Montgomery County council introduces $1 million emergency appropriation to shore up senior and family services
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Summary
Council member Lori Ann Sales proposed a $1,000,000 special appropriation to Montgomery County’s FY2026 operating budget to address service pauses and wait lists caused by federal and state funding cuts; a public hearing is scheduled Jan. 27 and committee review Feb. 9.
Council member Lori Ann Sales proposed a $1,000,000 special appropriation to Montgomery County’s fiscal year 2026 operating budget to stabilize senior nutrition, home care and respite services after recent federal and state funding cuts disrupted local programs.
County leaders announced the measure at a press conference in Silver Spring, saying the appropriation is intended to provide immediate relief while the county develops longer-term solutions. The resolution was introduced when the council reconvened after winter recess and is co-led by Council President Natalie Fani Gonzalez and council members Sydney Katz, Kristen Mink and Will Joando. A public hearing is scheduled for Jan. 27, followed by a joint committee work session of the Government Operations and Fiscal Policy Committee and the Health and Human Services Committee on Feb. 9.
The proposal allocates $450,000 to senior nutrition programs to reopen access to meals, $300,000 for home care services aimed at reducing wait lists, and $250,000 for respite care to provide thousands of hours of support to family caregivers. According to the presentation at the press conference, officials say federal and state cuts have forced service pauses and intake closures and led to rapidly growing wait lists that put residents at risk of losing access to critical supports.
Speakers at the event emphasized the county’s stated goal of being age-friendly and framed the appropriation as an urgent, short-term intervention. One speaker said the situation in the Department of Health and Human Services was "unsustainable" and described staff working under overwhelming challenges. The measure was presented as a stopgap to prevent immediate harm while staff and elected officials pursue longer-term budgetary and programmatic fixes.
The resolution has been formally introduced but there was no vote recorded at the press conference. If approved by the council, the funding would be transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services to keep essential programs operating. The next public step is the Jan. 27 hearing and the Feb. 9 joint committee session, where councillors and staff can ask questions, propose amendments and consider the appropriation’s placement in the FY2026 operating budget.