Council committee keeps Montgomery County’s Community Connect Portal funded for FY26, removes TEBS feasibility study from supplemental

A Montgomery County joint committee voted unanimously on Tuesday to recommend a $2.2 million supplemental appropriation to sustain the Community Connect Portal through the remainder of fiscal 2026 and to remove an $800,000 feasibility-study request from the supplemental package.

The Community Connect Portal is an online application system used by several Health and Human Services programs that allows residents to submit applications electronically, track status and communicate with staff and contracted third-party providers. HHS staff told the joint session the portal and its vendor contracts have already cost millions since the initiative began in FY22 and that about $889,000 of the FY26 request has already been expended. "This is where residents can electronically submit their application rather than via email or paper," HHS staff said during the presentation.

Why it mattered: Committee members expressed strong support for keeping the portal running to avoid reverting to paper applications, while also pressing the executive branch for clearer budget planning and interdepartmental accountability. "We want to keep this program running. We do not want to have impacts on our residents," one committee member said during the discussion. Several councilmembers criticized the timing and placement of the feasibility study in an emergency supplemental rather than in next year’s operating budget.

What was approved: The committee adopted an amendment to remove TEBS’ $800,000 feasibility-study request from the supplemental and then recommended the remaining $2.2 million HHS supplemental to full council. Committee members asked HHS and fiscal staff to verify contract line items, invoices and the precise remaining amount needed to carry operations through June before the full council vote.

Details from the hearing: HHS described the portal as supporting six county programs, including working parents assistance, child-care subsidy-related programs, county health dental programs and a rental-assistance program for people experiencing homelessness. Staff said the portal supports seven languages and has processed thousands of applications to date.

Fiscal accounting: HHS and county fiscal staff told the committee they used a mixture of prior-year carryover funds, a vendor claim and ongoing monthly payments while awaiting supplemental approval. The CFO reported $245,000 in prior-year purchase orders used earlier in FY26, a claim of roughly $337,000, and about $975,000 estimated remaining to reach the $2.2 million total requested to cover vendor and maintenance costs through the fiscal year. Council members requested a detailed line-item accounting and copies of current vendor contracts.

Governance and next steps: Council members repeatedly asked who will own and operate the portal if the county expands it enterprise-wide. HHS staff said HHS currently operates the portal and that TEBS would assume oversight only if a feasibility study finds an enterprise transition feasible. Members asked that the TEBS feasibility work be considered during FY27 budget deliberations rather than as part of the FY26 emergency supplemental.

The committee adjourned after voting; the recommendation to forward the $2.2 million supplemental to the full council passed unanimously. The removed $800,000 TEBS feasibility request will be revisited in budget discussions on the FY27 timetable.