Bi-County Budgets Discussion with Prince George’s County Council - May 14, 2026
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Bi-County Budgets Discussion with Prince George’s County Council - May 14, 2026
The Montgomery County Council and Prince George’s County Council held a joint virtual meeting on Thursday, May 14, 2026, at 9:04 a.m. to review and approve the FY2027 budgets for the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (MNCPPC) central administrative services, the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC Water), and the Washington Suburban Transit Commission (WSTC). The meeting adjourned at 9:16 a.m. after unanimous approval of all three budgets.
Discussion Items
- Voting Procedures: Chair Oriadha (Prince George’s County) outlined the traditional bi-county voting procedure: a motion requires a second from the other council, and a majority of each council must vote in favor.
- Staff Recommendations:
- David Murray (Prince George’s County Council Administrator) summarized the joint staff recommendation for the MNCPPC/CAS budget: reduce the Prince George’s portion by $223,795 and the Montgomery County portion by $2,021, resulting in revised FY27 CAS budgets of $13,541,014 (Montgomery) and $14,961,244 (Prince George’s). Staff also recommended approval of agency-wide collective bargaining and compensation policies, with compensation adjustments not exceeding $5.5 million for Montgomery and $8.2 million for Prince George’s.
- Craig Howard (Montgomery County Council Executive Director) summarized the WSSC Water Budget and Capital Improvements Program, recommending approval as submitted, and the WSTC budget with proposed FY27 amounts of $171,793 for Montgomery County and $149,293 for Prince George’s County.
- Motion and Vote: Councilmember Don Luedtke (Montgomery) moved to approve all three budgets as recommended; Vice Chair Eric Olson (Prince George’s) seconded. The motion passed by voice vote without opposition (straw vote recorded as Montgomery County Council 11 yes, Prince George’s County Council 11 yes). The meeting was then adjourned on a motion by President Fani-González (Montgomery), seconded by Chair Oriadha.
Key Outcomes
- The FY2027 budgets for MNCPPC/CAS, WSSC Water, and WSTC were approved unanimously by both councils.
- Specific budget adjustments and caps on compensation increases were adopted as recommended by staff.
- The meeting was adjourned at 9:16 a.m.
Meeting Transcript
Chair of the Prince George's County Council, President Van Egan Gonzalez, on behalf of my colleagues from Prince George's County Council. I'm pleased to welcome you and your colleagues from Montgomery County Council to the 2026 bi-county meeting. We're grateful for your continued partnership between our two counties as we work together to serve the residents of the region. I want us to begin by just having an opportunity to introduce the council members from both jurisdictions. Again, I'm Councilwoman Chris Oriada representing District 7 and also serving as the chair. I can't jump in and just say a quick uh introduction. Again, my name is Natalie Fanny Gonzalez. I'm the president of the Montgomery County Council. Always a great pleasure to be with our friends from Prince George's. I think you guys are our sibling for everything we do. We know we can count on Prince George's County, and always exciting to discuss parking planning in WSSE. So we're gonna first uh go with Prince Ridge County for introduction and then council members from Montgomery County, right? I'll turn it back to you. Thank you. Um, Vice Chair. Thank you very much. It's great to be with everybody. Eric Olson, uh Vice Chair and um representing District Three. I guess uh Madam Chair will go through District one through nine and at large. Thank you. Greetings, everybody. Tom Dinoga County Council District One, right here looking out my window at Montgomery County as always. Councilmember Adams, you're muted. It's hard for me to hear right now. We're just introducing ourselves, Councilmember. I don't know if you can hear me, so I'll say Councilmember Adams, uh representing District 4 is joining us. Madam Chair, Councilmember Adam Stafford has stepped away. Okay. Councilmember Harrison. Thank you, Madam Chair. Good morning, everyone. My name is Sydney Harrison. I represent uh County Council District 9, which is the southern part of Prince George's County. Thank you. Good morning, everyone. I'm Jolene Ivey. I'm an at-large council member, and that of course means I represent the whole county. Thank you. Thank you. And I believe that concludes all the council members I can see online on the Prince George's County side. Um, so we'll go to Montgomery County. Um hi everyone. Uh Marilyn Balcom. I'm the council vice president. I represent District 2, uh, which is the northwest corner of Montgomery County. Good morning, everyone. I am Shebrah Evans, Councilmember representing the whole entire county. I'm at large. Good to see everyone. Morning, Andrew Friedson, District One.
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