Montgomery County committee accepts county executive's HIF budget recommendation, asks for data before reallocating funds

Montgomery County's joint committee on Planning, Housing and Parks and Health and Human Services on April 22 accepted the county executive's recommended Housing Initiative Fund (HIF) budget for HIF-funded rental assistance programs and agreed to forward that recommendation to the full council, while asking departments for historic recordation-tax data and eviction statistics to guide any future reallocation.

The work session, convened by Chairman Powell, focused on HIF-funded rental subsidy programs administered across county agencies. Council staff outlined the executive's recommendation and contingency approach, saying "the executive is recommending a contingency level of 2,600,000," and presenting options to reduce contingency to 5% to free up roughly $1.2 million for HHS service increases or to offset general fund dollars.

Agency officials emphasized rising need. Dr. James Bridgers, director of the Department of Health and Human Services, said there is "an immediate threat to housing and supportive housing" and that the packet before the committee described short-term rental assistance, rapid rehousing and related interventions the county intends to fund.

A SEF representative, Ms. Hong, reported county homelessness trends and program outcomes: Montgomery County's point-in-time count rose from about 1,144 on Jan. 24, 2024, to roughly 1,500 this year — a 32% increase — and family homelessness has doubled from about 100 to about 200 families. She also said the SHARP supplemental appropriation had "housed 80 families" since approval and helped reduce motel and shelter counts toward about 150 households despite new inflow.

Budget and program staff framed the contingency as a revenue cushion for the recordation tax premium, which funds the HIF. Boffin Salem of DSCA told the committee the recordation-tax premium is the primary HIF revenue source and that FY26 projections supported a modest, roughly 3% inflation adjustment to agency allocations. Staff said contingency exists to address volatile recordation receipts and can be programmed later in the fiscal year if revenues materialize.

Council members signaled reluctance to reallocate money away from affordable housing programs without additional data. "I would be uncomfortable, at this point, reallocating this funding," Chairman Powell said, pressing for actual historical recordation tax receipts over the past 10–15 years and asking departments to return with that data at the December fiscal update and to plan a joint committee meeting in January for a detailed allocation discussion.

Members also requested more eviction- and needs-based data to inform decisions. A councilmember asked how the county is using the State Department of Housing and Community Development eviction dashboard and what the county's eviction execution numbers look like; staff agreed to provide those figures at the next session. Several councilmembers highlighted prevention and workforce development as part of a longer-term strategy to reduce homelessness.

On staffing and services, SEF/HHS officials said COVID-era funding reductions led to a net loss of roughly 20 staff and that current case-management teams operate across Silver Spring, Rockville and Germantown. Officials stressed the importance of supportive services in permanent supportive housing and intensive employment and case-management support for rapid rehousing clients, noting high retention rates for supportive-housing interventions.

Without a roll-call vote, the joint committee "without objection" accepted the county executive's recommended HIF-funded program budget and forwarded it to the full council. The committee requested department-level, historical revenue actuals and updated eviction trend data to revisit allocation options during the fiscal-update process and a planned January joint session.

The committee adjourned with expressions of appreciation for staff and community partners and plans for follow-up reports and data at upcoming committee meetings.