GO Committee FY27 Budget Review – April 23, 2026
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Government Operations and Fiscal Policy Committee Budget Review – April 23, 2026
On April 23, 2026, the Montgomery County Government Operations and Fiscal Policy (GO) Committee, chaired by Councilmember Kate Stewart, met from approximately 9:30 a.m. to 10:50 a.m. in the 7th floor Council Hearing Room. The committee reviewed the FY27 Operating Budget and FY27-32 Capital Improvements Program for 11 departments and non-departmental accounts (NDAs). The committee recommended several amendments, placing certain items on the Reconciliation List for full Council consideration, and unanimously recommended approval of most budgets as submitted or as amended.
Discussion Items
Office of Procurement
- The committee reviewed a recommended budget of $7,289,479 (a 21% increase). The $816,170 increase for an e-procurement system was placed on the Reconciliation List per the Council President’s budget approach. Director Shetty and Dr. Toregas emphasized that Montgomery County is the only jurisdiction in the region without an e-procurement system, and that the lack of technology is hampering efficiency and staff morale. The committee supported reducing the budget to $6,473,309 and moving the e-procurement item to the Reconciliation List, with a note that this is the second year it has been requested.
Department of General Services (DGS)
- The committee discussed the FY27 Operating Budget and a CIP/Supplemental Appropriation (#26-61) for the Takoma Park Car Wash ($200,000 state grant). DGS Director Dise and Deputy Director Boykin explained the budget increase of 6.75%, driven partly by postage costs. A new apprenticeship program (6 FTEs for plumbers, electricians, and HVAC workers) was placed on the Reconciliation List at $274,000. The committee also placed $125,000 for BlackRock Center for the Arts on the Reconciliation List, following a request by Council Vice President Balcombe to restore one-time funding removed by the Executive. The committee noted that BlackRock provides community services (e.g., showers for unhoused populations, cultural festivals) beyond the arts. The $625,000 reduction in porter (custodial) services was discussed; the committee asked DGS to report back on whether a portion could be restored for sanitary needs. The CIP amendment for the car wash was recommended for approval.
Community Engagement Cluster (CEC)
- The committee reviewed a 4.26% increase ($436,706). Two items were placed on the Reconciliation List: realignment of personnel costs ($80,042, 0.5 FTE) and a $25,000 one-time mural for Wheaton Library and Community Recreation Center. The committee discussed the CEC’s OBET score of 6, noting that the department’s equity work is not fully documented. CEC Director Ellis and regional directors committed to improving communication on their racial equity efforts. Councilmember Evans expressed concern that budget cuts (e.g., advertising, community initiatives) could hinder equity work, but directors stated they would find creative solutions.
Office of the County Executive
- The budget of $442,904 (5.57% increase) was recommended as submitted by the County Executive, with no items placed on the Reconciliation List. The budget is straightforward with contractual increases.
Payments to Municipalities NDA
- The committee recommended approval of $26,123,633 as submitted. Chair Stewart and Councilmember Katz strongly opposed any reduction, recounting the years of negotiation that led to the 2021 formula. The committee expressed that this NDA should not be targeted for cuts.
Future Federal/State/Other Grants NDA and Grants to Municipalities in Lieu of Shares Tax NDA
- Both accounts were recommended for approval at $20 million and $20,020 respectively, unchanged from FY26.
Office of Human Resources (OHR)
- The committee recommended approval of $13.7 million general fund and $449 million employee health fund (7.04% increase). OHR Director Anderson reported a 91% customer satisfaction rating and a new AI chat bot. A $180,000 item for the hiring displaced federal workers initiative was originally on the Reconciliation List, but Chair Stewart moved it to a direct reduction (cut) because OHR indicated the funds may not be needed. The committee concurred. Other large items (e.g., $29.8 million for claims, $72,717 for fire/rescue medical services) were approved without objection.
Office of Labor Relations (OLR) and Labor Management Relations Committee (LMRC) NDA
- OLR’s budget increased by $214,589. The LMRC NDA requested an additional $100,000, which was placed on the Reconciliation List. OLR Chief Harling explained that unused balances had been spent down and the new appropriation is needed for joint training and projects. The committee noted that prior year funds had sufficient rollover, but moving forward the account will have no balance. The OBET score of 4 was discussed; Harling acknowledged the need to formalize racial equity integration and has engaged the RESJ office. A non-reconciliation $30,253 increase from a classification study was approved.
Key Outcomes
- Office of Procurement: Recommended budget reduction to $6,473,309, with $816,170 for e-procurement placed on the Reconciliation List.
- Department of General Services: Recommended FY27 Operating Budget approval as amended, adding to the Reconciliation List: apprenticeship program ($274,000, 6 FTEs) and BlackRock Center for the Arts ($125,000). Also recommended approval of CIP Amendment #26-61 for Takoma Park Car Wash.
- Community Engagement Cluster: Recommended approval as amended, placing personnel realignment ($80,042) and Wheaton mural ($25,000) on the Reconciliation List.
- Office of the County Executive: Recommended approval as submitted.
- Payments to Municipalities NDA: Recommended approval as submitted; committee strongly opposed any reduction.
- Future Federal/State/Other Grants NDA: Recommended approval as submitted.
- Grants to Municipalities in Lieu of Shares Tax NDA: Recommended approval as submitted.
- Office of Human Resources: Recommended approval as amended, with the $180,000 displaced federal workers initiative moved from the Reconciliation List to a direct reduction (cut). All other adjustments approved.
- Office of Labor Relations and LMRC NDA: Recommended approval, with $100,000 for LMRC placed on the Reconciliation List. OLR classification study adjustment approved.
- All committee recommendations will be forwarded to the full Council for final action in the FY27 budget process.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to this session of the Government Operations and Fiscal Policy Committee. We have 10 different budgets to review this morning. I thank everyone for being here and also thank our central staff for the excellent packets as always. And thank our council vice president for joining us this morning. We're gonna get going with the uh first budget, which is the Office of Procurement. So Director Shetty and your team, if you want to come on up and I'm gonna turn it over to Dr. Toregas to walk us through the packet. Thank you very much. Uh as you see from your packet, the county executive has recommended a budget of 7,289,479 for the Office of Procurement, which is an increase of 1,262,723 or 21% from the fiscal year approved budget. There is no increase in the staffing of the department. It stays stable at 37.40 FTEs. And the additional expense of 816,170 dollars for the e-procurement system must be put on the reconciliation list according to council presence approach to the recommended budget. With your permission, I'd like to kind of go over each of the three offices, uh departments of uh the Office of Procurement. Uh and um uh I've got a couple of things to focus uh the committee's attention on. Uh we'll st uh we'll start with the uh Office of Business Relations and Compliance. Um the Office of Business Compliance, as you see uh is responsible with the various special programs to encourage our small businesses, our minority owned businesses, female owned businesses, and so on to take part in the economic uh activities of the county. Uh I asked I asked this a simple question is the county doing better uh uh from last year to this year. And uh perhaps uh uh director Shetty, you might want to give a little bit of a summary of the answer that you gave in terms of are we doing better in these programs and the also business relations and compliance? The budget itself is stable, there's no increase in the budget. Yes, good morning, everybody. Uh, and thank you, Dr. Taregas. Um the division of business relations and compliance has steadily done better. Every year we achieve new records when it comes to our spending with minority and local businesses. Uh so as of the last fiscal year, we spent over 33 percent of the addressable spend with local businesses, which is an all-time high percentage. And we spent um more than a quarter of a billion dollars with minority owned businesses, which is also an all-time high spend uh record. Uh so at this point we just seem to be breaking our own records year after year, which is something to be very proud of. Okay. Any, I guess we can stop to any questions regarding those programs. Um Director Shea, I just have a one quick question uh because I know we're going over your budget, but while we have you here, um are you seeing um and appreciate the work um and congratulations that every year we're um you know doing better and better in this area. Are there any um obstacles or other or barriers to you doing even more work in this area? And you can say the e-procurement system. I I think you know there are there is sort of a law of physics where you can only do so much with what you have. Uh we've we've our staffing is not increased in the seven years I've been here. We've we've made do with what we have, but we've gotten more out of out of each individual. Uh, but that's been without any technology enhancements. It's just been by motivation, by experience, by by training to the extent that's been possible, by better mentorship. But at a certain point, we are going to see diminishing returns because people can only give you so much at a certain point without it affecting morale and things like that. Um, yes, I I I will say uh, and even outreach is another example. We try to host these events, but there's only so many of us, and there's only so many places we can be at a time. And so outreach also starts to suffer once you've reached a certain a certain level. Um we've been smart. We've we've we've brought on partners from the outside, you know, these various chambers of commerce to partner with us. So we're working as smart as we can, as hard as we can, but at a certain point to scale, we're going to need more. Uh and the e-procurement solution that we've been talking about really allows it's it's a multiplier. It allows us to be that much more productive leveraging technology. Um at this point, as I would probably say again at some point, it's not something that that that is unusual in the world of procurement. In fact, we are the only jurisdiction that I'm aware of that is doing procurement without an e-procurement solution. Thank you. All right.
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