By Adam Pagnucco.
Yesterday, three organizations that play in county politics released statements in reaction to the impending FY26 operating budget about to be passed by the county council. The key features of that budget appear to be a substantial spending increase, no tax hikes and the use of retiree health care money (OPEB) to fund part of MCPS’s appropriation.
First up is the Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA), which represents teachers and associated employees in MCPS. MCEA is the wielder of the mighty Apple Ballot, perhaps the most valued endorsement in MoCo politics.
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MCEA Commends Proposed Short-Term Funding Fix for MCPS
Rockville, MD – The Montgomery County Education Association commends yesterday’s announcement of a collaborative joint funding proposal by the Montgomery County Council and Montgomery County Public Schools that would ensure that 99.8% of next school year’s budget is funded.
“It’s clear that the County Council has listened to educators, students, and families, who have signed thousands of petitions, wrote hundreds of postcards, and made countless calls to the County Council to warn them about the profound harm underfunding next year’s budget would have on students,” said MCEA President David Stein. “If the Council votes to authorize this one-time spending, which seems likely, it will be clear that they heeded those warnings.”
MCEA also recognizes that one-time budget fixes are not a substitute for sustainable funding. While today’s solution is a necessary step, it cannot become the norm. “An authorization of one-time funding during a crisis is not a sustainable practice. We need bold, ongoing investments that meet the real, long-term needs of Montgomery County’s students and schools,” warned MCEA’s Vice President Danillya Wilson.
“We believe the County Council wanted to do the right thing for students and educators, but we keep coming back year after year, scrambling for temporary fixes to fund our schools,” David Stein added. “It’s the same fight on repeat—and our students, educators, and families are paying the price. Next year, let’s work for long-term solutions, not short-term fixes.”
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Next up is the Greater Capital Area Association of Realtors (GCAAR), which represents realtors in the Washington region. GCAAR may be the most active group in the county’s business community and it regularly endorses and spends money on behalf of candidates. GCAAR ran a campaign against County Executive Marc Elrich’s proposed tax hikes.
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GCAAR issues statement regarding Montgomery County’s FY26 Operating Budget & vote on income tax rate
ROCKVILLE, Md. – The Greater Capital Area Association of REALTORS® (GCAAR) has released the following statement from GCAAR President Samantha Damato:
“When the Greater Capital Area Association of REALTORS® (GCAAR) launched our Stop the Tax Hikes campaign, we were facing down proposals to increase Montgomery County residents’ property and income taxes to fund an ever-growing county budget. Since then, county residents have spoken up through our campaign in droves – voters have sent over three thousand emails to their county officials in just the past two weeks – calling for the Council to spare them further financial hardship and to budget within the county’s means. We are glad to know their messages have been heard. Today’s vote signals an end to these unnecessary and irresponsible proposals. There will be no new taxes from the Montgomery County Council this year.
“We thank the Councilmembers for their unanimous vote to save our residents from these proposals. The county budget is an unwieldy thing to manage, and it takes courage and conviction not to take the easy way out by passing the buck to taxpayers. While the county still faces challenges, the decisions made this week ensure a better fiscal foundation for future discussions.
“GCAAR will continue to fight for the financial health and economic competitiveness of Montgomery County. We welcome all those who share in our goal of making our community a welcoming place for all who seek to call it home.”
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Finally, this is what the Committee to Control MoCo Spending had to say. The group is a ballot question committee trying to put a charter amendment on the ballot designed to reduce county government spending increases. It is led by county GOP Chair Reardon “Sully” Sullivan, who successfully passed a charter amendment on county executive term limits last year.
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The Montgomery County Council recently voted to fund the County Executive’s operating budget by drawing down reserves for future employee health care costs to pay for current non-health spending. This irresponsible action is just another move to kick the can down the road. Moving funds from one account to another DOES NOT address the root cause of the County spending beyond its means.
The spending plan proposed by the Council represents a substantial increase of 7.4% from the county’s current $7.1 billion operating budget. Much of this increase is tied to the Montgomery County Public School’s (MCPS) recommendation and it represents a nearly 9% increase over MCPS current spending. This increase is not tied to any metric to improve academic proficiency and is significantly above the stated maintenance of effort required by state law. We must evaluate why the proposed funding increase is more than the CPI each year when the number of students enrolled in MCPS is decreasing.
The analysis from the Montgomery County Taxpayers League showed most of the money went to pay for other county programs with supplementals that weren’t in the approved budget. The League framed the situation as “ … The County is robbing Peter to pay Paul, and Peter was a blind taxpayer who will get retroactively sucker punched.”
Instead of playing games with money for MCPS employee’s future health care costs and proposing to spend money well above current inflationary cost, Superintendent Taylor, the County Council and Executive need to go back to the drawing board. The taxpayers in Montgomery County cannot play with “fuzzy math” for their household budgets and nor should our elected leaders play this game with our tax dollars.
This is why we have started the “Stop the Spend” campaign to limit the spending of the County Government to the prior years CPI. We just need 10,000 signatures to get this change on the ballot in 2026, where we predict that it will easily pass.
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So there you have it, folks. These are three different messages: fund MCPS, prevent tax hikes and control spending. That’s a preview of a large part of the issue mix in next year’s elections.