“Budgets are moral documents that establish our priorities, reflect our community needs and underscore our collective values,” said Council President Gabe Albornoz. “Montgomery County’s operating budget is our most significant policy document and one of the best tools to fund pivotal and essential services to improve the quality of life for County residents.
Residents are encouraged to provide feedback as the County moves through the budget process.
Residents will have the opportunity to testify both in-person and virtually via Zoom for the daytime public hearings on April 19 and 20. The evening public hearings on April 19, 20 and 21 will be conducted virtually. Residents can sign up to testify by clicking the “sign up” button for public hearings on the Council’s calendar https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/council/calendar.html
Individuals will receive a confirmation email with the appropriate instructions to participate in the meetings.
If you need help signing up, call 240-777-7803.
The registration deadline for the operating budget public hearings is April 18 at 5 p.m.
Residents can also submit written or prerecorded audio or video testimony for Councilmembers to consider throughout their budget deliberations. While this testimony will not be aired during the Council’s public hearing, all comments provided will be reviewed by Councilmembers and will be available to the public on the Council’s web page. https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/COUNCIL/PHSignUp.html#wufoo-k4vngbt1aqjs1s
The deadline to submit testimony is midnight two business days before Council action. Written testimony can also be mailed to the Montgomery County Council at 100 Maryland Ave., Rockville, Md. 20850.
The Fiscal Year 2023 Recommended Operating Budget totals $6.3 billion. County Executive Marc Elrich presented his recommended operating budget to the Council on March 15, 2022. During the next two months, the Council will analyze these recommendations and is scheduled to adopt the FY23 County budget in late May. The budget will take effect on July 1.
The public hearings will be available via streaming on the Council’s Facebook (@MontgomeryCountyMdCouncil) or YouTube (@MoCoCouncilMD) pages or the Council website at https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/COUNCIL/OnDemand/index.html.
For residents who are not English dominant, arrangements for interpretation services can be made for testifying by contacting Lucia Jimenez at Lucia.Jimenez@montgomerycountymd.gov or calling 240-777- 7832. Requests for interpretation services must be made three working days prior to the Council public hearing date.
Comments and suggestions are welcome online at http://tinyurl.com/zrbwh5v; via email at county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov; by sending regular mail to County Council, 100 Maryland Ave., Rockville, Md. 20850; or by calling the Council’s budget hotline at 240-777-7802. Residents can also provide comments on the operating budget via social media using #MoCoFY23.
Information on the County's 2023 operating budget can be found at: https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/omb/publications.html