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Residents urge council to restore parks and recreation funding, citing maintenance and youth programs at risk
Summary
Multiple residents and nonprofit leaders told the Montgomery County Council during FY26 budget public hearings that the county executive’s recommended parks funding is insufficient to maintain facilities, programs and field availability, and asked the council to fully fund the Recreation and Parks Department’s request.
Montgomery County residents told the County Council at a public hearing that proposed cuts to parks and recreation funding would reduce access to maintained fields, after‑school programs, and services that community members rely on.
Mike Ricci, chair of the county Recreation Parks Advisory Board, said the executive’s recommendation “underfunds parks beyond even the most extreme black swan scenarios that the department had contemplated” and urged the council to “fully fund recreation and parks.”
Speakers described parks and rec as core, widely used services that support young people, seniors and volunteers. Lisonbee Gillespie said the department requested “a 7.2 budget increase, but the executive recommended only 3.1,” and she warned that the reduction is larger than for most other county departments. Ray Heinsman, a Forest Glen resident who volunteers on trails, called parks “the places where connections happen,” and John Harding, vice president of Montgomery County Little League, said cuts would “make it impossible for parks to even maintain the current surface and keep fields playable,” affecting more than 4,000 players and families his group serves.
Youth speakers and nonprofit leaders described how recreation programming doubles as workforce development and social support: Hannah Hutton said recreation “doesn’t just fill time. It shapes futures,” citing counselor‑in‑training and teen internship programs; Caden (a Whitman High student) described club mountain‑bike volunteers who build and maintain trails and warned that lower funding would jeopardize trail safety and upkeep.
Supporters asked the council to prioritize operational maintenance (field upkeep, restroom and ADA repairs), staffing and programs that serve high‑use facilities such as Wheaton Regional Park and Germantown fields. Several witnesses noted the parks request is a relatively small share of the county operating budget but has large community impact.
No formal council action or vote was recorded during the hearing; testimony was part of the public record for the FY26 operating budget process. The council’s committee and full‑council work sessions were announced to begin in April and May as part of the budget review schedule.
Many speakers asked the council to restore the department’s full requested increase to maintain current services, while others offered to partner on field improvements or volunteer maintenance. The council will consider these requests during the upcoming work sessions.
Ending: The council’s formal decisions on the FY26 budget will come through committee work sessions and full‑council votes; residents asked that parks and recreation be maintained at current service levels to avoid reductions in field availability, programming and maintenance.
