The Montgomery County Council is hosting a public hearing Tuesday on a potential property tax rate increase proposed by Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich (D) for the upcoming fiscal year.
The council will also receive a briefing from county staff on the affordability of the county’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP) as part of fiscal year 2026 budget deliberations.
The council will meet at 1:15 p.m. in the Stella Werner Council Office Building in Rockville for its regular weekly business meeting. Here’s what to expect:
Public hearing on property tax rate
The council will hear from the public on Elrich’s proposed 3.4% property tax rate increase in order to fully fund Montgomery County Public Schools’ (MCPS) $3.65 billion budget request for fiscal year 2026, which begins July 1.
The proposed property tax increase is part of Elrich’s recommended $7.6 billion county operating budget plan for the upcoming fiscal year, which he released March 14. The spending plan represents an increase of 7.4% from the county’s current $7.1 billion operating budget. The proposed budget and tax increase are subject to review and approval by the council.
Elrich’s proposed tax rate increase is enabled by a state statute that allows jurisdictions to raise property tax rates to supplement public school funding. If approved by the council, homeowners’ tax rate would be $1.0605 per each $100 of assessed value of their property, an increase of 3.5 cents from the current rate of $1.0255.
Two councilmembers, Andrew Friedson (D-Dist. 1) and Laurie-Anne Sayles (D-At-large), have announced their opposition to the proposed property tax increase, vowing to vote against it.
This is the second time since 2023 that Elrich has proposed a property tax increase to fund MCPS. That year, he proposed a 10% property tax rate increase to fund his proposed fiscal year 2024 budget. The council unanimously opposed such a high increase and eventually settled on a 4.7% increase.
Capital Improvement Program (CIP) affordability
The council will receive a report from council staff on the affordability of the planned projects and amendments included in the CIP for fiscal year 2026.
Tuesday’s briefing also will address how the newly approved state budget and inflation projections could impact the projects slated for fiscal year 2026.
While the CIP for fiscal years 2025-2030 was approved last year by the council, councilmembers are able to revise it annually through amendments, typically proposed by the county executive.
Elrich’s capital budget and CIP of nearly $6 billion for fiscal years 2025-2030 was approved in 2024, so there are no major proposed changes for fiscal year 2026. However, Elrich and his staff were able to make some minor amendments based on certain eligibility criteria, such as urgent health and safety issues and acquisition of state and federal grant funding. Several proposed amendments would move around how money for MCPS capital projects would be spent in 2026.
