Skip Navigation

APPROVED FY06 OPERATING AND CAPITAL BUDGETS AND
AMENDMENTS TO FY05-10 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM (CIP)

 

OPERATING BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS

 
pdf version

Select the Adobe Portable Document Format (.pdf) version of this budget section to view the section exactly as it was published. The PDF version includes Budget Summary table and charts as appropriate for the section.

  Investing in education...
  Investing in transportation...
  Investing in public safety...
  Investing in health and community...
  Investing in seniors...
  Investing in gang prevention...
  Investing in diversity...
  Investing in the environment...
  Investing in economic development...
  Investing in recreation and libraries...
  Investing in our workforce...
  Funding the budget...

 

Investing in education�

Support the enrollment of 139,477 students in the County's public schools.
Increase Montgomery County Public Schools funding by $112.5 million, a 7.0% increase over the estimated FY05 budget.
Raise spending per pupil to $12,287, the highest level ever.
Expand full-day kindergarten to an additional 20 schools.
Learning at Forest Knolls Elementary School
Learning at Forest Knolls
Elementary School
Decrease elementary school maximum class limits by two students and reduce oversized classes in secondary schools.
Raise accountability for student achievement, introduce curriculum improvements, increase special education staffing, modernize technology, expand the number of elementary school assistant principals, and add building service workers.
Expand the Linkages to Learning school-based health, mental health, and social services program at five sites.
Provide health services at two new schools, Quince Orchard Middle School #2 and Belt Middle School.
Increase Montgomery College's total funding by $29.7 million to $196.7 million, a 17.8% increase over FY05 estimated expenditures.
Expand the County's contribution to Montgomery College by $6.5 million to $76.3 million in FY06, including support for staffing the new Takoma Park Student Services Center and expansion of the College Institute Program.

Investing in transportation�

Resurface 38 additional miles of roads to align operating budget spending with the CIP's Rural/Residential Resurfacing project.
Promote the Safe Route to School Program by actively identifying schools with the most critical needs for safety improvements rather than responding to problems as they arise.
Maintain 39 miles of new subdivision roads in response to continued growth in the County.
Keep Ride On fares at FY05 levels -- $1.25 for a regular fare, $0.60 for seniors and the disabled, $3.00 for a one-day regional pass, $10.00 for a Ride-About two-week pass, and $18.00 for a 20-trip ticket.
Continue the Kids Ride Free program, which allows students ages 18 and under to use Ride On and Metrobus free from 2:00 pm to 7:00 pm, Monday through Friday.
Expand Ride On bus service in selected areas.
Equip 15 additional Ride On buses with security cameras, making a total of 165 buses or 46% of the fleet with such devices, and maintain bus radio communication equipment to improve the safety and security of Ride On bus passengers and operators.

Investing in public safety�

Provide funds for 1,140 sworn and 556 non-sworn Police personnel.

Begin implementation of the Chief of Police's staffing plan by adding 34 new positions (29 sworn and 5 non-sworn) including:

  • One Sergeant for the Gang Prevention unit;
  • Four Officers for the Wheaton safety plan;
  • Two Officers for the Silver Spring safety plan;
  • One Lieutenant to serve as lead for homeland security;
  • Nine Officers for the 6th Police District's Special Assignment Team and Traffic Squad;
  • Seven Officers for the expanded K-9 Unit;
  • One Sergeant and two Officers for the Robbery Squad;
  • Two Officers for cold cases;
  • One Captain to manage the Restricted Duty Unit;
  • One Assistant Director and two supervisors for the Emergency Communications Center;
  • One Sex Offender Registry Specialist; and
  • One Evidence Control Specialist
Enhance fire service to improve response times at Station 29, which serves Germantown and Clarksburg; Station 3, which serves central Rockville and surrounding areas; Station 17, which serves Laytonsville; Station 13, which serves Damascus; and Station 33, which serves Potomac and portions of Rockville.
Emergency Communications Center Dispatcher
Emergency Communications Center Dispatcher
Expand Fire and Rescue Occupational Medical Services by offering wellness physicals for all career and volunteer firefighters, and adding one nurse and one social worker to provide training and quality assurance for life support services.
Add one Correctional Specialist, making a total of five, to the pre-trial services programs for substance abuse.
Add one nurse, making a total of 16, at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility to manage the medical needs of the inmates.
Add one Social Worker at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility to assist inmates' reentry into the community.
Enhance the criminal justice behavioral health initiative by adding a pilot housing program for mentally-ill offenders returning to the community.

Investing in health and community�

Continue the public education campaign to prevent teenage drinking entitled "Parents Who Host, Lose the Most - Don't Be a Party to Underage Drinking."
"Walk Your Kids to School" Day
"Walk Your Kids to School" Day
Expand closed captioning services for the County's cable programs to assist County residents with hearing impairments.
Provide more than $19 million for the Montgomery Housing Initiative to acquire and rehabilitate affordable residences.
Expand the Montgomery Cares Health Care Program by $3 million to provide health care for the uninsured.

Assist residents with limited English proficiency by providing interpretation and translation to ensure access to County services.

Improve the Adult Drug Court program by adding one Spanish-speaking therapist to provide case management and treatment services to 20 additional offenders per year.

Expand the rental assistance program to reduce the waiting list and serve 83 additional clients.

Launch a new post-adoption therapeutic service to promote the mental health of adopted children and their families.

Increase funding for the Working Parents Assistance Child Care Subsidy program to reduce the waiting list and provide financial support to an additional 36 children and their families.

Provide additional funding for residential, vocational, and employment services for persons with developmental disabilities.

Provide 24/7 adult protective services coverage at the Crisis Center for emergencies that affect vulnerable adults at risk of abuse, neglect and exploitation.

Create a roving immunization team to staff immunization clinics at a variety of locations in the County throughout the year.

Broaden the energy assistance rebate program to serve 4,500 low-income residents.

Enhance the African-American Health Program, Asian-American Health Initiative, and Latino Health Initiative.

Fund feasibility studies of school-based health clinics.

Investing in seniors�

Develop a strategic plan for senior programs.
Eliminate the 50 cent fee for transportation to senior programs.
Senior Center Dance
Senior Center Dance
Enhance Project Lifesaver, a program that assists in locating elderly patients who wander away from their caregivers.
Increase respite care to serve 68 additional people.
Increase support for the Chore Services program to reduce the waiting list and serve 20 additional clients.
Enhance in-home aide services to reduce the waiting list and serve 14 additional clients.
Expand the Call 'N Ride program to meet an increase in demand for the discounted taxi service for low-income elderly and disabled residents.

Investing in gang prevention�

Provide about $4 million within the Montgomery County Public Schools budget to support the Countywide gang prevention initiative by expanding middle school extended day and year programs, increasing evening high school offerings, reducing class size, and training staff to help at-risk youth.
Fund contract staff for the Crossroads Youth and Community Opportunity Center in the Takoma Park/Langley Park area, a joint effort with Prince George's County.
Add one Police Sergeant to focus on gang prevention measures.
Broaden the Club Friday program to include cultural activities that lessen the enticement of gang membership at the Upper County, Germantown, Leland, Clara Barton, and Wheaton Community Centers and expand the program to the Ross Boddy and Plum Gar Neighborhood Centers.
Create a Youth Violence Prevention Coordinator to coordinate the County's gang prevention efforts.

Investing in diversity�

Expand Montgomery College Limited English Proficiency programming by adding a 15-minute segment to an existing program that educates non-English speaking adults with language, reading and life skills.
Translate press releases, bulletins, and other media to Spanish and other languages.
Faces of Long Branch
Faces of Long Branch
Provide closed captioning in Spanish for some County Cable Montgomery programming.
Hire a new investigator to address consumer protection complaints and provide outreach to the Spanish-speaking community.

Provide training to front-line employees and interpreters to assist residents with limited English proficiency.

Increase funds to Montgomery Community Television for a public service announcement campaign, which will include messages with captions and in Spanish, to address concerns in the downcounty area.

Investing in the environment�

Inventory street trees and implement an asset management program to track planting and maintenance.
Complete Phase II of the Crabbs Branch Dam embankment.
Monitoring Fish in Great Seneca Creek
Monitoring Fish in Great Seneca Creek
Increase the number of stormwater management facilities to be maintained.
Plant over 1,500 street trees each year.
Expand the Montgomery County Public Schools Green Schools Focus program, which promotes green building technologies, reduction of energy and resource consumption, waste management and recycling, and environmental education.
Purchase six full-size, environmentally-friendly compressed natural gas buses and 27 small diesel buses to replace Ride On buses that have reached the end of their useful lives.
Continue recycling education and outreach initiatives and provide dedicated enforcement to improve the County's recycling rate.
Maintain the transfer of development rights program, which has already preserved more than 45,000 acres of farmland in the County and is recognized nationally as a planning model.

Investing in economic development�

Increase expedited "Green Tape" permitting services for applicants in designated redevelopment areas (such as the Wheaton and Silver Spring Enterprise Zones and the Long Branch/East Silver Spring area), and for designated Moderately Priced Dwelling Unit and priority Economic Development projects.

Increase minority and small business opportunities by appointing a Minority Business Advisor and opening a new small business incubator.
Operate the Retail and Service Learning Center in Wheaton to train employees for that industry sector with emphasis on recruiting at-risk youth, immigrants, and seniors.
Improve public safety and protect agriculture with a more aggressive deer management program.
Preserve agriculture as a County industry through a coordinated marketing effort.
Increase small business opportunities by enlarging the County's small business revolving fund loan program and seeking matching State assistance.
Add a small business reserve program to ensure increased County contracting opportunities for local small businesses.
Provide impact assistance grants to small businesses negatively affected by the County's revitalization projects.

Investing in recreation and libraries�

Open the new Germantown Indoor Swim Center in October 2005.
Open the new Germantown Library in late fall.
Martin Luther King Jr. Outdoor Pool
Martin Luther King Jr. Outdoor Pool
Extend the after school program to the Clara Barton, Germantown, Upper County, Coffield, and Long Branch Community Centers and offer the program from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm during the school year.
Provide more than $5.4 million for library materials, an increase of $300,000, to better serve our growing and diverse community.
Restore funding for major maintenance and trash collection service at selected parks.

Investing in our workforce�

Fund labor agreements covering the employees of all agencies.

Funding the budget �

Approve a total budget from all sources of $3,561,986,208, which is $240.5 million or 7.2% greater than estimated FY05 spending.
Provide budget increases compared to the FY05 estimate of 7.0% for Montgomery County Public Schools, 17.8% for Montgomery College, 6.2% for Montgomery County Government, and 8.4% for the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.
Balance the budget by relying on reductions of PAYGO from the Capital Improvements Program of $30.0 million.
Assume Federal Financial Participation of $21.5 million.
Reduce the property tax rate by four cents and direct a portion of the savings to those with limited and fixed incomes.
Support reserves at the policy level of 6.0% of total resources.
Allow the Fuel Energy Tax scheduled to sunset at the end of FY05 to remain in effect for FY06.
Increase water and sewer rates by 2.5% as recommended by the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission.
Increase resources to the local Earned Income Tax Credit by $2.4 million to a total of $10.5 million.
 
 
Go Back to Main Menu Top of Page