Montgomery County Police outline FY26 priorities: Progress Place security, RMS replacement, drones, digital forensics and training partnerships

Montgomery County Police Chief Mark Yamada and senior staff briefed the Public Safety Committee on April 23 on the police department’s FY26 recommended budget and several programmatic priorities that county staff and the department identified as central to public safety operations.

Why it matters: The county executive recommended a roughly $353 million budget for MCPD for FY26 – an increase of about $23 million (6.8%) over FY25 – driven largely by compensation, overtime and continuing service levels. The department described several enhancements intended to reduce calls for service, speed investigations and strengthen training and wellness support.

Key department priorities and requests:

• Progress Place security officers (15 FTEs, ~$1.0 million): The department asked for 15 full‑time security officers to provide continuous coverage at Progress Place in Silver Spring, a facility that co‑locates Shepherd’s Table, Interfaith Works and MobileMed and has high calls for service. Officials said 22 of 37 county security officers already have Crisis Intervention Training (CIT); the department plans to expand CIT for staff assigned to Progress Place.

• Records management system (RMS) replacement and procurement: The department said its current RMS (eJustice) is legacy software (acquired in 2004) past its useful life. MCPD reported a vendor contract negotiation in 2022 that terminated in early 2024 and is pursuing an expedited RFP process; OMB reported approximately $1.9 million remaining in the Public Safety System Modernization CIP to support the work. The department said a consultant/vendor that can help write an RFP could shorten procurement to roughly 10 months (six months to develop RFP, four months to contract), though department leaders said the work must be done carefully because RMS is core to many operations.

• Digital forensics automation (Magnet Automate/Review) (~$319,000): The department asked to fund software that automates batch forensic extractions and review to reduce backlog and officer overtime and to comply with legal constraints on targeted extractions (Maryland v. Richardson was cited in the briefing).

• Axon contract and RMS procurement sequencing: The department described current licensing and replacement obligations tied to its Axon suite (body‑worn cameras, tasers, in‑car video and cloud licensing); procurement rules require establishing a new sole‑source contract for existing Axon goods before broad RMS procurement can be opened.

• Drone as First Responder (DFR) expansion (12 merit positions, add Germantown site, net ~$273,000): MCPD seeks to convert contractor positions to merit staff and add a site in Germantown; department staff warned technology and FAA rules are changing rapidly and the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) may affect allowable hardware. The department is testing remote docking and wireless‑charging dock concepts to reduce need for rooftop observers and to scale operations more efficiently.

• Real Time Information Center staffing: conversion of contractual staff to three merit positions to maintain RTIC operations, with a net FY26 cost of about $60,000 (assuming contractor coverage during hiring delays).

• Speed‑on‑green pilot ($20,000): A pilot to identify drivers who accelerate to beat red lights; department identified northbound Colesville Road at University Boulevard and westbound River Road at Wilson Lane as pilot sites.

• Recruiting, training and UMGC partnership: The department announced a partnership with University of Maryland Global Campus that would award 60 college credits for academy completion and provide tuition benefits; captain and academy staff said the program will support recruitment and career advancement opportunities.

• Wellness and peer support programs: Department staff described a growing wellness program for officers and peer support that aims to address compassion fatigue and trauma exposure.

Budget caveats: MCPD continues to face high overtime expenditures; FY25 overtime expenditures ran well above budgeted amounts and the department projects elevated overtime for FY25 overall. OMB staff cautioned that taking non‑recommended staffing reductions (e.g., reducing a vacant Montgomery Village team or cutting gang unit FTEs) would increase the lapse target and could lead to future supplemental requests if recruitment improves.

Committee response and next steps: Committee members voiced support for targeted investments such as Progress Place security staffing, RMS replacement prioritization, training enhancements and wellness investments. Staff provided two non‑recommended reduction options for committee consideration (vacant Montgomery Village team positions and a reduction in gang unit FTEs); committee members discussed tradeoffs and asked the department to return with patrol staffing analysis and further details on RMS procurement timing and drone operations.

Ending: Committee staff recommended approval of the police budget as transmitted; the committee did not adopt final council appropriations that day but asked staff and the department to continue coordination during reconciliation.