Council presses DHHS and COA over $1M childcare appropriation after staff blocks contract changes

Council members pressed county staff and the Children's Opportunity Alliance this session over the implementation of a $1,000,000 appropriation intended to expand pre-K capacity and build provider capacity, after COA said contract constraints mean roughly $350,000 may remain unspent.

COA’s Kimberly Resnick told the joint committee that COA has committed about $642,750 of the $1,000,000 appropriation for three community-based contracts and capacity-building work. Resnick said COA also approved a single budget amendment for Montgomery Moving Forward (MMF) of $100,000 but that a remaining $350,000 is unlikely to be spent under the contract as written.

"Of the 900,000 for our base operations, I think we're at somewhere between 55 to 60% spent ... Of the 1,000,000 ... we've been able to commit 642,000 and $750 with, the 3 contracts," Resnick said. She added, "we were allowed to do the 1 budget amendment for MMF, but DHHS would not consider any other budget amendments or contract amendments." (Resnick quote paraphrased from transcript.)

HHS responded that the proposed contract amendments did not match the council-approved scope and that HHS would not engage in further negotiations over the remaining balance. "HHS has decided at this point we're not going to engage in any more conversations on contract negotiations for those the balance of those funds," said a senior HHS official.

Council members asked whether counsel should be asked to provide legal advice to resolve the impasse. Council member Lukey requested a closed-session meeting under General Provisions Article §3-305(b)(7) to obtain advice of counsel so the parties can finalize how the funds can be spent without violating procurement or appropriation rules.

Why it matters: The disputed funds were publicly appropriated with a specific implementation goal; councilmembers stressed the public expectation that the money be used promptly to increase seats and capacity. Council members pushed for a timely solution because several funding lines and contracts have fiscal-year deadlines and the council does not want funds to remain unspent.

Next steps: COA said it can move quickly on contracts once it receives authority; council members urged the executive branch and HHS to engage with the county attorney to determine whether amendments or other actions are allowable. Some councilmembers said they were prepared to follow up administratively or to explore code changes to avoid similar delays in future appropriations.

At the end of the session, chairs said they would pursue follow-up and consult the council attorney to identify an appropriate path forward and to avoid leaving public funds unspent as the fiscal year progresses.

No formal motion or vote was recorded during the session; the committee sought legal and procedural clarification as its next step.