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Council committee backs county executive budget but seeks higher supplements for disability and nonprofit providers
Summary
The HHS committee reviewed Aging & Disability Services’ FY27 request, discussed state DDA cuts and a county DD provider supplement; the panel agreed to place the executive’s 2.5% supplemental increase on the reconciliation list and to ask staff to model adding another 2.5% (a total of 5%) for parity and to analyze wage gaps.
Montgomery County’s Health and Human Services Committee reviewed the Aging & Disability Services (ADS) budget and debated supplemental payments intended to offset provider cost pressures.
The county executive recommended a modest net increase for ADS in FY27 (about $193,477 plus enhancements), while separately proposing a 2.5% supplemental increase to the developmental disability (DD) provider supplement ($558,621) to help providers cover local business costs that state Medicaid rates do not fully reimburse.
Committee members described the local context: state proposals produced large cuts to the Department of Disabilities Administration (DDA) budget (staff cited a final $126.9 million reduction in the Governor’s proposal), and ADS warned that a 2% provider rate cut at the state level could reduce provider capacity and wage levels for direct support professionals.
‘‘Historically state reimbursements have not been adequate to support provider organizations with the higher cost of business in Montgomery County,” council staff said in the packet.
Councilmember Friedson and others argued for parity between DD supplements and nonprofit inflation adjustments. The committee recorded consensus to place the county executive’s 2.5% supplemental recommendation on the reconciliation list and asked council staff to model an additional 2.5% committee‑level increase (which would total 5%) to better close the gap between county provider costs and state reimbursements. Members also requested an analysis comparing the county minimum wage and state minimum wage after the July 1 change and an estimate of the supplement needed to fully close provider pay gaps.
Other ADS items discussed included a $60,000 proposal to seed start‑up grants for "villages" (neighborhood-based senior support networks) in underserved areas and earlier FY26 special appropriations that expanded respite, home care and senior nutrition services and temporarily reduced waitlists. Staff said the respite application reopened and eliminated the waitlist, though FY27 program caps will be lower.
What’s next: The committee asked ADS and council staff for a wage‑gap analysis and a refined cost estimate for any additional supplement before final council reconciliation. The villages start‑up request will be added to the reconciliation list as a competitive grant to be administered by the Office of Grants Management.
