Montgomery County Council president proposes progressive income tax, rejects County Executive's property tax increase

Natali Fani-González, president of the Montgomery County Council, delivered an alternative Fiscal Year 2027 budget proposal urging the council to reject the County Executive's planned property tax increase and adopt a progressive income tax instead.

"Families in this County are facing an affordability crisis," Fani-González said, arguing that "household budgets are stretched thin" and that the county cannot add to that burden by raising taxes. She called for a different approach that eliminates the County Executive's proposed 6.3-cent property tax increase and slows the growth of government spending.

Her proposal, she said, would make income taxes progressive and "deliver a tax cut to 96% of residents." She told the council that "a family of four earning the area median income will save an estimated $750 on their income tax," and that "those with high incomes will be asked to pay a little bit more."

Fani-González said the plan would require "targeted and strategic decisions to slow the growth in spending" and that savings should be spread proportionally across county agencies. She also pledged that employees "will nevertheless receive, at minimum, a 2% salary increase" and that the county's school system "will also receive a $90 million increase over the last fiscal year."

She framed the package as balancing fiscal restraint with protections for vulnerable residents and support for public employees and nonprofits. "Additionally, the new budget approach will position the County to maintain its long-standing AAA bond rating," she said, and added that the plan would "protect the most vulnerable with direct services" while helping "keep costs down for residents struggling in this economy."

Fani-González closed by urging "bold, progressive action now." The remarks presented the president's counterproposal; the speech did not include a formal vote or an enacted ordinance.