Council committee backs supplemental payments for disability and senior services, flags one‑time nature of county funds

Montgomery County Council staff presented a package of FY26 amendments covering aging and disability programs, and the County Council’s Health and Human Services (HHS) committee recommended approval of the executive’s proposed additions and eliminations.

The packet included a 3% increase to the developmental disability provider supplement (listed as $650,820), a 3% increase to adult medical day care supplements (original calculation corrected by staff), a respite‑care rate increase, senior nutrition funding to continue services at the Silver Spring Recreation and Aquatic Center, and several reductions for underutilized child‑care and family support contracts. The total FY26 funding for the developmental disability supplement was reported as $22,300,000 in the staff presentation.

Why it matters: county supplements make up for state funding shortfalls described by staff, and several items affect services for older adults and people with developmental disabilities across Montgomery County. The committee and staff emphasized that some proposed increases are one‑time or designed to address gaps created by recent state budget actions.

Most important facts - The HHS packet opened with a 3% increase to the developmental disability provider supplement of $650,820; staff said the county has provided this supplement to community‑based organizations for more than 20 years and that state funding has not covered rising costs in Montgomery County. - Adult medical day care (AMDC) received a recommended 3% supplement; DHHS noted a technical error in the original FY26 calculation and provided a corrected FY26 total for AMDC in the packet. - Respite care provider rates were recommended for a funding increase after the FY25 rate increase was funded from contract savings. - Senior nutrition services at the Silver Spring Recreation and Aquatic Center were recommended for $147,875 to continue operations; DHHS said the program used ARPA funding in FY25 that is not available for FY26. - DHHS proposed eliminations for several underutilized programs: Karasick Child Care (no spending in FY24–FY25 year‑to‑date), reductions to the MyTurn family support program, and a reduction to the Community Companions contract; staff said these cuts would not affect current service recipients. - The county executive transmitted an amendment (item 2) to provide a one‑time 1% rate increase to developmental disability providers (listed as $2,829,840) after a planned 1% state increase was removed from the state FY26 DDA budget. Staff and the committee recommended placing that one‑time county appropriation on the reconciliation list for Council consideration.

Discussion and constraints Council members and staff repeatedly noted that the county has provided supplemental funding to disability providers for many years and that the county’s contribution is likely unsustainable as ongoing local funding. One committee member said, “This is one time funding and it probably is gonna have to remain one time funding,” and urged renewed state support. Staff emphasized the difference between ongoing and one‑time funding sources (for example, ARPA used in FY25 for senior nutrition is not available in FY26). Several items were described as technical corrections to earlier calculations.

Next steps and outcome The HHS committee recommended approval of the proposed FY26 package and placed the county executive’s one‑time developmental disability supplement on the reconciliation list for the full Council to consider. Council members requested the item be flagged as one‑time and urged continued state engagement on Developmental Disabilities Administration funding.

Ending County staff and committee members said they would present the reconciliation list to the full Council next week. No formal Council vote on the full package was recorded in this session’s transcript excerpt; the committee recommendation will go forward for Council consideration.