The recently-announced Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 operating budget is now in the hands of the county council.
County Executive Marc Elrich released his proposed $6.8 billion budget last week. Council President Evan Glass said councilmembers’ work is underway now that the budget has been received.
As part of last week’s budget announcement, Elrich proposed a 10-cent property tax increase.
“I am going to be asking a lot of tough questions to make sure that our taxpayer dollars are being used efficiently and strategically,” Glass said during a media briefing Monday. He said public hearings and committee worksessions will be “incredibly important” to him as he considers the budget.
Public hearings will be held April 11 and April 13 at 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Residents can sign up online to testify.
“We have to balance the needs of today with those of tomorrow, which includes supporting our schools, our teachers, our frontline responders, our healthcare professionals and other employees,” Glass said. “And we need to make sure that our kids have access to the highest-quality education possible, and we need to make sure that residents can continue to afford to live in Montgomery County.”
The council has final authority on the budget and must adopt it before it goes into effect.
