As part of his final budget proposal as Montgomery County executive, Marc Elrich (D) is recommending a 6% property tax rate increase he says is needed to fully fund Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) in the upcoming fiscal year. 

Elrich presented his $8 billion operating budget proposal for fiscal year 2027 during a Friday afternoon press conference at Rockville’s Richard Montgomery High School. The proposal now heads to the County Council for review. 

The fiscal year 2027 proposal represents a $420 million — or 5.5% — increase over the county’s $7.6 billion operating budget for fiscal year 2026. Fiscal year 2027 begins July 1. 

“My budget has tax increases because I cannot instantly grow the county,” Elrich said during his budget presentation Friday. “You have to make investments to grow the county.” 

Under Elrich’s proposed county spending plan, annual residential and commercial property taxes would increase by 6.3 cents — from $1.023 to $1.089 — per $100 of assessed value. For example, a county resident with a home valued at the median price of $640,300 would have to pay an additional $423 in property taxes. 

The county last increased the property tax rate — by 4.7% — during the fiscal year 2024 budget cycle. The property tax rate did not go up in fiscal years 2025 and 2026. 

Revenue generated by the proposed property tax rate increase, at approximately $160 million, would be dedicated to MCPS, according to Elrich.  

“This education investment is the largest- ever county contribution to MCPS, and that’s worth noting,” Elrich said during his presentation. “It’s going to make a difference.”  

In a Friday statement after Elrich’s budget presentation, County Council President Natali Fani-González (D-Dist. 6) said she would be “closely evaluating” the proposal with her colleagues.  

“We know that the needs in our community are great, from achieving excellence in our schools, enhancing public safety, and providing social services to the most vulnerable, to providing world-class parks and transportation infrastructure,” Fani-González said. 

“We also know that working families are hurting right now, with rising food, housing, utility, and energy costs outpacing gains in wages,” she continued. “It is under this context that I will be reviewing the County Executive’s request to increase income and property taxes. The bar for raising taxes is appropriately high.”  

School district request 

MCPS Superintendent Thomas Taylor’s total requested operating budget for fiscal year 2027 is $3.78 billion, representing a $179.7 million or 5% increase over the current MCPS budget.  

Taylor’s proposed fiscal year 2027 budget includes staff salary increases and a goal of reducing elementary school class sizes by at least one student. The proposal also calls for cutting 50 central office positions and introduces a tiered approach based on poverty data to determine class sizes and school staffing guidelines.    

Nearly $140 million in Taylor’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2027 would be spent on salaries and benefits, including a 3.25% base salary increase for staff. About $35 million would go toward implementing “staffing allocation standards” and reducing elementary school class sizes.    

The county school board has tentatively approved cuts to Taylor’s proposed budget that would reduce the number of special education resource teachers by roughly 35 positions, saving $4.36 million.  

Under Elrich’s proposal, the county’s contribution to MCPS in fiscal year 2027 would be $2.52 billion, up from $2.43 billion in fiscal year 2027, according to county spokesperson Scott Peterson. The remainder of the district’s $3.78 billion operating budget would be provided by the federal and state governments. 

If the council approves the spending for MCPS, the four largest increases in county funding for the district will have occurred over the last four fiscal years. Elrich’s budget proposal also would fully fund Montgomery College’s $6.3 million operating budget request. 

County school board President Grace Rivera-Oven told reporters after Elrich’s presentation that his budget proposal showed what “true partnership is.” In addition to Rivera-Oven, Taylor and school board member Laura Stewart attended the presentation. 

“This shows a true commitment of where education is a priority,” Rivera-Oven said. “I am so incredibly happy because we need it.” She added that she expects the council to support the budget recommendation.   

David Stein, president of the Montgomery County Education Association, the local teachers union, told Bethesda Today on Friday that Elrich “stood up and did what was right.”  

“It shows a lot of courage on his part, because it is difficult times, and there are going to be difficult choices that have to be made, but we have to be prioritizing the needs of the students,” Stein said. “And so the county executive has stood up and done the right thing, and now we need [the] council to fund the county executive’s budget and also do what’s right for kids.”  

Proposed income tax rate 

Elrich’s proposed county spending plan for fiscal year 2027 would also be supported in part by a 0.1% increase in the progressive income tax rate from 3.2% to 3.3%. For a household making the county median income of $132,450, this would result in a $132 annual tax increase. 

Elrich unsuccessfully proposed the same income tax rate increase, enabled by a 2025 state law change, for fiscal year 2026. 

“This is not a huge tax increase. We’re not going to break anybody’s back with this,” Elrich said during his budget presentation Friday. “We need the revenues, and we’ve got to find ways to support those revenues.” 

Additional spending on health care initiatives, wage increases for county employees and an inflationary adjustment for nonprofit contracts also contributed to the growth of Elrich’s recommended budget for fiscal year 2027.  

The wage increases are dictated by collective bargaining agreements between the county and the unions representing its employees.  

Non-uniformed county government employees represented by UFCW Local 1994 MCGEO will receive a 2.85% general wage increase in fiscal year 2027. Career firefighters represented by the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1664 will receive a 2.5% increase. Officers represented by the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 35 will receive a 3% increase, according to county Chief Administrative Officer Rich Madaleno. 

As Elrich signalled in a series of public hearings last week, his fiscal year 2027 budget proposal also includes money for a temporary waste hauling contract.  

The contract is a necessary step toward Elrich’s longtime goal of closing the county’s Resource Recovery Facility in Dickerson. Funding for the contract, which has not yet been awarded, will come from commercial and residential trash collection fees. 

Other highlights of Elrich’s proposed budget include: 

$52.3 million for the county’s Housing Initiative Fund, which helps support construction of affordable units; 

$19.4 million for the Montgomery County Green Bank, which supports investment in renewable and energy-efficient technology; 

$50 million for the University of Maryland’s Institute for Health Computing campus in North Bethesda; and 

More than $200,000 to expand security services at five library branches. 

Next steps 

The fiscal year 2027 budget proposal is Elrich’s last before his term as county executive expires in December. He cannot seek re-election this year due to term limits. He is instead seeking the Democratic nomination for one of four at-large council seats.  

In a Friday interview with Bethesda Today, Fani-González said the general feeling on the council toward a tax increase is “not positive.” 

“No one is jumping up and down and saying, ‘let’s do this,’” Fani-González said. “It’s going to be very critical to analyze every single item in work sessions.” 

The council will hold five public hearings on the county operating budget. They are scheduled for 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. April 7-8 and 1:30 p.m. April 9. Those interested in testifying at the public hearings in person or virtually can sign up on the council’s webpage or by calling 240-777-7803.    

Eight members of the 11-member council must vote to pass the budget. The votes of only six members are needed to increase taxes, but Fani-González told Bethesda Today she would strive to get “as many councilmembers as possible to reach consensus” on the issue. 

The council must take final action on the county’s fiscal year 2027 budget by June 1.