Montgomery County Council Approves Fiscal Year 2023 Operating Budget and FY23-28 Capital Improvements Program

For Immediate Release: Thursday, May 26, 2022

County Executive Elrich Touts ‘Rock-Solid’ Budget Featuring Record Funding for Education, Affordable Housing and Efforts to Combat Climate Change

The Montgomery County Council unanimously voted today to approve the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Operating Budget and FY23-28 Capital Improvements Program. The Council agreed with 99.8 percent of County Executive Marc Elrich’s budget recommendations and approved $6.3 billion in the operating budget and $5.3 billion in the capital budget. The approved budget is a 6.2 percent increase from the FY22 approved budget without any tax rate increases. The FY23 operating budget will go into effect on July 1.

“This is a rock-solid budget and, for the first time in over a decade, we were able to fully fund our most pressing priorities,” said County Executive Elrich. “I want to thank the County Council for its hard work, diligence and input. All of us are focused on improving education, expanding affordable housing opportunities, enhancing public safety, combatting climate change and committed to equity. This FY23 budget will also grow our reserves, helps preserve our AAA bond rating and provides improved compensation for our employees. This budget makes historic investments while not raising taxes on our residents during these volatile economic times. Additionally, the FY23-28 CIP assumes $868 million in State aid—a $342 million increase over last year. We are very appreciative and grateful to our State Senate and House delegations for their efforts to achieve this significant level of State aid.

The budget makes significant community investments while also—for the first time—meeting the County’s aggressive revenues reserve target. And, importantly, the FY23 budget was developed while considering the impacts on climate change and addressing racial equity and social justice.

Highlights of the FY23 Operating Budget:

• Largest Budget EVER for Montgomery County Public Schools: $2.9 billion – a $137.9 million increase from FY22
  • $117.4 million ABOVE the State’s Maintenance of Effort Requirement
  • Funds 100 percent of Student Needs (99 percent of the school board’s request)
  • Includes funding for the High School Wellness Initiative
• Provides initial funding for Montgomery College’s East County Education Center
• Record funding for climate change initiatives including:
  • $18.6 million in new funds for the Montgomery County Green Bank
  • New $1 million program to provide incentives for residential, multifamily and commercial buildings to replace fossil fuel equipment and appliances with electric ones
  • More than $1 million to support the implementation of the Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS) program to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in public and private multifamily and commercial buildings
• Highest level of funding in County history for affordable housing
• Enhances police recruitment and retention by strengthening the competitiveness of police compensation in relation to neighboring jurisdictions while expanding the police recruitment unit to attract top talent
• Significant enhancements for individuals and families to create food security, financial and housing stability and more inclusive prosperity
• Additional investments in economic development and workforce training

FY23-28 Capital Improvement Budget Highlights Include:

• Total capital investments exceed $5.26 billion over the six-year period - $949 million over the prior CIP
• $1.77 billion for Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) capital projects over the six-year period
  • $55 million more than was requested by the Board of Education
• $335.8 million for Montgomery College projects
  • Includes initial funding for new Montgomery College East County Education Center
• $459.1 million for Bus Rapid Transit
  • $438.1 million for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) projects along MD355 and Veirs Mill Road
  • Construction of BRT Route along MD355 from Rockville to Germantown to extend fast, high-capacity transit for communities not served by Metrorail, with additional funding for designing the remaining portions (Rockville to Bethesda and Germantown to Clarksburg)
• $139.4 million FY23 funding for affordable housing projects. The CIP also includes:
  • $157 million for affordable housing acquisition and preservation investments over the next six years - $22 million each year with $25 million in additional funding in FY24-26
  • In conjunction with a $14.8 million supplemental--$36 million will be available over the next 18 months to support affordable housing projects
  • $20 million for the Affordable Housing Opportunity Fund – a $6 million increase
  • $8.2 million to support Housing Opportunities Commission projects
  • A new Affordable Living Quarters project to provide permanent, affordable housing to very low-income households
  • $40 million of new funding to preserve Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing
• White Oak and White Flint Redevelopment public-private partnerships

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Media contact: Scott Peterson, 240-255-8462

Release ID: 22-320
Media Contact: Scott Peterson 240-255-8462
Categories: Budget