Public Safety Committee Work Session - April 24, 2026
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Public Safety Committee Work Session - April 24, 2026
Note: The agenda, minutes, and transcript indicate the meeting occurred on Thursday, April 23, 2026, from 2:05 p.m. to 3:12 p.m. However, the instruction for this summary specifies the date as April 24, 2026. This discrepancy is noted.
The Montgomery County Public Safety Committee, chaired by Councilmember Sidney Katz, met to review four FY27 operating budget items and related resolutions. The committee approved a 9-1-1 fee increase, recommended additional funding for the Police Accountability Board's special counsel, and advanced numerous budget changes for the Police Department, including additions for AEDs, trial boards, and technology upgrades.
Discussion Items
Police Accountability Board Non-Departmental Account (NDA)
- Staff reported a $19,400 increase (2.59%) over FY26, mainly for compensation adjustments. The ACC's special counsel expenditures were projected at $8,600–$14,300/month, potentially exceeding the current $150,000 appropriation. The committee agreed to add $50,000 to the Reconciliation List to cover anticipated shortfalls and approved the budget as amended (3-0).
Resolution to Adopt FY27 County 9-1-1 Fee
- The resolution would increase the county portion of the 9-1-1 fee from $1.47 to $1.93 per subscriber line per month, generating an additional $9 million to close the gap between ECC expenditures ($32M) and current revenues ($18.5M). The committee approved the increase 3-0, noting the fee remains within the range of neighboring Maryland counties.
Prisoner Medical Services NDA
- Level funding of $20,000 was recommended (no increase). The NDA covers unpredictable medical costs for persons under arrest but not yet in DOCR custody. Approved 3-0 as submitted.
Police Department Budget (FY27 Operating and FY27-32 CIP)
- The County Executive recommended a $33 million increase (9.37%) over FY26. Committee reviewed 12 budget changes for the Reconciliation List and other items. Key discussions included:
- AED Replacements ($532,227): 213 units needed; previous funding was denied, creating backlog. Approved for full amount (3-0).
- Trial Board Resolutions ($300,000): 42 pending cases; over 90% of officers appeal disciplinary recommendations. Approved (3-0). Councilmember Mink suggested post-budget process review.
- Case Management Software ($180,000): For investigative services; addresses inefficient manual tracking. Approved (3-0).
- Vehicle Recovery Software ($180,000) and Manager III Position ($160,458): Modernization needed; currently relies on post-it notes and multiple systems. Both approved (3-0).
- Fixed ALPR Technology ($150,000): 50 fixed poles at entry points to combat auto thefts (up 33% in Q1 2026). Approved (3-0) with suggestion for future public awareness update.
- Crossing Guards for Greenwood and Burtonsville Elementary ($117,162): Three guards added; Burtonsville new school will have 90% walkers. Approved (3-0) with asterisk noting PTA request.
- Police Accountability Board Public Portal ($33,000): Joint project for complaint filing and transparency. Approved (3-0).
- New Investigator Position ($1,859): Replaces contractor at net minimal cost. Approved (3-0).
- Mid-FY26 Action for ECC Staffing ($1,992,606): 25 positions to reduce mandatory overtime; committee opted to reduce funding by $629,244 (mid-year hiring lag) while preserving all 25 positions, placing the remaining $1,363,362 on the Reconciliation List (3-0).
- Homeland Security Grant Loss ($120,000): Shifts grant-funded lieutenant to general funds. Approved (3-0) with asterisk.
- Crime Analysis Software ($29,096): Risk terrain modeling tool. Approved (3-0) with request for additional information before full council.
- Other items (contractual increases, camera contract, drone program adjustments) were noted without controversy.
- CIP – 4th District Police Station: $40 million placeholder; design begins FY27. Approved as submitted (3-0).
- CIP – Outdoor Firearms Training Center: $300,000 for program of requirements. Motion to restore funding was split 2-1 (Katz and Luedtke in favor, Mink opposed) due to concerns about potential obsolescence and budget constraints; will be discussed further at full council.
Key Outcomes
- Police Accountability Board NDA: Approved with $50,000 added to Reconciliation List (3-0).
- 9-1-1 Fee Resolution: Approved (3-0).
- Prisoner Medical Services NDA: Approved as submitted (3-0).
- Police Department Budget: Approved as amended, with 12 items placed on the Reconciliation List (including the reduced ECC funding). Total additions: approximately $3.3 million (net after reduction). The committee noted several items require asterisks explaining prior funding history or operational context.
- CIP – 4th District Station: Approved (3-0).
- CIP – Outdoor Firearms Training Center: Vote split 2-1; deferred to full council with additional information to be gathered.
Meeting Transcript
Good job. Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the Public Safety Committee meeting work session of Thursday, April 23rd, 2026. Today we have four topics on the agenda. The first is the police accountability board non-departmental account. The second is the resolution to adopt FY27 County 911 fee. The third is prisoner medical services non-departmental account. And the fourth is the police department. As we begin, I'd like to thank Ms. Farag for preparing the staff reports for the topics today and for once again and always assembling most informative packets for us. Do any of the committee members have any opening comments? I'm going to ask the first panel to please introduce yourselves. And if you have any opening comments, and then I'm going to ask Ms. Farog to lead us through the packet. Good afternoon. My name is Siobhan Gilman Riley. I am the administrative director for police accountability in the Office of the County Executive. Good afternoon, Christopher Jennison, I'm the chair of the administrative charging committee. Good afternoon, Bishop Paul Walker, Chair of the Police Accountability Board. Hi, I'm Julie Knight from the Office of Management and Budget. Thank you. Do any of you have opening comments? No. No? Ms. Farog, you have opening comments. Good afternoon again. The recommended budget for the police accountability board is the same services budget. It has $19,400 increase or about $2.59 percent from the approved FY26 operating budget for the board. The executive's recommendation includes no items that must be placed on the reconciliation list per the council president's budget approach. And it has $18,000. The great majority of this increase is $18,000 increase for compensation adjustments and of $797 for other cost increases that are not required to be placed on the reconciliation list. Non-departmental accounts are not required to submit operating budget tool equity analyses. Just a little bit of the department background, the police accountability board and administrative charging committee were established to enhance police oversight and accountability under the Maryland Police Accountability Act of 2021. The MPAA requires each county to create its own PAB and ACC, which the county did through Bill 4921E. The PAB and the ACC are funded through a non-departmental account. These are independent agencies, each with a distinct role in police accountability and oversight. I do have a link in the packet if it still works to the staff report that when the Public Safety Committee reviewed their 2025 annual report. In terms of budget discussion items, again, their only increase is compensation increases. They are divided into two different categories, which you can find on page three. The first one is compensation for two merit staff positions that support both the PAB and the ACC. This increase is about $12,200. The second change is compensation increase for the PAB and the ACC members, and that's about $6,400. This their increases occur each year and it's based on the CPI as required by law. And there's a table on page three that shows you base salaries for FY25 and the salary increase for December 1st, 2025 based on the consumer price index. The council decreased that appropriation by about 100,000, leaving 150,000 total in the budget. The police accountability board has advised that it anticipates the ACC will require 15 to 25 hours of support from their special counsel per month in FY27 at a at a rate of between $8,600 to $14,300 a month. The ACC must issue a written opinion in each case forward to it, and each case may include multiple police officers who in turn may be each accused of one or more policy violations depending on the facts. In the event that the ACC determines that a police officer should be administratively charged, its written opinion must be legally sufficient to service the charging document at the trial board. The police PAB advises that the total special counsel expenditures to date have been $96,900 and include the bulk of that is in the ACC, which is about $71,000, and then PAB Special Council expenditures have been about $26,000. So it might be helpful if the committee wants to clarify whether or not the total expenditures for the special counsel in the ACC may exceed the $150,000 appropriation in FY27, and if so, to what extent?
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