For Immediate Release: Tuesday, April 18, 2023
The Government Operations and Fiscal Policy (GO) Committee will meet at 9:30 a.m. to review the FY24 Operating Budget for the Community Engagement Cluster, the Public Information Office, MC311 and the Merit System Protection Board.
The members of the GO Committee include Chair Kate Stewart, Council Vice President Andrew Friedson and Councilmember Sidney Katz.
The Education and Culture (EC) Committee will meet at 1 p.m. to discuss the FY24 Operating Budget for Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS).
The members of the EC Committee include Chair Will Jawando and Councilmembers Gabe Albornoz and Kristin Mink.
The GO Committee will also meet at 1:30 p.m. for its second meeting on compensation and benefits for all agencies and collective bargaining agreements.
More detail on each agenda item is provided below.
Community Engagement Cluster FY24 Operating Budget
Review: The GO Committee will review the FY24 Recommended Operating Budget for the Community Engagement Cluster, which is more than $8.8 million. This is an increase of more than $1.2 million or a 16.6 percent increase from the FY23 Approved Budget.
The Community Engagement Cluster includes the five Regional Services Centers, the Commission for Women and the Office of Community Partnerships, which includes the Gilchrist Immigrant Resource Center, and the Montgomery County Volunteer Center. The organization utilizes a shared administrative management model with business services, administrative support and facilities shared among these programs.
Office of Public Information FY24 Operating Budget
Review: The GO Committee will review the FY24 Operating Budget for the Office of Public Information, which is more than $7.1 million. This is an increase of $423,108 or nearly 6.3 percent from the FY23 Approved budget. The mission of the Office of Public Information is to provide timely, accurate and effective communication to the public. The office works with the County Executive, departments and agencies, media, County employees, the County Council and other elected officials, businesses, civic groups and the Montgomery County community.
Review: The GO Committee will review the FY24 Operating Budget for MC311, which is a program within the Office of Public Information. The FY24 Recommended Operating Budget is more than $4.9 million, which is an increase of $393,173 or 8.6 percent from the FY23 approved budget. MC311 provides the public with a single three-digit number to call for County information and service from anywhere within Montgomery County. MC311 is the County's main hub for customer service.
Merit System Protection Board FY24 Operating Budget
Review: The GO Committee will review the FY24 Operating Budget for the Merit System Protection Board, which is $688,031. This is an increase of $15,479 or 2.3 percent from the FY23 Approved Budget. The Merit System Protection Board oversees the merit system and protects employee and job applicant rights guaranteed under the merit system law.
Montgomery County Public Schools FY24 Operating Budget
Review: The EC Committee will review the FY24 Operating Budget for MCPS. The County Executive recommended a total MCPS FY24 Operating Budget of more than $3.2 billion which is an increase of $288.5 million or 9.9 percent above the approved FY23 funding level. The Executive recommended 99.8 percent of the Board of Education’s request or $7.5 million less than the Board’s requested budget.
The County Executive’s budget proposes a 10 percent property tax increase to generate an additional $223.3 million in FY24, which would be the County’s first property tax increase since FY17, with each one cent increase equivalent to $22.3 million in revenue. The Executive’s recommendation allocates the full amount of this proposed tax increase to support the requested increase in local funding for MCPS. A provision in state law allows local counties to exceed Charter limits on taxes for the purpose of funding the local school system.
FY24 Compensation and Benefits for All Agencies and Collective Bargaining Agreements
Review: The GO Committee will continue its review of compensation and benefits for all County-funded agencies and provisions of County government employee collective bargaining agreements. The Committee previously held a meeting on April 14 to review these items.
Agreements before the Council for FY24 include the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), the Municipal and County Government Employees Organization (MCGEO) and the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF). On or before May 1, unless the Council extends this deadline, the Council must indicate by resolution its intention to appropriate funds for each agreement.
The Committee will also review compensation adjustments outside of the collective bargaining agreements and FY24 allocations for group insurance, FY24 allocations for retirement and FY24 compensation-related non-departmental accounts.
County-funded agencies have requested tax supported FY24 operating budgets with a combined $4.2 billion for compensation, which is a nine percent increase from the approved FY23 Operating Budget. Across the four County-funded agencies, employee compensation costs comprise about 70 percent of all agency expenditures. The cost of government is driven by both the number of employees and the cost per employee.
The Committee meeting schedule may change from time to time. The current Council and Committee agendas, Council staff reports and additional information on items scheduled for Council review can be viewed at: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/COUNCIL/ondemand/index.html.
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.