Montgomery County Maryland Operating Budget

Budget Year / Version:

Mission Statement

The mission of the Department of Finance is to prudently manage financial operations, recommend and implement sound fiscal policies, safeguard public assets, and encourage a safe environment on public property.

Budget Overview

The total recommended FY26 Operating Budget for the Department of Finance is $137,983,008, an increase of $5,784,433 or 4.38 percent from the FY25 Approved Budget of $132,198,575. Personnel Costs comprise 16.87 percent of the budget for 125 full-time position(s) and no part-time position(s), and a total of 131.24 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 83.13 percent of the FY26 budget.

The Finance operating budget is comprised of a General Fund component (the Director's Office and the Divisions of Fiscal Management, Treasury, Information Technology, and Controller) and the Division of Risk Management, which is funded by the Liability and Property Coverage Self-Insurance Fund. The total FY26 Operating Budget for the General Fund component is $20,784,167 an increase of $1,415,149 or 7.3 percent over the FY25 Approved Budget of $19,369,018. Personnel Costs comprise approximately 83 percent of the General Fund budget for 117 full-time positions. A total of 100.87 FTEs includes these positions as well as any seasonal or temporary positions and positions charged to or from other departments or funds. Operating Expenses account for the remaining 17 percent of the budget.

The total FY26 Operating Budget for the Self-Insurance Fund component of Finance (Risk Management) is $117,198,841, an increase of $4,369,284 or 3.9 percent over the FY25 Approved Budget of $112,829,557. Personnel Costs comprise approximately 5 percent of the Self-Insurance Fund budget for 11 full-time positions. A total of 33.37 FTEs includes these positions as well as any seasonal or temporary positions and positions charged to or from other departments or funds. Operating Expenses account for the remaining 95 percent of the budget.

County Priority Outcomes

While this program area supports all eight of the County Result Areas, the following are emphasized:

A Growing Economy
Effective, Sustainable Government

Program 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 FY25 estimates reflect funding based on the FY25 approved budget. The FY26 and FY27 figures are performance targets based on the FY26 recommended budget and funding for comparable service levels in FY27.

Initiatives

Preliminary review to integrate artificial intelligence applications into the modeling of the tax revenue forecasts.
Transition point of sales and online payment systems from current vendor to JPMorgan Chase Merchant Services and Digital Bill Pay.
Upgrade the County's enterprise timekeeping and scheduling systems to the vendor's new software as a service platform before the vendor's end-of-life date for these products.
Upgrade the property tax billing system to the vendor's newer software as a service platform.
Launch an improved driver's license program to ensure compliance with County policies.

Innovations and Productivity Improvements

Replaced the Central Vendor Registration System with a new system built in-house that provides more functions and capabilities than the previous system.
Completed negotiations for a new contract for the claims administration services and broker services contract selected from a competitive request for proposal process.
Successfully executed a new contract for merchant card services selected from a competitive request for proposal process.
Develop an automated system for Debt Service budget preparation and publication integrating Debt Service estimates with actuals and linking those estimates to the Office of Management and Budgets budget preparation and publication system.

Program Descriptions

Operations and Administration

This program includes operational support for the department as well as the administrative portions of the Director's Office, the Division of the Controller, the Treasury Division, and the Division of Risk Management. The program provides support for efficient, effective, and timely accomplishment of the department's mission, including budget development and...

Fiscal Management

This program provides effective management of County capital and operating fund; and the fiscal analysis and issue management associated with master plan development, economic development, and legislative issues. It is also responsible for issuing and managing the County's financial obligations to fund the Capital Improvements Program and manage cash flow;...

Program Performance Measures	Actual FY23	Actual FY24	Estimated FY25	Target FY26	Target FY27
Make Office Vacancies Extinct (MOVE) Program: Square feet of office space leased	55,521	78,905	80,188	82,000	83,116
Interest Rate Benchmarking - County General Obligation (GO) vs. Municipal Market Data Index (basis point spread)	0	3	0
Investment Return Benchmarking - County Return vs. S&P Local Government Investment Pool Index (basis point spread)	-4	10	10
Revenue Forecasting - Percent variance between actual revenue and projected revenue	5.11%	3.60%	0.00%
Investment Return - Rate of return on Montgomery County's investments ¹	3.43%	5.34%	4.30%
Bond Rating - Rating given to Montgomery County by Fitch, Moody's, and Standard and Poor's (Bond ratings are a measure of the quality and safety of a bond and are based on the issuer's financial condition)	AAA	AAA	AAA

Information Technology

This program provides planning, direction, and support for finance and core business systems, technology, and business processes to support the effective and efficient achievement of the department's mission. Activities are proactively coordinated with the Department of Technology and Enterprise Business Solutions, other County departments, vendors, and department staff to ensure...

Program Performance Measures	Actual FY23	Actual FY24	Estimated FY25	Target FY26	Target FY27
Electronic payments (credit card and ACH) transactions processed by the County's credit card processor and bank (000's)	5,155	5,230	5,282	5,335	5,388
Workflows, tasks, and processes streamlined utilizing existing or new technologies	19	20	20

Controller

This program provides effective management and support to the operations of Accounts Payable and Receivable; General and Grant Accounting; Financial Analysis, Audit and Compliance; and Timekeeping and Payroll. This program, through its operations, is responsible for overseeing expenditures and cash flow management; preparing timely and accurate annual financial statements and...

Program Performance Measures	Actual FY23	Actual FY24	Estimated FY25	Target FY26	Target FY27
Procurement Card transactions processed	30,779	31,689	30,000	30,000	30,000
Vendor payments issued ¹	118,248	126,881	125,000	125,000	125,000
Journal entries prepared	1,500	1,580	1,600	1,600	1,600
Journal entries reviewed and posted	4,220	3,565	3,610	3,610	3,610
Grant reports produced	1,281	1,105	1,000	1,000	1,000
Paychecks and payroll advices issued for employees ²	303,359	300,802	301,000	302,000	303,000
Pension and long-term disability (LTD2) payroll payments processed ³	79,862	80,638	81,000	82,000	83,000
Procurement Card rebate revenue generated	$741,563	$749,297	$750,000	$750,000	$750,000
Receive the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting ⁴	Received	Expected	Expected
Percent of non-compliant payments - Direct purchase orders created the same day as invoice date and duplicate dollars per total invoices	0.04%	0.04%	0.04%
Percent of payroll errors per sum of dollars under and overpaid	0.18%	0.21%	0.20%

Treasury

This program is responsible for providing coordination and oversight of treasury operations and customer services through the cashiering function. All money received by the County directly through the Treasury cashiering operation, from other County agencies, or through the internet and bank lockbox operation is processed, administered, and recorded in...

Program Performance Measures	Actual FY23	Actual FY24	Estimated FY25	Target FY26	Target FY27
Tax related number of service request tickets transferred from MC311 Call Center to Treasury	3,804	4,170	4,500	4,750	5,000
Property tax accounts billed	361,190	368,076	370,000	375,000	375,000
Transfer tax transactions processed ¹	12,749	18,211	20,000	22,500	25,000
Cashier transactions processed	40,686	40,126	42,500	45,000	47,500

Risk Management

The Montgomery County Self-Insurance Program, established under County Code Section 20-37, provides comprehensive property and casualty insurance for the County and participating agencies. The program pays all claims for Self Insured Workers' Compensation, General and Auto Liability, Auto Physical Damage, and Property matters. The program is funded through contributions from...

Program Performance Measures	Actual FY23	Actual FY24	Estimated FY25	Target FY26	Target FY27
Computer based/onsite training classes provided by the Safety Section	2,361	5,926	3,000	3,000	3,000
Workers Compensation - Cost per $100 of payroll	$3.08	$3.21	$3.09
Workers Compensation - Number of Montgomery County Government cases resulting in lost work time	372	362	420

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2026 RECOMMENDED Budget

Archives

Data

Budget Snapshot

138.0M FY26 Recommended
Operating Budget

131.2 Full Time
Equivalents

Budget Trends

Program Contacts

Contact Jedediah Millard of the Department of Finance at 240-777-8855 or Abdul Rauf of the Office of Management and Budget at 240-777-2766 for more information regarding this department's operating budget.

Related Links

Montgomery County MD Home Page

Budget Summary

Title	Actual FY24	Budget FY25	Estimate FY25	Recommended FY26	%Chg Bud/Rec
COUNTY GENERAL FUND
EXPENDITURES
Salaries and Wages	10503429.00	12405523.00	12299764.00	13533094.00	9.1
Employee Benefits	3345403.00	3241231.00	3411031.00	3630363.00	12.0
County General Fund Personnel Costs	13848832.00	15646754.00	15710795.00	17163457.00	9.7
Operating Expenses	4266625.00	3722264.00	5726452.00	3620710.00	-2.7
County General Fund Expenditures	18115457.00	19369018.00	21437247.00	20784167.00	7.3
PERSONNEL
Full-Time	115.00	114.00	114.00	114.00	0.0
Part-Time	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.0
FTEs	99.92	97.87	97.87	97.87	0.0
REVENUES
Other Charges/Fees	531745.00	512100.00	517100.00	513700.00	0.3
Other Fines/Forfeitures	5083.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.0
Other Intergovernmental	476128.00	457440.00	457440.00	469910.00	2.7
Miscellaneous Revenues	756982.00	730000.00	730000.00	730000.00	0.0
County General Fund Revenues	1769938.00	1699540.00	1704540.00	1713610.00	0.8

SELF INSURANCE INTERNAL SERVICE FUND
EXPENDITURES
Salaries and Wages	3903713.00	4493381.00	4292990.00	4854915.00	8.1
Employee Benefits	952430.00	1094259.00	1050848.00	1264742.00	15.6
Self Insurance Internal Service Fund Personnel Costs	4856143.00	5587640.00	5343838.00	6119657.00	9.5
Operating Expenses	87515641.00	107241917.00	107241917.00	111079184.00	3.6
Self Insurance Internal Service Fund Expenditures	92371784.00	112829557.00	112585755.00	117198841.00	3.9
PERSONNEL
Full-Time	11.00	11.00	11.00	11.00	0.0
Part-Time	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.0
FTEs	32.37	31.37	31.37	33.37	6.4
REVENUES
Self Insurance Revenues	93220729.00	92796252.00	92796252.00	92796252.00	0.0
Miscellaneous Revenues	7382913.00	1500000.00	1500000.00	2000000.00	33.3
Investment Income	16029957.00	12598640.00	12598640.00	12248780.00	-2.8
Self Insurance Internal Service Fund Revenues	116633599.00	106894892.00	106894892.00	107045032.00	0.1

GRANT FUND - MCG
EXPENDITURES
Salaries and Wages	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.0
Employee Benefits	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.0
Grant Fund - MCG Personnel Costs	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.0
Operating Expenses	-2663276.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.0
Grant Fund - MCG Expenditures	-2663276.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.0
PERSONNEL
Full-Time	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.0
Part-Time	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.0
FTEs	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.0
Grant Fund - MCG Revenues	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.0

CAPITAL FUND
EXPENDITURES
PERSONNEL

DEPARTMENT TOTALS
Total Expenditures	107823965.00	132198575.00	134023002.00	137983008.00	4.4
Total Full-Time Positions	126.00	125.00	125.00	125.00	0.0
Total Part-Time Positions	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.0
Total FTEs	132.29	129.24	129.24	131.24	1.5
Total Revenues	118403537.00	108594432.00	108599432.00	108758642.00	0.2

FY26 Recommended Changes

Title	Expenditures	FTEs
COUNTY GENERAL FUND
FY25 ORIGINAL APPROPRIATION	19369018	97.87
Other Adjustments (with no service impacts)
Increase Cost: FY26 Compensation Adjustment	771943	0.00
Increase Cost: Annualization of FY25 Compensation Increases	337230	0.00
Increase Cost: Restore One-Time Lapse Increase [Operations and Administration]	240776	0.00
Re-align: Shift Position between Finance Programs [Controller]	185718	1.00
Increase Cost: Annualization of FY25 Personnel Costs	152726	0.00
Increase Cost: UKG Contract - Ongoing Annual License and Maintenance Support [Controller]	120810	0.00
Increase Cost: Tax Sale Advertisement [Treasury]	74000	0.00
Increase Cost: Retirement Adjustment	53353	0.00
Increase Cost: Annual PCI and ACH Industry Compliance Audits [Information Technology]	7030	0.00
Increase Cost: Dunn and Bradstreet - Annual License Renewal [Information Technology]	3300	0.00
Decrease Cost: Printing and Mail Adjustment	-9129	0.00
Decrease Cost: Change in Netgross Charges [Treasury]	-100750	0.00
Re-align: Shift Position between Finance Programs [Fiscal Management]	-185718	-1.00
Decrease Cost: IT Financial Systems Applications - Ongoing Software Maintenance [Information Technology]	-236140	0.00
FY26 RECOMMENDED	20784167	97.87

SELF INSURANCE INTERNAL SERVICE FUND
FY25 ORIGINAL APPROPRIATION	112829557	31.37
Other Adjustments (with no service impacts)
Increase Cost: Claims Expense Change [Risk Management ]	3338000	0.00
Increase Cost: Return of Contribution [Risk Management ]	545983	0.00
Increase Cost: Commercial Insurance Premiums [Risk Management ]	504848	0.00
Increase Cost: FY26 Compensation Adjustment	228689	0.00
Increase Cost: Annualization of FY25 Compensation Increases	113440	0.00
Increase Cost: Legal Secretary II- Office of County Attorney/Self Insurance Fund [Risk Management ]	73962	1.00
Increase Cost: Principal Administrative Aide- Office of County Attorney/Self Insurance Fund [Risk Management ]	67774	1.00
Increase Cost: Other Insurance Costs [Risk Management ]	36494	0.00
Increase Cost: Annualization of FY25 Personnel Costs	30903	0.00
Increase Cost: Retirement Adjustment	17249	0.00
Increase Cost: Insurance Broker Services [Risk Management ]	10667	0.00
Increase Cost: Motor Pool Adjustment	9805	0.00
Increase Cost: Rent [Risk Management ]	4176	0.00
Increase Cost: Printing and Mail Adjustment	2296	0.00
Decrease Cost: Claims Service Contract Administrative Costs [Risk Management ]	-615002	0.00
FY26 RECOMMENDED	117198841	33.37

Program Summary

Program Name	FY25 APPR Expenditures	FY25 APPR FTEs	FY26 REC Expenditures	FY26 REC FTEs
Controller	7616936	50.87	8737572	51.87
Fiscal Management	2671812	11.00	2724087	11.00
Information Technology	2318360	4.00	2193345	4.00
Operations and Administration	11202471	15.37	12226700	15.37
Risk Management	105506963	27.00	108966149	28.00
Treasury	2882033	21.00	3135155	21.00
Total	132198575	129.24	137983008	131.24

Charges to Other Departments

Charged Department	Charged Fund	FY25 Total$	FY25 FTES	FY26 Total$	FY26 FTES
COUNTY GENERAL FUND
CIP	Capital Fund	0	0.00	0	0.00
Community Use of Public Facilities	Community Use of Public Facilities	57700	0.37	60550	0.37
Environmental Protection	Water Quality Protection	886751	6.00	926912	6.00
General Services	Central Duplicating (Printing & Mail)	7820	0.05	8200	0.05
Alcohol Beverage Services	Liquor	86060	0.50	90290	0.50
Permitting Services	Permitting Services	15240	0.10	16000	0.10
Economic Development Fund	Economic Development Fund	197203	1.00	190616	1.00
Non-Departmental Accounts	Retirement Fund (ERS)	46380	0.30	48660	0.30
Non-Departmental Accounts	RSP-Disability Benefits (LTD2)	1720	0.01	1800	0.01
Human Resources	Employee Health Self Insurance	116690	0.75	122450	0.75
Human Resources	Retiree Health Benefits Trust Fund	48610	0.30	51000	0.30
Parking District Services	Bethesda Parking	37560	0.24	39410	0.24
Parking District Services	Silver Spring Parking	42540	0.27	44630	0.27
Parking District Services	Wheaton Parking	14310	0.09	15020	0.09
Recreation	Recreation	50810	0.33	53330	0.33
Recycling and Resource Management	Solid Waste Disposal	583930	4.38	607230	4.38
Recycling and Resource Management	Solid Waste Collection	224780	0.64	233690	0.64
Transportation	Leaf Vacuuming	238340	0.43	247430	0.43
Total		2656444	15.76	2757218	15.76

Funding Parameter Items ($000s)

Title	FY26	FY27	FY28	FY29	FY30	FY31
COUNTY GENERAL FUND
EXPENDITURES
FY26 Recommended	20784.000000	20784.000000	20784.000000	20784.000000	20784.000000	20784.000000
No inflation or compensation change is included in outyear projections.
Labor Contracts	0.000000	51.000000	51.000000	51.000000	51.000000	51.000000
These figures represent the estimated annualized cost of general wage adjustments, service increments, and other negotiated items.
Subtotal Expenditures	20784.000000	20835.000000	20835.000000	20835.000000	20835.000000	20835.000000

SELF INSURANCE INTERNAL SERVICE FUND
EXPENDITURES
FY26 Recommended	117199.000000	117199.000000	117199.000000	117199.000000	117199.000000	117199.000000
No inflation or compensation change is included in outyear projections.
Labor Contracts	0.000000	30.000000	30.000000	30.000000	30.000000	30.000000
These figures represent the estimated annualized cost of general wage adjustments, service increments, and other negotiated items.
Subtotal Expenditures	117199.000000	117229.000000	117229.000000	117229.000000	117229.000000	117229.000000