anchor Mission Statement
The mission of the Office of the County Attorney (OCA) is to act as the Chief Legal Officer of Montgomery County Government and to conduct all its legal business.
anchor Budget Overview
The total recommended FY27 Operating Budget for the Office of the County Attorney is $11,246,872, an increase of $581,203 or 5.45 percent from the FY26 Approved Budget of $10,665,669. Personnel Costs comprise 91.95 percent of the budget for 81 full-time position(s) and one part-time position(s), and a total of 52.50 FTEs. Total FTEs may include seasonal or temporary positions and may also reflect workforce charged to or from other departments or funds. Operating Expenses account for the remaining 8.05 percent of the FY27 budget.
County Priority Outcomes
While this program area supports all eight of the County Result Areas, the following is emphasized:
- Effective, Sustainable Government
anchorProgram Performance Measures
Performance measures for this department are included below (where applicable), with multi-program measures displayed at the front of this section and program-specific measures shown with the relevant program. The FY26 estimates reflect funding based on the FY26 approved budget. The FY27 and FY28 figures are performance targets based on the FY27 recommended budget and funding for comparable service levels in FY28.
Program Descriptions
Litigation
Through this program, OCA represents the County (and other members of the Self-Insurance Fund) before all courts and administrative agencies in which claims for relief are sought in connection with alleged wrong-doing by members of the Self-Insurance Fund and their employees. The Litigation program also provides the County with legal...
| Program Performance Measures | Actual
FY24 | Actual
FY25 | Estimated
FY26 | Target
FY27 | Target
FY28 |
|---|
| Number of workers' compensation hearings | 1,647 | 1,469 | 1,590 | 1,590 | 1,590 |
| Total prayer amount demanded by plaintiff (Self-Insurance Fund only) ($000) 1 | $40,811 | $178,949 | $40,000 | $40,000 | $40,000 |
| Total number of settlements (Self-Insurance Fund only) | 22 | 17 | 21 | | |
| Total judgment amount paid to plaintiff by the County (Self-Insurance Fund only) ($000) | $31.22 | $424.33 | $469.00 | | |
| Percent of wins in Self-Insurance Fund litigation 2 | 100% | 98% | 95% | | |
| Number of judgments in the County's favor (Self-Insurance Fund only) | 33 | 30 | 31 | | |
| Number of judgments against the County (Self-Insurance Fund only) | 5 | 1 | 4 | | |
| Total net gain to the County in worker's compensation cases ($000) 3 | $6,439 | $6,626 | $5,954 | | |
Read More General Counsel
This program provides general counsel services to the County, its agencies, and instrumentalities. These general counsel services include providing legal advice to the Executive and Legislative Branches of County government on a wide variety of government operations; drafting and reviewing legislation, contracts, and real estate transactions for legal sufficiency; collecting...
| Program Performance Measures | Actual
FY24 | Actual
FY25 | Estimated
FY26 | Target
FY27 | Target
FY28 |
|---|
| Number of new adoption petitions filed | 28 | 27 | 31 | 31 | 31 |
| Number of new termination of parental rights (TPR) petitions filed | 33 | 24 | 30 | 30 | 30 |
| Number of new children in need of assistance (CINA) petitions filed 1 | 108 | 97 | 102 | 102 | 102 |
| Number of children in need of assistance (CINA) or guardianship hearings | 2,023 | 2,077 | 2,109 | 2,109 | 2,109 |
| Number of adoptions granted | 33 | 28 | 30 | | |
| Number of termination of parental rights (TPR) granted | 38 | 22 | 23 | | |
| Ratio of total number of termination of parental rights (TPR) filed and adoption petitions filed and total granted | 100% | 98% | 99% | | |
| Number of children in need of assistance (CINA) cases closed 2 | 102 | 93 | 95 | | |
| Percent of appeals in the Appellate Court won | 100% | 92% | 92% | | |
| Code citations processed | 3,643 | 3,489 | 3,570 | 3,570 | 3,570 |
| Ratio of debt collected to amount referred to the department for collection | 81% | 81% | 81% | 81% | 81% |
| Ratio of cost of debt collection to revenue | 5% | 6% | 6% | | |
| Code enforcement collected ($000) | $461 | $475 | $455 | | |
| Ratio of wins to total code enforcement cases | 99.6% | 99.9% | 99.8% | | |
| Debt collection ($000) | $10,684 | $10,663 | $10,600 | | |
| Forfeitures collected ($000) | $49 | $59 | $81 | | |
Read More Administration
Under this program, administrative support, financial and operational management, and oversight are provided in support of the Litigation Program and the General Counsel Program. This program also provides administrative, research, and technical guidance and support to divisions within the department, allowing for an equitable distribution of work assignments, cross-training of...
| Program Performance Measures | Actual
FY24 | Actual
FY25 | Estimated
FY26 | Target
FY27 | Target
FY28 |
|---|
| Average quality of service rating from department customers responding to Internal Customer Satisfaction Survey (1-4 scale) | 3.38 | 3.38 | 3.36 | | |
Read More