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Joint committees recommend $2.2 million to keep Montgomery County's Community Connect portal running
Summary
A joint session of the Government Operations & Fiscal Policy Committee and the Health and Human Services Committee recommended a $2.2 million supplemental appropriation for FY26 to maintain the Community Connect portal and avoid reverting to paper applications, while deferring the $800,000 TEBS feasibility study to FY27 budget review.
A joint session of the Government Operations and Fiscal Policy Committee and the Health and Human Services Committee recommended a $2.2 million supplemental appropriation to the county operating budget to keep Montgomery County's Community Connect portal operating through the end of FY26.
Chair Stewart said the committees did not want to interrupt services: "We do not want to have impacts on our residents nor on the staff who have been working on that." The supplemental request covers approximately $2.2 million in contracted services and maintenance costs that HHS says are needed to "keep the lights on" for the portal.
Council staff told the joint session that HHS has already expended about $888,576 from the FY26 request and has incurred vendor claims to avoid service disruptions. HHS Chief Financial Officer Jason Rundell explained the fiscal math: prior-year purchase orders and claims covered early costs, and the supplemental reimburses those costs and funds continued vendor payments through June.
The committee's action was procedural: members voted to recommend the HHS $2.2 million supplemental to the full council after agreeing to verify the precise amounts owed before full-council action. Council staff had presented three options, including funding only actual FY26 expenditures; committee members asked HHS to supply contract copies and a line-item breakdown before the council vote.
The committee and HHS officials repeatedly framed the appropriation as a measure to avoid service disruption to programs already using the portal, which include adult and senior dental, care-for-kids, working parents assistance, community-based Head Start, and rental assistance for people facing imminent homelessness. Dr. Nembhard, HHS's data lead, said the portal has processed more than 2,000 applications and supports seven languages.
The committees left the details to be finalized with staff and moved the TEBS feasibility study request into the FY27 budget conversation; the joint committees emphasized they expected a precise accounting before the request reaches full council.
