recommended FY23 budget for these programs is more than $22 million, which is 12.3% more than the FY22 approved budget. The joint PHED and E&C Committee reviewed this budget at a meeting held on April 27 and recommended adding parent engagement programming for new or recently adding a base budget for Excel Beyond the Bell (EBB) elementary sites, funding to support the continuation of PLAYMontgomery and implementation of Girls Sports Leagues, support for the KID Museum to provide expanded Out-of-School Time programming, continue funding for six youth services added by special appropriation in response to the pandemic, expand RecZone at two high schools, expand EBB Elementary to two additional schools, continue funding for Bienvenidos Newcomers Services, and approval of the Executive’s proposed FY23 funding for the Skills for the Future NDA. The joint Committee has long been concerned about the importance of quality out-of-school time (OST) to support healthy youth development. Because of the negative impact of social isolation and disrupted schooling from the COVID-19 pandemic on County youth, particularly Black and Brown youth and youth from families with low incomes, the joint Committee has supported the expansion of quality OST programming to counter some of the negative effects of the pandemic. Police Accountability Board Review: The Council will review the FY23 Operating Budget for the Police Accountability Board (PAB) NDA. The recommended FY23 budget for the PAB is $504,982. The PAB was created under Bill 49-21, Police – Police Accountability Board – Administrative Charging Committee – Established. The PAB and the Administrative Charging Committee (ACC) must be fully staffed and operating by July 1, 2022. The County Executive initially included $100,510 in his March 15 Recommended FY23 Operating Budget submission, reflecting its initial fiscal impact of the bill as introduced. The bill was later amended to provide compensation for both ACC members and certain PAB members and specified that the PAB must be appropriately staffed. The Executive submitted to subsequent budget amendments bringing total funding to $504,982. The Public Safety (PS) Committee reviewed this budget at a meeting held on April 25 and recommended approval as amended by the County Executive. Libraries FY23 Operating Budget Review: The Council will review the FY23 Operating Budget for Montgomery County Public Libraries (MCPL). The recommended FY23 budget for MCPL is $42.7 million, which is an increase of 7.4 percent from the FY22 approved budget. The E&C Committee reviewed this budget at a meeting held on April 25 and recommended approval as amended by the County Executive with the addition of $320,000 to the public libraries base budget. The E&C Committee reviewed this budget at a meeting held on April 25 and recommended approval as amended by the County Executive with the addition of $320,000 to the public libraries base budget. After Committee review, Councilmember Jawando requested a change to the Montgomery County Public Libraries capital budget associated with the Chevy Chase Library refresh project. He recommends that the Council redesignate the more than $5.8 million proposed in FY26-27 for the refresh project to instead be used for a PDF for a replacement facility to include affordable housing. Office of Grants Management FY23 Operating Budget Review: The Council will review the FY23 Operating Budget for the Office of Grants Management. The Office of Grants Management is a new non-principal office that will launch on July 1, 2022. The recommended FY23 budget includes funding three FTEs and office operating expenses totaling $341,309 comprising of a Director of the Office of Grants Management ($152,117), Grants Seeking Program Manager II ($89,596), Grants Distribution Program Manager II ($89,596), and office operating expenses ($10,000). The joint GO and HHS Committee held a meeting on May 11 to review this budget and recommends approving the Office of Grants Management budget as submitted. CIP: Cost Sharing MCG Review: The Council will review the FY23-28 CIP for Cost Sharing MCG. This project provides funds for the development of non-governmental projects in conjunction with public agencies or the private sector. County participation leverages private and other public funds for these facilities. Prior to disbursing funds, the relevant County department or agency and the private organization will develop a memorandum of understanding, which specifies the requirements and responsibilities of each. The staff report with specific recommendations for Cost Sharing capital grants will be available on Thursday, May 12. Community Grants NDA Review: The Council will review the Community Grants NDA, which provides one-time grants directly to organizations in the community. These community organizations are critical to an effective network of services and are often able to provide these services in a more cost-effective, culturally appropriate and flexible way than County Government. They are also able to leverage community resources that may be unavailable to the County Government. The staff report will be available on Thursday, May 12. |