Montgomery County proposes $268.6 million FY26 budget, holds real‑estate tax rate at $0.75

County Administrator Angie Hill presented the fiscal year 2026 proposed budget on March 10, proposing a $268,600,000 all‑funds budget and recommending the real‑estate tax rate remain at 75¢ per $100 of assessed value.

Hill told the Board of Supervisors the county and Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) worked together over the year to reflect county priorities in the budget and that public safety needs — including more career fire and emergency medical services staffing — have increased demand on county resources while the schools continue to receive the largest share of spending.

The proposal maintains more than two‑thirds of the total budget for schools: Hill said 67% of the total budget would be allocated to schools, 11% to public safety and 22% to other county functions. She also reported the total budget increased by about $14,000,000 from the prior year and that the county’s estimate of new, undesignated resources rose after an updated state funding calculation for schools.

Director of Management and Budget Mark McGruder walked the board through budget mechanics and key numeric changes, explaining the budget is built from a base budget target and addenda requests. McGruder said county divisions requested roughly $8.5 million in new county funding, and schools requested about $6.6 million in new funding. Estimated undesignated new revenue presented initially was about $7.7 million, producing a projected shortfall of about $7.4 million before the updated school funding numbers.

Hill said the State Department of Education released an updated funding calculation tool after the county printed its budget document. MCPS’s state revenue estimate rose by roughly $1,000,000 — from about $5.4 million to $6.4 million — which McGruder showed would increase total new resources for FY26 to about $12.3 million when combined with county new resources.

The proposed budget contains addenda that the presentation itemized: increases to the transfer for school operations (about $2.7 million), position changes and reclassifications in public safety (about $1.3 million), reclassifications and new county positions (about $600,000), a 3% compensation pool (roughly $1.2 million), increased per‑diem funding for the Western Virginia Regional Jail (just over $500,000), a transfer to capital for asset replacement (about $1.3 million), and other operating and technology increases. Hill said some previously approved FY25 items — including the annualization of career firefighters and deputy positions — had carried forward into the FY26 base.

The budget also proposes accounting and control changes: McGruder detailed a move from a cash‑basis accounting method to a modified‑accrual basis for budgetary and internal accounting, which he said would better align the budget with audited financial reports and reduce year‑end carryover requests when purchases occur in June but are paid after fiscal year end.

Hill and McGruder described personnel changes included in the proposal: 22 new full‑time equivalents (FTEs) listed as addenda plus 9.4 off‑cycle FTEs added in FY25, yielding a net increase of 31.4 FTEs in the base and addenda combined. New positions called out included firefighters to support expanded 24‑hour coverage in eastern Montgomery, a benefit coordinator in human resources, information security staff, a building inspector and groundskeepers in general services, library associates, and parks maintenance workers for newly added facilities.

Hill closed by asking board members to email follow‑up questions; she scheduled a joint budget meeting with MCPS for March 17 and said the board should plan to adopt the six‑year plan in June if the public hearing is held in May.

Nut Graf: The FY26 proposal keeps the county’s real‑estate tax rate steady while responding to increased public‑safety staffing needs and reflecting a late state funding update for schools that boosts available resources. The change to modified‑accrual accounting and new capital and personnel investments are designed to reduce operational carryover and address maintenance and service needs across county functions.

The presentation did not include a formal board vote on the budget; Hill and McGruder asked board members to submit questions ahead of the March 17 joint session with the schools and signaled intent to finalize adoption by a June meeting.