Montgomery County commission adopts final biennial report and declines to recommend budget-reserve charter amendment

A Montgomery County commission adopted its final biennial report and declined to recommend a proposed charter amendment on budget reserves at a meeting this morning, voting 6–5 against recommending the amendment and approving the report by unanimous consent.

The outcome matters because the commission’s report will be transmitted to the County Council as required by the charter, and the commission said it plans to meet in June to prepare any testimony if the amendment petition is certified for the ballot. Chair Jim said staff will send the printed report and a press release when available.

Chair Jim framed the meeting’s purpose as finalizing recommendations and issuing the report. “We only had five of our 11 commissioners who were in favor of the proposed charter amendment,” the chair said, summarizing earlier straw votes that shaped the commission’s recommendations. He then called for a formal roll call on whether the commission should recommend the proposed charter amendment on budget reserves.

The roll call recorded the following positions (role titles reflect membership on the commission as stated or implied in the record): Commissioner Jeff — yes; Commissioner Mike — yes; Commissioner Alicia — yes; Commissioner Dylan — yes; Commissioner David — yes; Commissioner Sarah — no; Commissioner Jerry — no; Commissioner Jorge — no; Commissioner Arvin — no; Commissioner Ali — no; Chair Jim — no. Based on the spoken roll call, five commissioners recorded votes in favor and six opposed.

After the roll call the chair summarized the outcome and moved that the commission adopt the April 20, 2026, version of the draft as the commission’s final biennial report and forward it to the County Council “as the charter directs us to do as our biennial report.” The motion was adopted by unanimous consent.

A commissioner praised the chair’s work on the report even while noting disagreement with the recommendation. Staff member Stephen said he would notify commissioners when the printed report was available and would finalize a press release with the public information office. Chair Jim said the County Council is in budget season and that, depending on the petition filing schedule, the commission’s opportunity to testify before the council would likely be in early June or later: “The deadline is … July 27th,” he said, explaining that petitioners typically file earlier so signature counts can be completed well before certification deadlines.

On scheduling, the commission agreed to cancel its May meeting and reconvene in June so it can submit views in time for any Council hearing if the ballot petition is certified. The chair offered one-on-one briefings and said he would circulate a briefing memo ahead of the June meeting for newer commissioners.

The meeting closed with thanks to staff for formatting and proofreading the report; the chair said he planned one final read-through for minor corrections before printing. The report will be printed and transmitted to the County Council and a press release prepared; the commission’s next scheduled business on the charter amendment will depend on the Board of Elections’ certification schedule and the Council’s hearing calendar.