Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Nonprofit Funding topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Nonprofits urge Montgomery County to raise contract COLA to 8% to prevent service losses
Summary
Nonprofit leaders at the FY27 budget hearing said the executive’s 2.5% COLA for contracted providers is insufficient and urged an 8% adjustment to avoid staff turnover, program cuts, and service disruption for vulnerable clients.
Multiple nonprofit leaders, including Shannon Babe Thomas (Community Bridges), Jen Schiller (Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless), Michelle Joseph (Student Global Ambassador Program), Amy Javed (A Wider Circle), and others, told the council that rising operating costs and staff wage pressures require a larger contract cost‑of‑living adjustment than the 2.5% in the county executive’s proposal.
Speakers provided concrete impacts: higher insurance premiums, rising rents and energy costs, and greater administrative burdens that pull staff away from direct services. Several witnesses framed an 8% COLA as a survival measure — not program expansion — required to retain experienced staff, sustain graduation‑rate supports, shelter operations, and other safety‑net services.
Nonprofit leaders also asked the council to protect proposed resiliency grants and to adopt clearer mechanisms for setting community‑grant priorities in FY28. The organizations said flat funding amounts to an effective cut when costs rise.
The council did not vote during the public hearing; nonprofit leaders asked members to carry these requests into budget negotiations and committee sessions.
