Hello Neighbor:
Budget season is back. The County Executive put forward a $7.7 billion budget proposal, which funds everything from schools, police, fire and rescue, to roads, parks, and more. The County Executive has proposed a 3.5% increase in property taxes along with significant increases in fees. I will state from the onset that my bar for raising taxes is very high. My priorities for the budget will be the same as they always have been: providing a world-class education for our students, meeting the community’s short term needs, ensuring sustainability in our investments, compensating public employees well, and ensuring that tax dollars are used as efficiently and effectively as possible, all that while taking into consideration how rising costs and potential tax increases put further pressure on working families.
We are just now beginning the Council’s review of the upcoming year’s budget with public hearings on April 7 and April 8 at 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. You may sign up testify in person or virtually or submit testimony anytime throughout the budget process. I encourage you to please provide your feedback!
Update on More Housing N.O.W.
As a reminder, the More Housing N.O.W. package that Councilmember Friedson and I put forward takes five steps to increase the supply of housing, drive down costs, and increase pathways to homeownership for Montgomery County residents. The package consists of:
- Workforce Housing ZTA
- Workforce Housing Opportunity Fund, to be addressed during this year’s budget.
- Office to Housing ZTA with an Office to Housing Subdivision Regulation Amendment (SRA)
- Office to Housing Tax Abatement Bill
- Doubling of the County’s investment in the Homeowner Assistance Program, to be addressed during this year’s budget.
I am happy to report that the several key components are moving forward:
The Office to Housing ZTA/SRA, which streamlines approval processes, was voted out of the Planning, Housing, and Parks (PHP) Committee on Monday with approval; as you may know, I am one of the three members of that committee.
The Office to Housing Tax Abatement Bill received a favorable report from the Joint Government Operations (GO) and Economic Development (ECON) Committee on Thursday. As you may know, I am the Chair of the ECON committee.
Both the ZTA and bill now head to full council for final action as early as the beginning of April.
On the increase for the Homeowner Assistance Program, I would like to thank the County Executive for agreeing to our request of increasing the County’s investment for the first-time homebuyers program. The County Executive’s budget includes $5.5 million for the program–$1.5 million more than last year (yet not the full $8 million that we were hoping, but I recognize that he increased the amount thanks to our advocacy for it)– we will work to supplement that investment as the Council finalizes the budget.
On the Workforce Housing Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA), we will have the first PHP committee briefing on Monday March 31 at 1:30pm, and continue the work on this ZTA in the summer after we are done with our budget work.
I’m very excited to continue moving forward with our effort on more housing!
Youth Town Hall
Please join me and the Arts and Humanities Council to share your ideas and help shape Montgomery County’s cultural future—your voice matters
Middle and high schoolers: This event is a fantastic opportunity for young people like YOU to have a say in shaping the future of arts and culture in our county. Whether you’re into music, art, theater, photography, technology, dance, or any other creative field—or even if these areas aren’t your main interest—your perspective is critical! This is a great chance to learn more about what’s happening in your community.
Monday, March 31, 2025
10am – 1pm
M-NCPPC Auditorium
2425 Reedie Drive
Wheaton, MD 20902
RSVP Here »
Food provided + SSL Hours
Resources for federal workers
Many residents are feeling the effects of federal budget cuts from the Trump Administration. As Chair of the Economic Development committee, I have worked closely with County agencies, local chambers, and many other partners, to create a one stop landing page dedicated to providing resources to affected individuals and businesses. It’s called Mobilize Montgomery. Check it out.
Cleaning up the community
I host lots of clean-ups in our neighborhoods. But sometimes, I find places that are not appropriate for volunteers to handle. For example, near a busy road or the location is private property. Two recent examples include commercial properties and WMATA that were in violation of Montgomery County Solid Waste Code. Thanks very much to our Department of Environmental Protection for helping us solved these violations.
If you see places in our district that need to be addressed, please email me with the location. We are in this TOGETHER! My email: Councilmember.Fani-Gonzalez@MontgomeryCountyMD.gov
