Prince George's and Montgomery councils approve joint FY27 budgets for WSSC, M-NCPPC CAS and transit commission

At a joint bi-county meeting, the Prince George's County Council and the Montgomery County Council approved consolidated FY27 budgets for the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, the bi-county portion of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (CAS), and the Washington Suburban Transit Commission.

David Murray, council administration, presented the joint staff recommendations and asked both councils to concur with the commission-proposed FY27 CAS funding, but with targeted reductions: “We recommend that the councils concur with the commission proposed FY27 funding for a CAS with a reduction of $223,795 for the Prince George’s portion of the CAS budget and a reduction of $202,123 for the Montgomery County portion,” Murray said. He also noted recommended compensation adjustments in the commission budget of $5,500,000 for Montgomery County and $8,200,000 for Prince George’s County.

Joint staff recommended approval of WSSC’s submitted water operating and capital program and summarized recommended amounts for the Washington Suburban Transit Commission: $171,793 for Montgomery County and $149,293 for Prince George’s County for FY27. The councils’ staff report and the joint staff recommendations were presented as the basis for the councils’ action.

Chair Chris Dorietta outlined the meeting’s procedural rules for bi-county votes, noting that motions require a member from one council and a second from the other, and that a majority of each council must vote in favor for passage. After the staff presentations, a consolidated motion to approve all three recommended budgets was moved and seconded; the transcript records Vice Chair Eric Olson as the member who seconded the motion. The chair called for the ayes and, hearing no opposition, declared the motion passed. The transcript does not include a full roll-call tally or a clearly recorded mover name (a speaker identified verbally as “Dawn” made the motion on the audio), and the precise numerical vote counts were not specified in the meeting transcript.

Following approval of the budgets, the councils moved to adjourn; the meeting concluded with brief closing remarks and thanks to staff and commissioners from both counties.

What this means: The two councils accepted the joint staff recommendations for FY27 budgets for the three bi-county agencies under discussion. The joint action consolidated approval into a single motion instead of separate votes on each agency’s budget, according to the procedure the chairs described.