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Montgomery County finance director proposes $156 million FY26 operating budget; $810,000 construction program funded largely from reserves
Summary
Finance Director Wanda Jackson presented two proposed FY26 budgets — an operating budget of roughly $156 million and a construction program of about $810,000 — and introduced a fund-balance commitment resolution intended to increase reporting transparency.
Finance Director Wanda Jackson presented two proposed Montgomery County budgets for fiscal year 2026 during an informational session: an operating budget of approximately $156,000,000 and a construction program budget of about $810,000.
Jackson said projected revenues total about $153,000,000 and that the proposed budgets rely on roughly $3,000,000 in fund balance to cover the difference. "This is a summary of the proposed budgets for review and consideration," Jackson told the commission.
The general fund is shown as balanced in the proposal, with revenues and expenses of approximately $111,000,000 compared with $108,000,000 in FY2025. Jackson told commissioners the increase in the general fund is driven primarily by growth in sales and ad valorem tax revenue and by rising personnel and benefit costs, including health insurance and retirement rate increases.
Jackson also described a proposed FY26 construction program, established to cover maintenance and improvements to county facilities. She said the construction program's primary funding source is the fund balance, with a small amount of interest income.
As part of the budget package, staff requested consideration of an annual fund-balance commitment resolution — a reporting practice implemented in 2009, Jackson said, designed to improve clarity, transparency and consistency in fund-balance reporting so stakeholders better understand available governmental resources.
Commissioners asked clarifying questions during the presentation. One commissioner asked about an apparent discrepancy in ad valorem tax figures shown on two different pages of the packet; Jackson explained that the larger figure represented the combined total split across departments. Another commissioner asked whether staff had located agency budget support materials (referred to in the discussion as "CARB decks"); Jackson said she had not been able to locate a copy in electronic form and asked fellow commissioners whether anyone else had retained a copy.
No formal vote or adoption occurred during the session. Jackson closed by offering to provide requested follow-up information for commissioners as the proposed budgets proceed through the commission's review process.
