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Montgomery and Prince George's councils approve joint M‑NCPPC, WSSC and transit budgets
Summary
At a joint virtual meeting, Montgomery County and Prince George's County councils approved joint staff recommendations for the bi‑county M‑NCPPC administrative budget (with modest reductions), the WSSC water budget (including a recommended 9.5% rate increase), and the Washington Suburban Transit Commission budgets; all items passed unanimously and the meeting was adjourned.
Montgomery County Council President Kate Stewart opened a virtual bi‑county meeting with Prince George's County to act on several jointly funded budgets and staff recommendations. A joint staff presenter asked the councils to concur with the Maryland‑National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M‑NCPPC) FY26 administrative funding with specified reductions and to approve proposed water and transit budgets.
The meeting’s joint staff recommendation called for reductions to the commission’s central administrative services budget: a $380,637 decrease in Prince George's County’s CAS allocation and a $323,084 decrease in Montgomery County’s allocation. Staff said that, after those adjustments, the revised FY26 CAS budget figures would be $13,311,779 for Montgomery County and $14,811,452 for Prince George's County. Staff also recommended agency‑wide collective bargaining and compensation policies that preserve the commission’s proposed compensation totals for FY26 and cautioned that local adjustments should not exceed the amounts included in the commission’s budget (listed by staff as $5,800,000 for Montgomery County and $8,300,000 for Prince George’s County).
On the WSSC (Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission) recommendation, staff advised approval of the WSSC FY26 budget and capital improvement program, and noted a recommended 9.5% increase to volumetric and fixed fees along with a 2.5% increase in the system development charge. Staff also read the WSTC (Washington Suburban Transit Commission) FY26 allocations noted in the meeting materials (Montgomery County: $167,845; Prince George’s County: $145,345).
A motion to approve the M‑NCPPC CAS administrative budget (with the staff‑recommended reductions), the WSSC water budget and capital improvement program, and the WSTC budgets was moved and seconded. The councils present raised hands and the chair announced the motion passed unanimously.
After the vote, Stewart thanked Prince George’s County leaders for their partnership and emphasized the interdependence of residents who travel between the two counties. "We know there's a great deal happening in our country right now, and working together with all of you here in our state of Maryland is so important for our residents, because our residents don't know borders," she said. The councils then moved and approved a motion to adjourn the joint meeting.
The meeting record lists the cited statutory authority for the bi‑county administrative allocation as section 18‑106 of the Maryland Land Use Article, which staff invoked when describing how the M‑NCPPC administrative funds are jointly allocable to the two counties.
What happens next: The approvals implement the FY26 line items as adjusted in the councils’ joint action. No amendments or follow‑up reporting requirements were recorded in the meeting transcript. The meeting was adjourned.
