Dear Friends,
Today, I participated in an interview on WAMU's Politics Hour, hosted by Kojo Nnamdi and resident analyst Tom Sherwood. We discussed several key topics, including immigration issues, the impact on our federal workforce, and the fiscal challenges facing our County. Additionally, I had the opportunity to respond to constituent calls.
Thank you to WAMU, The Politics Hour, and Kojo Nnamdi for the conversation, which you can listen to by clicking here.
Public broadcasting stations nationwide are currently facing challenges posed by the Trump administration and Congressional Republicans. In these trying times, the role of public broadcasting and non-profit media is more crucial than ever. I encourage you to listen to these broadcasters and urge Congress to advocate for their preservation.
FY27-32 Recommended CIP Budget
I released my recommended Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) Capital Budget and the FY27-32 Capital Improvements Program (CIP) budget this week. You can watch that presentation on our YouTube page. The CIP covers six years and builds on historic investments in education, climate change, transportation, public safety, and affordable housing. The proposal includes $6.6 billion in spending, an increase of 10.6%. This is needed because we continue to see a growing demand for County services and have an obligation to improve our schools through major projects.
When developing this CIP, I responded to a request from the school board that included a $1 billion increase in capital funding. While we do not have the capacity to fully fund the request, we were able to fund a substantial amount, prioritizing HVAC repairs and health and safety issues in schools throughout the County, as well as other necessary repairs.
I want to put this in context. For a couple of decades now, County funding for our schools’ capital needs has been inadequate. Historically, school enrollment growth was the major issue we faced, so most of the funding went to capacity expansion rather than renovation. The result is neglected buildings with serious heating and cooling deficiencies, plumbing and water issues, and general deterioration. Now, we are seeing a decline in enrollment, so while capacity isn’t the same issue, the building needs are real, and the backlog of capital needs exceed $2 billion.
We clearly are in no position to address this quickly, nor to address it fully over the six years covered by this CIP budget, but this budget reflects a major investment in fixing our schools. We will recommend increases in bond funding because, without raising those limits on our bonding capacity, we will not be able to pay for any new capital projects. This has come about, in part, because the school system was not straightforward about all the needs in the past. Additionally, the bond levels have not been adjusted for inflation, and for some number of years, were reduced. Currently, our bond spending is lower than it was 16 years ago.
In the past, the Council would not allow increases to address inflation or rising needs. I do appreciate their having raised the bond limits this year to $300 million – the same as we spent in 2009, but unfortunately, it is not enough. We cannot continue to refuse to increase bond funding and expect to address the needs in the school system, let alone pay for the additional infrastructure needed to make this County economically competitive. It is unrealistic to think that the same dollar amount spent in 2009 could meet today's needs without accounting for inflation.
We need to advance economic development by investing in infrastructure, and so this recommended budget also includes $265 million to advance three of our Bus Rapid Transit lines. These routes link neighborhoods to job centers throughout the County. Again, our investments compared to the capital investments made across the river in Virginia for transportation are strictly minor league. We won’t grow if we continue to ignore our transportation shortcomings.
County roads, bridges, and sidewalk improvements are also funded across the community. We’re also investing in electric and hydrogen fuel cell alternatives to replace all our gas-powered buses.
Affordable housing remains one of my top priorities. This plan invests more than $160 million over the next six years to preserve, protect, and produce affordable housing. Since FY19, the County and our partners have created or preserved over 9,200 affordable housing units.
There are several major projects funded through this CIP aimed at improving our economy. My administration worked aggressively to create the University of Maryland Institute for Health Computing (IHC) along with our partners at the University of Maryland College Park, the University of Maryland Baltimore, and the University of Maryland Medical System. This innovative research facility, the first graduate-level institution in the county, has already begun using big data to help transform life sciences research, leading to life-saving advances in medicine and health care worldwide. The institute has gone from concept to now over 130 employees. This institute is also important for retaining and attracting life science and tech companies to Montgomery County.
This recommended capital budget invests $50 million in County funding to support a new IHC anchor building, matching an anticipated $100 million capital commitment from the University System of Maryland and the State. This investment demonstrates our commitment to making Montgomery County a world leader in life sciences.
Redevelopment of the East County is another important project supported in this budget as we move forward with the first-ever Tax Increment Financing (TIF) proposal to support a $2.8 billion transformative mixed-use development in VIVA White Oak developed by MCB Real Estate, that will bring thousands of jobs, housing units, and new infrastructure to East County. And, for the most part, it does not rely on taxpayer dollars.
Money is also earmarked to improve our environment and the services we provide residents. We’re planning more net-zero facilities as we build a new fire station in White Flint, a new 4th district MCPD and Park Police station in Wheaton, and a Western County Recreation Center in Poolesville, new libraries in Clarksburg and Shady Grove, and a new Justice Center in Rockville. Our Comprehensive Flood Management Plan will benefit from an $81 million investment in watershed improvements.
We need to make strategic investments that are crucial for economic development and help our residents. This budget demonstrates that, despite our constraints, we remain committed to implementing significant changes to maintain and enhance the quality of life across Montgomery County. To view all my recommendations for the CIP, please visit montgomerycountymd.gov/omb.
2026 Maryland General Assembly Begins
We’re off to another start in Annapolis with representation from Montgomery County spread out across many State offices. I always enjoy being there for opening day and sharing my thoughts with our elected leaders on how to improve and move Montgomery County forward.
Let’s be honest, there’s no blank check to meet all our needs, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to allow the federal government to dictate how we operate our County or State. We are leaning on State leaders to be creative and bold in developing new revenue sources to help us address our transportation needs and continue the groundwork for bolstering economic development. Our economy has not grown as quickly out of the pandemic as our neighbors, but there are reasons for that and a roadmap we can follow for better fortunes.
Some things I would argue we do lead the way in are unity, compassion, and rallying behind those in need. That can be seen through our Office of Food Systems Resilience and the launch of its next phase of the Food Recovery Network strategy. We are not shrinking away from the growing need in our community for better collaboration to address hunger. You can see it on display at the Federal Workforce Career Center. There are thousands of former federal workers and contractors who are finding a path forward with the help of private businesses and community partners coming together to help find solutions to this crisis.
I believe our State lawmakers will move us forward as well. They know, as we do, how important Montgomery County is to the State. Our success benefits all of Maryland, so here’s to a successful General Assembly.
$1 Million DHHS Supplemental
This week, I joined the Council’s Health and Human Services Committee Chair Laurie-Anne Sayles in introducing a supplemental appropriation to our current budget that would enable us to spend an additional $1 million and help bring relief to the people and community partners most impacted by federal cuts to our social safety net.
This money would keep essential services running— services that are critical for our most vulnerable residents. Here’s how it breaks down:
- $450,000 to make sure older adults have access to healthy meals through the Senior Nutrition Program.
- $350,000 to help residents age safely in their homes, through the Home Care Program.
- $250,000 to give family caregivers the break they deserve through the Respite Program.
This request from Councilmember Sayles is a team effort with Council President Natali González and Councilmembers Sidney Katz and Kristin Mink as cosponsors of the bill. I appreciate their collaboration to aid our residents most in need of assistance.
This week, in another stunning, unbelievable move, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the agency that oversees mental health and addiction treatment, announced it would send hundreds of termination letters for $2 billion in federal grants supporting mental health services. Thankfully, this plan was quickly scrapped following national outrage. These are cuts that should not have been considered in the first place. They are indicative of the haphazard and chaotic nature of health care policy under Trump.
In what world does cutting services to the most vulnerable make sense? Couple that with what he is already doing to the system of services for people experiencing homelessness, and there is no other way to think about this than this president is cruel and suffering from mental illness himself. The recurring theme of “we’re going to hurt people” and his blatant actions to target blue states for inflicting the most pain are unforgivable for a president of all the American people. That would be like me cutting services to parts of the County where people vote Republican – something I would never conceive of doing.
County Council Hearing on Viva White Oak
After years of delay, last summer the Viva White Oak project was announced with MCB Real Estate, and it will launch the most significant development in the history of East County.
This week, the County Council held a public hearing for Tax Increment Financing (TIF) for the Viva White Oak Development District.
The TIF is crucial to the addition of infrastructure to support the development of nearly 300 acres for the project, which, at full buildout, will create more than 9,000 permanent jobs and an estimated $62 million in annual revenue for the County. Without this kind of support from the County government, no developer will have the means or incentive to commit to such a large project that will create this level of housing, jobs, and a new center for commerce in our County.
This is the kind of project that comes along once in a generation and results from creative problem-solving. We must establish that special funds are dedicated specifically to this project. It takes bold steps to stimulate intensive economic growth and community investment, in cooperation with a private-sector developer like MCB Real Estate. I will continue to champion this project and hope to see it advance quickly for approval.
Immigrant Protections
We are living in this nation under the rule of Donald Trump, where civil liberties are being eroded, and the free press is being attacked and shut down when they can get away with it. They are defunding scientific research, destroying health care, embarking on totally racist policies that seek to roll back the gains of the civil rights movement, and so much more. Whether the targets are science, climate, regulations, the federal workforce, DEI, or immigrants, we are being led by a man who is a fascist, a racist, an authoritarian, and, most concerning, a nihilist.
Regardless of political affiliation, presidents have historically provided solace and comfort during times of tragedy and turmoil. However, this President and his supporters seem to exacerbate tensions rather than ease them.
A glaring example is the administration's response to the recent murder of Renee Good in Minneapolis. The administration labeled Ms. Good a "criminal" and "domestic terrorist," which is quite ironic given that they pardoned hundreds of January 6th insurrectionists who attacked law enforcement in 2021 with the support of the president.
What is most frightening is the lack of a unified response to the shooting, and the total lies told by Trump. I watched the video, and I’m sure many of you did. At no point did the victim run over the ICE agent, yet Donald Trump, to justify the murder, has said that she ran over the agent. Any fool can see that the agent wasn't run over; he wasn’t even hit, as the driver attempted to turn to the side and drive away. It’s one thing to be mad about the demonstration, but quite another thing, and quite an evil thing, to say that Renee Good ran over the ICE agent.
If you haven’t seen the video, you should. If you don’t know who to believe, watch the video. If you saw it and thought you watched the ICE agent get run over, get your eyes examined, or stop hallucinating.
The idea that the president can lie with impunity about something that is visibly false, and that so many people can’t bring themselves to say that this is a bridge too far, is a sad commentary on the state of our society. And if the president thinks that killing protesters in Iran is an unacceptable evil, then he needs to acknowledge that it’s evil when it happens in America.
These kinds of events reach across the globe and especially here in Montgomery County, because we are so diverse. This week’s County Council meeting helped raise awareness about the concerns and fears of the immigrant community as the Trust Act legislation was introduced. I was proud to have Abel Nunez, executive director from the Central American Resource Center, join me for my weekly media briefing. You can watch that here. He discussed what advocates are seeing and how the nation’s immigration policies are negatively affecting communities across the country, including here in Montgomery County.
The Gilchrist Immigrant Resource Center is here to offer reliable information, legal referrals, language assistance, and support, helping residents protect themselves and their families.
Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend Events
Don’t forget that Martin Luther King Jr. Day is Monday, Jan. 19. I hope you join me at the Music Center at Strathmore on Sunday, Jan. 18, for our annual birthday tribute. That concert is free and begins at 4 p.m. You can learn more about each artist later in this newsletter.
While our annual volunteer event is full and not accepting any more participants, check around, as there are also events happening in neighborhoods and through nonprofit organizations.
As always, my appreciation for all of you,
Marc Elrich
County Executive