Dear Friends,
I have received many questions about the Fiscal Year 2024 Operating Budget proposal I submitted to the County Council in mid-March. These questions came as the Council heard from 150 residents this week during four public hearings about my proposed budget.
My $6.8 billion balanced budget is a 7.7 percent increase over last year’s approved budget. I am recommending this increase even as some economists are forecasting a mild recession because I believe there is a strong need to retain the services that we added because of the pandemic and because my prudent fiscal stewardship has left the County with a record surplus. Our budget spans affordable housing, economic development, public safety and efforts to combat climate change. There are significant investments in Montgomery College and a 10-cent property tax increase dedicated solely for the Montgomery County Public Schools.
My $6.8 billion balanced budget is a 7.7 percent increase over last year’s approved budget. I am recommending this increase even as some economists are forecasting a mild recession because I believe there is a strong need to retain the services that we added because of the pandemic and because my prudent fiscal stewardship has left the County with a record surplus. Our budget spans affordable housing, economic development, public safety and efforts to combat climate change. There are significant investments in Montgomery College and a 10-cent property tax increase dedicated solely for the Montgomery County Public Schools.
Pay for our teachers has fallen behind other jurisdictions that have lower costs of living, making it harder to for our school system to recruit teachers. Sadly, a new teacher here no longer makes enough money to qualify for a Moderately Priced Dwelling Unit – the County’s signature affordable housing program that was designed in 1974 specifically for teachers, firefighters and police officers. The investment in our students, as measured by per-pupil spending, once was tops in the State. It has since fallen below the level it was at 12 years ago—20 percent below.
Consider what is coming in the next couple of years. Our State’s new education law—the “Blueprint for Maryland’s Future”—will require all school systems to have a starting salary of $60,000 per year for a teacher by 2027. If we do not increase our salaries now, soon a new teacher will be deciding between the same job either here or in a County on the Eastern Shore—where the pay will be the same, but it is much cheaper to live and be much closer to a beach. We should not expect to get the same result when spending less money, but that is exactly what we have done. Reinvesting in our school system is the best way to help educate kids, to help the education system to recover from COVID, to keep our communities strong and to keep our home values growing.
For decades, the most-qualified and best-trained teachers chose Montgomery County Public Schools because, among other things, we paid better and offered better benefits. But if we are not competitive in this regard, how do we attract the best in this business to teach in our school system? And with a shortage of teachers in general, how do we attract enough teachers?
This problem is at the core of this discussion about this needed investment in the schools. And the revenue from this property tax increase can legally only be used toward education spending. These new revenues only fund new costs, not existing costs. This proposed increase is providing what the Superintendent of Schools requested and the Board of Education approved.
This debate is not just about our schools—it is also about creating a skilled workforce, generating more jobs and keeping our economy robust and attractive. It is not just families who move here for our good schools, it is also businesses. We learned firsthand during the competition for Amazon’s second headquarters how much education and workforce talent means to where businesses decide to move and create jobs. Amazon cited the availability and engagement of educational institutions as one of their prime reasons for locating in Northern Virginia, not outlandish cash subsidies.
Please continue to watch and engage in the budget process at the County Council over coming weeks. We need to be sure that the critical investments I have proposed remain in budget. Our future depends upon it.
I take my fiscal responsibilities very seriously, and the budget I recommended is focused on essential services and helping us grow and thrive as a County. In addition to record support for our public schools, there is $124 million in there for affordable housing and almost $40 million for rent support. There is $20 million to fund the Montgomery County Green Bank, which helps companies switch to clean energy. More than $60 million is being devoted to Vision Zero priorities to help save lives on the road. These programs and this assistance are too important to simply vanish.
This is a challenging fiscal year. We are being hit with the perfect storm of inflation costs, increased needs, new State spending requirements and uncertain Federal support. As we put this budget together, we did not anticipate a tax increase and we probably could have met a normal maintenance of effort level of spending in our schools until the school system sent over their budget. The situation of the schools is anything but normal. There is simply no way to take $222 million out of our existing budgets to fit in the schools without doing serious harm to County programs our residents rely on.
I will continue to talk about the great needs in this budget like I did this week on the broadcast Montgomery al Dia. My answers are in English and Lorna Virgili then translated the answers for her audience. It is one of the best interviews I have done on this operating budget proposal, and I encourage you to watch the segment here.
I look forward to working with the County Council throughout this process as we discuss these investments with residents.
Maryland General Assembly Ends 2023 Legislative Session
Monday was the last day of the Maryland General Assembly’s 2023 legislative session. Throughout this session we saw a renewed spirit of cooperation, as well as new energy thanks to the administration of Governor Wes Moore and Lt. Governor Aruna Miller.
I want to thank and appreciate the efforts of the Montgomery County House and Senate delegations under the leadership of Del. Palakovich-Carr and Sen. Kramer, respectively. Our delegation brought in more than one billion dollars in direct aid to Montgomery County, an eight percent increase from last year.
Our delegation was able to secure capital funding for key projects like the UM Institute for Health Computing, the Bowie Mill Bike Trail, Burtonsville Park and Ride, the Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center and our high school wellness centers.
I appreciate the passage of key legislation that will invest in our students, combat climate change, protect abortion rights, reduce gun violence and legalize cannabis sales throughout the State. We are grateful for all the hard work that led to these legislative accomplishments.
One of the wins we had in Annapolis this session that I am most pleased with was securing one-time funding in next year's budget for BRT and gaining bonding authority for our Bus Rapid Transit plans. Montgomery County is the only jurisdiction in Maryland with the ability and eligibility to move forward with a plan like this. It would allow the County to self-finance a big transportation project for years to come.
We have been developing plans to expand our Flash service along U.S. 29 from Burtonsville to Silver Spring, develop service along New Hampshire Avenue, on Veirs Mill Road from Wheaton to Rockville and on Rockville Pike from Bethesda into Clarksburg.
The help we have received through the General Assembly will help us accelerate these big changes. I want to thank our delegation for championing this through. This legislation establishes a continuing source of revenue to help us build out our BRT system to reduce congestion, make this a greener County by taking more cars off the road and improve the way many of us get around.
Among the bills that Gov. Moore signed into law this week was the Fair Wage Act of 2023. As you know, minimum wage is an issue I have worked on for many years. I want to thank Gov. Moore for making this one of his earliest priorities and I thank him for the honor of inviting me to testify alongside him to support this important legislation.
Another legislative victory of the Governor that I supported was the Serve Act that incentivizes our young adults into public and community service. I think this initiative will not only make a profound difference throughout our State, but will end up being one of Gov. Moore’s lasting legacies.
Over the upcoming weeks, we look forward to highlighting many of these legislative accomplishments of our State delegation.
National Concerns About Gun Violence and Reproductive Rights
While the State of Maryland took steps forward to reduce gun violence and further enshrine protections for women seeking abortions, we are witnessing absurdity from elsewhere in the country.
The actions of an activist judge in Texas overturning an over two-decade ruling from the FDA on mifepristone are alarming. This precedent not only puts at risk access to reproductive rights but also means that any drug on any health issue could be recalled by our judicial system. This is nonsense and demonstrates that the Republican party is the party of science denial.
Montgomery County joined jurisdictions across the country to support the Federal Government and the intervenors by filing a brief with the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to stay the controversial ruling. More than 20 years ago, the FDA reviewed robust scientific evidence and determined that mifepristone is safe under the approved conditions of use. Since its approval, more than five million pregnant people in the United States have used mifepristone and a companion medication, misoprostol, to safely terminate their pregnancies. More than half of all abortions are now performed with this safe, effective medication. If allowed to take effect, the District Court’s order would run counter to decades of clear scientific evidence and upend legal precedent. The impacts of this order would be felt across the United States since mifepristone has legal uses in every state.
That District Court’s ruling is subject to a seven-day administrative stay pending appeal. The County joined a broad coalition writing in support of the government to stop this harmful ruling from going into effect, which will strain public health and emergency medical systems and place the health of women at risk.
I am grateful for the quick actions of the County Attorney to ensure that Montgomery County was included in this brief.
Meanwhile, the actions from the Tennessee State Legislature following the horrible school shooting there in expelling two black lawmakers for fighting for sensible gun control legislation was just appalling in its brazenness. It is not just racist—it is un-American.
Gun violence is a problem throughout this nation, we are not going to reduce or solve it by banning free speech.
The only way this current climate of craziness changes is at the ballot box. And I hope that more Americans in these communities are awakening to the erosion of their liberties by these idealogues.
Montgomery County Tops Maryland in 2023 County Health Rankings
Montgomery County captured the top spot in Maryland in the 2023 County Health Rankings. The survey looks at 30 health outcomes and the rankings represent how healthy a county is regarding length of life and quality of life, according to the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which compile the rankings in every state. According to the 2023 rankings, the five healthiest counties in Maryland are Montgomery County, followed by Howard, Frederick, Calvert and St. Mary’s.
The study found that Montgomery County scores well in a number of factors including a low number of premature deaths, with almost half the score tabulated for the State of and the U.S. Montgomery had below average percentages in categories like low birthweight, smokers and obesity. The study also looked at factors like food options, physical activity and alcohol-related deaths on the road. You can see the results by following this link.
I am proud that Montgomery County is once again the healthiest County in Maryland. While there remains work to be done to improve our quality of life, I want to thank our health officials, hospitals, community-based nonprofit health providers and other stakeholders for continuing to emphasize the importance of improving health outcomes for all of our community’s residents.
Montgomery County's public health officer, Kisha Davis, offered her opinion on this survey. You can read more about that here.
A Successful Trip to Taiwan
For the first time since becoming County Executive, I was able to make an international trip to cultivate new relationships for future business and academic opportunities. We had many meetings with company leaders and leadership at two universities. Everyone we talked to is looking for opportunities to partner with innovative companies and research organizations. They are also seeking opportunities to plant their flag in America or, in the case of the five companies that we brought with us to Taipei, looking for opportunities in Taiwan.
We were excited to find that people there knew about Montgomery County. We met people who graduated from the University of Maryland, had lived in the County, had worked at NIH or in a number of pharma companies located here. Some had even already planted companies here. Being known was helpful, particularly when we were in groups with people who were less familiar with us. I feel we left having strengthened connections with our County that will be of mutual benefit.
I believe the trip was a good opportunity to get the word out about the University of Maryland - Institute for Health Computing project with AI industry leaders. When they talk about America’s biotech footprint, their initial thought is Silicon Valley or Boston. The institute coming to Bethesda will help change that perception. Having a research facility in on the cutting edge of applying computational biology to medical research will help elevate our region into one of the premier places for life sciences in the world.
I am optimistic about the opportunities that lie ahead thanks to the relationships we developed on our trip.
COVID-19 Update
As we prepare for the end of the emergency phase of the pandemic, we are seeing more State-led COVID-19 testing centers close. This week brought the closure of testing centers in Annapolis and Bowie.
In Montgomery County, we continue to offer County-supported services like testing, vaccines and booster appointments. We are still trying to determine how much support we will get for those services from the State and Federal governments.
The State will soon no longer be tracking cases to the extent they were before with a county-by-county breakdown of data that is shared publicly on a regular basis. The Federal government will no longer be paying for many of the services it did for the last three years. This means that we will rely even more on our public health experts to help us determine the threat level in our community.
For those at home, we ask that you stay up to date on your vaccines and boosters. Keep the elderly and immune-compromised in mind because they are still the most vulnerable to new strains of the virus. Finally, remain vigilant. Our community threat level remains “low,” as it has been for several weeks. There is no denying that is a good thing. But we learned a lot of lessons from COVID-19. There is no reason to jeopardize public safety again.
Sensors Installed to Help Protect Flood-Prone Areas
Just in time for April showers, the County has completed installation of equipment for the Flood Sensor Program. We have placed 35 high-tech sensors around the County that can alert residents sooner about flooded roadways, potential dam failures and streams overflowing their banks.
We showed off those sensors last summer in Germantown when we announced our plan to add them to flood-prone areas. The sensors use a tethered node that is placed underwater. The node detects the amount of pressure placed upon it by the water and calculates the depth of the water. Every five minutes, data is sent from the sensor by a cell phone card to a master display. A small color camera also sends images back to the main display. When water levels approach or exceed flood stage a crew is sent to investigate the potential flooding and whether a low-lying road needs to be cleared or if an Emergency Action Plan for a dam needs to be activated.
This life-saving technology came from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The partnership between DHS and the County is critical to our efforts in warning Montgomery County residents about dangerous and life-threatening floods. Flash floods are a real and reoccurring threat thanks to global warming. We must be able to notify residents sooner of where flooding is happening so they can avoid danger. Please have a look at the program website to see where we have placed these sensors.
As always, my appreciation for all of you,
Marc Elrich
County Executive
