For Immediate Release: Thursday, April 11, 2024
The Economic Development (ECON) Committee will meet on Friday, April 12 at 9:30 a.m. to review the FY25 Operating Budget for the Department of Permitting Services (DPS), WorkSource Montgomery Non-Departmental Account (NDA) and the UM3 – Institute for Health Computing NDA.
The members of the ECON Committee include Chair Natali Fani-González and Councilmembers Marilyn Balcombe, Evan Glass and Laurie-Anne Sayles.
More detail on each agenda item is provided below.
Department of Permitting Services FY25 Operating Budget
Review: The ECON Committee will review the more than $45.3 million FY25 Operating Budget for DPS, which represents an increase of more than $3.7 million, or 8.9 percent, from the approved FY24 Operating Budget. DPS is Montgomery County’s agency for reviewing and approving permits for building and construction activity and providing compliance and enforcement efforts. As an enterprise fund, DPS pays for the services it provides through the revenue it collects in the form of fees and charges related to the development process and does not receive general fund tax revenues. For FY25, the County Executive estimates revenues will exceed $50 million, while expenditures will total more than $45 million.
Review: The ECON Committee will review the County Executive’s recommended $2.4 million WorkSource Montgomery NDA, which is an increase of $427,438, or 21 percent, from the approved amount in the FY24 Operating Budget. This NDA was created in FY17 to fund the County’s designated workforce development corporation. WorkSource Montgomery is the county’s fiscal agent responsible for local administration of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and coordination of the public workforce development system in Montgomery County.
UM3 - Institute for Health Computing NDA
Review: The ECON Committee will review the County Executive’s recommended $6.3 million UM3 – Institute for Health Computing NDA, which is an increase of $2.6 million, or 70 percent, from the approved amount in the FY24 Operating Budget. The increase is due to the addition of $1.3 million in funding delayed from FY24, in addition to $5 million in annual funding committed by the Council through FY29, for a total of $6.3 million in funding for FY25.
Montgomery County initially provided $15 million in seed funding for the Institute in Nov. 2022 and committed to contributing $5 million annually toward the cost of operations for 5 years beginning in FY24. This represents a total of $40 million in contributions expected through FY29, at which point the Institute is expected to be self-supporting.
In the FY24 Operating Budget, the Council approved $3.7 million of the expected $5 million, delaying $1.3 million in estimated lease payments until the Institute found a suitable location. The institute identified office space in North Bethesda, signed a lease in Dec. 2023 and entered the space in Jan. 2024. The recommended NDA in the FY25 Operating Budget restores the delayed $1.3 million in lease payments from FY24 and provides the full $5 million in annual funding the County committed to provide from FY24 through FY29.
The UM3 Institute for Health Computing is exploring how artificial intelligence, machine learning and clinical analytics can facilitate knowledge discovery for human health and wellbeing. It is being developed through a partnership with the County, the University of Maryland, Baltimore, the University of Maryland, College Park, and the University of Maryland Medical System Corporation.
The Committee 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: 24-141