As the Montgomery County councilmembers continue seeking ways to reduce the proposed fiscal 2027 operating budget and its 6.3% property tax increase, Council President Natali Fani-González announced a plan Friday calling for “a fundamentally different approach.”
County Executive Marc Elrich has proposed an $8 billion operating budget that includes both a property tax increase and a rise in the county income tax rate from 3.2% to 3.3%.
The proposal faces strong pushback from a majority of councilmembers, many who have vowed not to raise taxes or fees.
Fani-González, instead, unveiled a proposed progressive income tax structure, with rates ranging from 2.5% to 3.3%. She said that would provide tax relief to about 96% of households, while residents earning more than $300,000 would pay “slightly more.”
Under her proposal, Montgomery County Public Schools would receive $90 million more in local funding than the previous year, but not the full amount the county executive proposed. Elrich’s proposal allocated a $189.9 million increase, which would fully fund the MCPS budget and then some.
Fani-González suggested reducing MCPS’ budget request by $59 million.
“This is not a cut. All told, MCPS would still receive a 3.8% increase year-over-year increase in local funding,” she noted, in reference to the aforementioned $90 million. “MCPS will be receiving more funds this year compared to last year, yet it will not be as high as they requested because we cannot afford it,” she said in a statement.
Her proposal includes a uniform 2% general wage adjustment for compensation for employees. This flat rate enables all county employees to receive salary increases “while helping eliminate an increase to the property tax,” she wrote.
“The proposal targets strategic savings spread proportionally across County agencies, including:
- Montgomery County government;
- Montgomery County Public Schools;
- Montgomery College and;
- the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission
The adjustments would be made according to the budget size of each agency, Fani-González stated.
Fani-González said her proposal was shaped by conversations with residents.
“It has become clear to me that we need to chart a fundamentally new course with this budget. To put it mildly, the County Executive’s budget misses the mark across so many dimensions that we cannot let inertia take
hold and simply make minor adjustments. The time for bold, progressive action is now. Not next year or the following.”
Her plan eliminates the 6.3 cent property tax increase and slows spending growth “while protecting the social safety net services for our most vulnerable residents.”
She also wants to eliminate the Income Tax Offset Credit and the Working Families Income Supplement.
“My proposal would give relief to 100% of those earning less than $50,000,” she wrote.
According to Fani-González, the plan “would generate just over $82 million of one-time resources in FY27.”
She proposed using $50 million of the $82 million resources “to bolster reserves, helping address our structural deficit and strengthening our triple-A bond rating. The remaining $32 million becomes available for one-time needs in the FY27 budget.”
She also wants to cut $55 million from spending by the county government.
When asked for comment, a spokesperson for spokesperson for Elrich said the county executive is expected to respond later Friday.
MCM captured the county executive’s response to objections to his budget proposal on video. Watch his response here.
Prior to that, in an interview with MCM, the council president preceded her Friday announcement by stating she opposed the new tax increases in the proposed budget. Watch her response here.
