Montgomery County Board of Commissioners Meeting - January 5, 2026
Montgomery County Board of Commissioners Meeting - January 5, 2026
The Montgomery County Board of Commissioners held its January 5, 2026 meeting, which included the annual reorganization, election of officers, public comments, and closing remarks. Outgoing Chair Commissioner McKeesia reviewed 2025 accomplishments, and Commissioner Jamila Winder was elected Chair, while Commissioner McKeesia was elected Vice Chair.
Public Comments & Testimony
- State Representative Reg Scott congratulated Commissioner Winder and stressed the importance of county government in uncertain times. He highlighted a partnership that helped over 4,000 families in his district avoid utility disconnection and urged continued focus on mental health, housing, and food access. He also suggested the board discuss the annual chair transition with constituents.
- John Bower expressed support for Commissioners McKeesia and DeBella, calling them compassionate and smart, and thanked them for their work.
- Carmina Taylor praised the board for demonstrating bipartisan governance and implored continued civility. She specifically urged support for the female commissioner (Winder) and recognition of different lived experiences, calling on both black residents and white men to support her leadership.
Discussion Items
- Outgoing Chair Commissioner McKeesia opened the meeting, noting the passage of the first bipartisan budget in nearly a decade, the 24/7 behavioral health crisis center, three homeless shelters in Lansdale and Pottsville, and the highest voter turnout (50%) in a local election. He thanked his colleagues and passed the gavel to Commissioner Winder.
- Commissioner DeBella wished everyone a happy new year, highlighted Montgomery County's growth as one of the "hottest counties," and expressed hope that 2026 meetings would be more business-focused, with regular project updates and expense discussions.
- Nominations for Chair: Commissioner McKeesia nominated Commissioner Jamila Winder. Commissioner DeBella self-nominated but lacked a second. The nomination was closed, and Winder was elected unanimously.
- Commissioner Winder accepted the chair, emphasizing bipartisan collaboration and shared leadership. She outlined key challenges: housing insecurity, mental health, justice and public safety, and sustainable infrastructure. She committed to open dialogue, transparency, and mutual respect.
- Nominations for Vice Chair: Chair Winder nominated Commissioner McKeesia. Commissioner DeBella self-nominated but lacked a second. McKeesia was elected unanimously.
- Closing remarks: Commissioners thanked each other and the county team. Commissioner McKeesia noted the value of collective action and reminded that it takes two commissioners to advance an agenda. Commissioner DeBella encouraged continued honesty and feedback.
Key Outcomes
- Commissioner Jamila Winder was elected Chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners for a term expiring January 4, 2027.
- Commissioner Neil McKeesia was elected Vice Chair for a term expiring January 4, 2027.
- The board adjourned the general meeting and immediately convened a Salary Board meeting, where the annual compensation of county employees was approved unanimously.
Meeting Transcript
Morning. We'll call toward the January 5th meeting of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners. I will ask our new judge, Lauren Hughes, to leave us some pledge of allegiance. Thank you. I pledge it. Well share everyone, happy new year. It was nice to already see many people excited in the elevator on the way up here. I took the local and saw many people and stopped on every floor. But it's uh it's an exciting new year. Uh we ended this last uh year in the boardroom on a really great note. We've passed the first bipartisan budget in almost a decade, which is something uh really to be proud of. And I thank both of my colleagues for working with our senior team on getting that done. I think it really sent a signal that here in Monco we're working hard to uh do what's best for our residents, all of our residents, and uh we're working creatively uh as a team. So I think there's a couple of things that uh you all uh know about, have heard about that we launched in 2025 that are going to become a reality in 2026, uh including our behavioral health center, emergency center, the 24-7 crisis center, which we broke ground on last year, three homeless shelters or transition short-term transitional housing facilities in Lansdale Potts tip. Uh and uh all of this shows that we're genuinely making an impact on the issues that are most pressing to our constituents. Uh you also know that we launched a number of initiatives, including our Office of Innovation Strategy and Performance, which helped us save costs, uh, which is also working with all of our row officers to innovate to better deliver services through technology like AI and and other um uses that will help us find efficiencies and uh we're doing all of this while putting every resident uh in mind and making sure that we reach every population. And I'll just say I don't know if Nelly's here. It's been a complicated few days in the world. Um but we're you know Nelly's our director of immigrant affairs, uh always thinking about how we make sure we're serving our hundred thousand uh immigrant um citizens of Montgomery County and uh you know, I just want to thank you for all of your work. We can have to get into everything that's happening right now, but um it's just an example of how we make a deliberate effort to represent every community and make sure that people have a voice here in county government. So uh finally I'll also say in 2025 we had the highest voter turnout ever in a local election. We 50 percent. Well, I hope we'll keep that record up and do the same thing in 2026 uh because we've got another election, of course, as our team knows we have an election every few months, whether anyone notices or not. Um but uh thanks again to our voter services team. Uh thank you to our whole senior team. And uh today uh we're gonna do the re-org and I want to thank my colleagues uh for this year as chair, it's really been rewarding and fulfilling to sit in the middle. Um excited to pass the baton to Commissioner Winder, who's held it before. So we're doing the relay race and uh hopefully uh Commissioner DeBella won't interrupt her as much as uh I've gotten this year. I'm just kidding. But uh no, it's uh it's genuinely been uh a pleasure uh to be able to help facilitate these meetings and and to move our agenda collectively forward. So that I'll pass on to Commissioner Winder. I'm gonna go on comments, just wishing everybody a happy new year. I'll save my comments for later on in the meeting. Thanks for being here. Oh, yeah, sure. You got anything or no? I mean, I just want to wish everyone uh a happy new year. 2025 was a busy year. We did get a lot of a lot accomplished. Umgumbry County is a growing county. There's a lot going on throughout Montgomery County. Um, it's one of the hottest counties, I think. Um not weather-wise, but it is one of the hottest counties out there. Uh, a lot of people want to move here. A lot of businesses are looking at Montgomery County. Um, so that's really exciting and rewarding part of being a county commissioner, knowing that uh we are really doing good work to continue to promote McGomber County. I see good things happening in 2026. UmKeeja um mentioned a few things that we accomplished in 25. And I'm I know 26 is going to be just as busy. Um and the good news is is that uh we'll take a little bit of a break, maybe for a couple weeks, and we'll gonna dive in um to really look at the the budget for 27 and really start laying out what that framework looks like and how we're gonna proceed forward.
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