SPOTLIGHT ON SIGNATURE INITIATIVES

Building Bus Rapid Transit System

• Significantly advance the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) program; bolster funding to continue BRT System Development and fully fund the design and construction of the following corridors:
  • Veirs Mill Road;
  • MD 355 Central from Rockville to Germantown, and
  • U.S. 29 Phase 2, adding additional transit lane dedication to the corridor.
• Recommend funding for the design and construction of the Bus Rapid Transit: MD 355 Lakeforest Transit Center.
• Support for study, conceptual design, and construction of a new transit bus depot to support growth of the Ride On bus fleet.
• Maintain annual funding in the Bus Priority Program to enhance Countywide bus system performance.
• Construct a hydrogen generation and fueling site to provide green hydrogen fuel for Ride On buses.
• Continue to support the construction of a mezzanine for the south entrance of the Bethesda Metrorail station in coordination with the Purple Line project.
• Provide oversight and financial support for the Purple Line project, which will provide significant economic and mobility benefits.
• Continue efforts to improve the condition of Ride On bus stops.
• Add funding to improve the County's Park and Ride lots.
• Connect residents across the County to jobs, entertainment, and healthcare with reliable, accessible transit.

Preserving & Increasing Affordable Housing

• Fund the Affordable Housing Acquisition and Preservation project to increase and preserve the stock of affordable housing for the County.
• Recommend continued support of the Nonprofit Preservation Fund project to preserve existing affordable housing in developments at risk of rent escalation to higher market rents.
• Continue support of the Revitalization for Troubled and Distressed Common Ownership Communities project to provide financial and technical support for aging neighborhoods with homeowner and condominium associations to address delayed maintenance and rehabilitation of their common areas.
• Continue support of the Affordable Housing Opportunity Fund project to leverage a public-private commitment of funds to preserve affordable housing developments.

Fighting Climate Change

• Allocate $81.0 million to begin implementation of the Comprehensive Flood Management Plan to construct flood mitigation improvements in watersheds throughout the County.
• Invest $36.9 million in funding for projects to enhance energy conservation in County-owned facilities.
• Support clean energy for the County's bus fleet by allocating $9.8 million in funding to expand the hydrogen generation and fueling facility in Gaithersburg.
• Extend the BRT service with the purchase of zero-emission buses; replace 234 diesel and natural gas Ride On buses with zero-emissions buses in FY27-32 with the goal of a transition to a 100 percent zero-emissions fleet by 2035.
• Enhance funding for parking and fueling infrastructure to support zero-emission bus fleet expansions.

Improving Economic & Community Development

• Invest $50.0 million to advance planning and design for the University of Maryland Institute for Health Computing (IHC) building at the North Bethesda Metro to help establish this location as a centerpiece for the creation of a new Life Science and Technology business hub.
• Continue the public-private partnership to develop the White Oak Science Gateway life science, mixed use development.
• Invest in infrastructure to support redevelopment at the North Bethesda Metro Station.
• Fund the design and construction of retail space at the Wheaton M-NCPPC Headquarters building.

Advancing Racial Equity & Social Justice

• Allocate funding for affordable housing, transit, pedestrian safety, education, culture and recreation, and economic development projects that can reduce racial disparities and inequities.
• Projects with the potential to advance racial equity and reduce disparities in the County include:
  
  • 4th District Police and Park Police Headquarters
  • Bus Rapid Transit on MD 355 Central, Veirs Mill Road, and US-29 Phase-2
  • Bus Rapid Transit Lakeforest Transit Center
  • Parklawn Entrance Bridge
  • Valleywood Drive Bridge
  • North High Street Extended
  • Burtonsville Park and Ride Improvements
  • Bicycle-Pedestrian Priority Area Improvements - Purple Line
  • Bicycle-Pedestrian Priority Area Improvements - Wheaton
  • Shady Grove Westside Library
  • Recreation Facilities Refurbishment -Centers
• Support the deployment of Montgomery County's residential high-speed internet service network with funding for affordable housing developments to assist lower income residents with access to high quality broadband services.

A GREENER COUNTY

Recycling and Resource Management

• Create a new project for maintenance and repairs of the Transfer Station in Shady Grove. This project shifts capital-eligible spending from the operating budget to the capital budget to relieve pressure on the Disposal Fund's debt service coverage ratio.
• Sustain safe and reliable operation through upgrades to the Recycling Center, which will allow the County to process 100 percent of the material it generates.
• Improve the capture of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, from the decommissioned Gude Landfill, and install a toupee cap to prevent groundwater contamination.
• Upgrade the leachate plant at the decommissioned Oaks Landfill which has reached the end of its useful life.

Stormwater Management

• Recommend significant investments to address flooding throughout the County.
• Enhance funding for small-scale repair and restoration work to prevent minor deficiencies from becoming larger, more costly projects in the future.
• Utilize Maryland Water Quality Revolving Loan funds to reduce program costs through lower-interest financing.
• Leverage Water Quality Bonds for projects that are ineligible for low-interest loans.
• Program funding for installation of new stormwater management facilities and retrofit old stormwater controls to prevent property damage, improve water quality, and protect habitat.
• Repair major structures on public and private stormwater facilities accepted into the County's maintenance program.

Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission

• Recommend $280.7 million in funding for the FY27-32 CIP.
• Allocate $2.5 million for the new Parkway Improvements project to support maintenance of park roads, with resources shifted from the Resurfacing Park Roads and Bridge Improvements project in the Department of Transportation.
• Expand initiatives that align with the County's Climate Action Plan, including solar energy implementation.
• Fund the construction and renovation of hard surface trails, enhancing community connectivity, trail amenities, and signage.
• Support ongoing maintenance of the park system and address life-cycle infrastructure needs.

THRIVING YOUTH AND FAMILIES

Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS)

• Allocate $2.1 billion to support school construction - the County Executive's highest priority. This is the largest MCPS CIP ever recommended. MCPS represents 32.3 percent of all spending in the CIP.
  • This recommendation assumes $378.0 million in State Aid for school construction which includes $326.1 million in traditional State Aid and EGRC, $50.4 million from the Built To Learn Act program, and $1.5 million in other state funding.
• Despite construction cost increases, significant revenue reductions in the first four years of the CIP, and a return to traditional State Aid funding levels ($42 million to $45 million a year), the recommended MCPS CIP increases funding by $300.5 million.
• Support the Blueprint for Maryland's Future to expand full-day Pre-K education. If funded, the MCPS' request would fund the renovation of the Emory Grove Center to make it the permanent location for the Upcounty Early Childhood Center.
• Continue to support funding for MCPS' Countywide infrastructure and systemic projects such as Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC), Roof Replacement, Planned Lifecycle Asset Replacement (PLAR), ADA Compliance, Emergency Replacement of Major Building Components, as well as others.

Montgomery College (MC)

• Continue support to establish a fourth College campus in East County.
• Recommend funding the Germantown Student Affairs Building Renovation and Addition beginning in FY31.
• Enhance funding for the Collegewide Library Renovations to take advantage of State-allowed escalation and mitigate inflationary costs.
• Continue construction funding for the Germantown Student Services Center.
• Stabilize annual funding for Level of Effort (LOE) and IT support projects.

Public Libraries

• Fund the construction of the Clarksburg Library to serve the growing community with convenient library resources.
• Finance the design and construction of a new Shady Grove West Library that is part of a housing development next to the Shady Grove Metro station.
• Refurbish the following libraries over the FY27-32 CIP cycle:
  • Brigadier General Charles E. McGee Library in Silver Spring,
  • Damascus Library,
  • Gaithersburg Library,
  • Olney Library,
  • Rockville Memorial Library, and
  • Twinbrook Library.
• Continue implementation of the 21st Century Library Enhancements project that will allow public libraries to respond to customer demands and library trends that require changes in the equipment and related furnishings of library buildings.

Health and Human Services

• Include funding for High School Wellness Centers providing somatic, mental health, and positive youth development services, and Connections to Wellness Centers supporting mental health and positive youth development services.
• Maintain funding for Linkages to Learning sites at Eastern Middle School and two future schools.
• Support planning, design, and construction of a diversion center to provide crisis stabilization, referral, and follow-up services to adult County residents, while reducing the burden on hospital emergency rooms, first responders, and the criminal justice system.
• Fund the planning and construction of an Affordable Living Quarters facility so that individuals can end their experience with homelessness.
• Support the renovation of childcare facility playgrounds, accessibility remediation, and replacement.

Recreation

• Allocate funding for the construction of a natural grass field at North Potomac Community Center.
• Program funds for design and construction of the Western County Recreation Center to serve the Town of Poolesville and the neighboring communities in Western Montgomery County.
• Support development of the Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center.
• Bolster funding for the Recreation Facilities Refurbishment projects to ensure that indoor pools, outdoor pools, and recreation center facilities are refurbished through repair or replacement of facility components.
• Enhance funding to the Swimming Pools Slide Replacement project to ensure safe pool operations.
• Boost funding to the Recreation Asset Replacement project to replace assets such as bleachers, kitchens, marquees, and partitions to ensure recreational assets are maintained.

EASIER COMMUTES

Pedestrian & Bicycle Facilities

• Allocate $4.3 million for curb and sidewalk replacement to connect schools and employment centers to help people safely reach their destinations.
• Leverage federal funding to construct secure bike parking facilities in Silver Spring and Bethesda. This project will add secure bike parking facilities at the Silver Spring Transit Center and the Bethesda Metro Station, both of which are served by the Metro Red Line and will soon be served by the Purple Line light rail.
• Received $3.3 million in State funding for the Bicycle-Pedestrian Priority Area Improvements (BiPPA) - Purple Line project; the additional funding will provide more sidewalk connections in FY27 and FY28 and additional sidewalk repairs in FY27 and FY28.
• Improve the County's overall accessibility for pedestrians and bikeways and contribute to the Vision Zero goal of reducing deaths and serious injuries on County roads with the following projects:
  • Fenton Street CycleTrack,
  • Bowie Mill Road Bikeway,
  • Bicycle-Pedestrian Priority Area Improvements - Purple Line (BiPPA Purple Line),
  • MD 355-Clarksburg Shared Use Path,
  • Tuckerman Lane Sidewalk,
  • MacArthur Boulevard Bikeway Improvements,
  • MD 198 Sidewalk Improvements,
  • Sandy Spring Bikeway, and
  • Dale Drive Shared Use Path and Safety Improvements.
• Increase funding to the Bicycle-Pedestrian Priority Area Improvements - Wheaton CBD project to construct additional sub projects, including construction and land cost increases due to expanding scope to include widening and reconstruction of existing sidewalk, tightening intersection turning radii, and updating design for floating bus stops per the Planning Board recommendation and community feedback for the Amherst Avenue Bikeway project.
• Continue funding for the Silver Spring Green Trail and increase funding to support completion of the Capital Crescent Trail, two Purple Line-related projects.

Bridges & Roads

• Leverage $37.8 million in Federal funding for County bridges. New bridge projects include: Burnt Hill Road, Greentree Road, Parklawn Entrance, Valleywood Drive, and Zion Road.
• Boost investment in existing infrastructure for the maintenance and rehabilitation of roads, bridges, and sidewalks.
• Include funding for North High Street to increase safety and connectivity with the Olney Town Center.
• Continue to fund design and construction of the planned extension to Observation Drive, following a re-alignment in the Clarksburg Gateway Sector Plan.
• Complete construction of a new roadway between Spencerville Road (MD 198) and the School Access Road in Burtonsville.
• Increase funding for the Bridge Design and Bridge Preservation programs, as well as the Brink Road, Brookeville Road, Dorsey Mill Road, Garrett Park Road, Redland Road, and Schaeffer Road bridge projects.

SAFE NEIGHBORHOODS AND VISION ZERO

Transportation

• Recommend $2.3 billion in funding over six years to support critical transportation infrastructure: mass transit, highway maintenance, pedestrian facilities/bikeways, traffic improvements, bridges, parking, and roads.
• Provide Montgomery County residents with easier commutes, new transportation options, more choices on how to travel, and greater safety.
• Enhance funding to expand the streetlighting project to increase safety around bus stops; advance the design and construction of the U.S. 29 Streetlighting project, with $2.8 million in grant allocations over the next two years.
• Increase funding to maintain and rehabilitate our roads and sidewalks, including the rehabilitation, resurfacing, and permanent patching of primary/arterial and residential/rural County roads.
• Install and reconstruct traffic signals countywide to improve pedestrian, bicycle and motor vehicle safety, as well as advance mobility.
• Increase funding to install and convert streetlights countywide to improve safety, reduce energy consumption, and contribute to crime reduction.
• Continue efforts to advance neighborhood traffic calming by installing traffic control devices and reducing posted speed limits to enhance community safety.

Police

• Begin design and program placeholder funding of $40 million for a new 4th District Police Station and Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission Park Police Headquarters to co-locate these agencies currently housed in separate obsolete buildings that do not meet the needs of modern policing.
• Program funding to support the second phase of the Public Safety Communications Center building system renovation project.
• Replace 1,346 regular body armor units and 65 ballistic Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team body armor vests.

Correction and Rehabilitation

• Program funding to design and construct a new Justice Center. The new facility will include a central processing/detention component to support processing new arrestees and detaining remanded individuals for up to 72 hours. The facility will be constructed adjacent to the planned Diversion Center to maximize diversion and deflection opportunities.
• Recommend funding for a Montgomery County Correctional Facility Refresh project to include medical unit modifications and remediation of clogged vents in inmate cells to address health and life safety needs. The project also provides for paint and carpet replacement throughout the facility.

Fire and Rescue Service

• Recommend $44.2 million in funding for the continued design and construction of a new White Flint Fire Station to house units currently operating out of Rockville Station 23 that supports the North Bethesda community. This project will include enhancements to achieve net zero construction.
• In support of critical apparatus replacement needs, recommend a steady stream of Capital Improvement Program (CIP) funding for the apparatus replacement program. The following units are anticipated to be replaced over the six-year period: six aerial trucks, 40 ambulances, 15 engines, three all-wheel drive brush engines, three rescue squad/hazmat units, three tankers, and one auxiliary hazardous materials response vehicle.
• Recommend funding to purchase self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) that are reaching the end of their useful life and support an essential part of firefighters' personal protective equipment.
• Fund planning for the Rockville Fire Station 3 Renovation project.
• Design and construct female facility improvements at Silver Spring Fire Station 16 to expand and improve locker, shower, and restroom facilities to appropriately accommodate MCFRS personnel.
• Enhance funding for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC)/electrical replacement to preserve the buying power of important level of effort maintenance projects.

EFFECTIVE, SUSTAINABLE GOVERNMENT

WSSC Water

• Recommend full funding of the agency's $1.77 billion request for the FY27-32 CIP.
• Maintain development of capital projects aimed to address long-term issues in water and sewer management.
• Continue funding capital projects whose purpose is to support the extensive water and sewer infrastructure and numerous support facilities, including addressing regulatory changes, regulatory mandates, health and safety issues and business risk exposure.
• Completed the Piscataway Bio-Energy project, the largest and most technically advanced project ever constructed by WSSC Water, to use innovative technology to recover resources and produce green energy.
• Expand the consolidated Laboratory Division building and replace equipment in the building to accommodate increased workload.
• Replace and upgrade assets at the WSSC Water Support Center.
• Continue to address the consent decrees related to the Potomac Water Filtration Plant to allow WSSC Water to meet new discharge limitations.

Technology and Enterprise Business Solutions

• Support the Montgomery Connects project to help lower income residents access high quality broadband services. Funding will primarily support the deployment of Montgomery County's residential high-speed internet service network for affordable housing developments.
• Fund the County Building Network Wiring project to ensure continuity in network wiring and equipment upgrades in County-owned buildings to eliminate bottlenecks and allow County users to fully utilize the FiberNet system.
• The County Radio Life Cycle Replacement project, which is the County's critical infrastructure communications network that continues to expand its physical reach and bandwidth capacity will continue the phased replacement of outdated voice radio systems used primarily by the County's public safety first responder agencies including Police, Fire and Rescue, Sheriff, Correction and Rehabilitation, the Department of Transportation, and the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.

General Government

• Enhance funding for ADA Compliance, Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Replacement: MCG, Roof Replacement, HVAC Replacement: Fire Stations, and ABS Conveyor System Upgrade projects.
• Recommend funding of $5.8 million for elevator improvements in the Judicial Center North Tower in FY30 and FY31.

Revenue Authority

• New projects to install electric charging infrastructure for golf carts at Little Bennett Golf Course and for stormwater overflow in parking areas at Crossvines facility.

FUNDING THE BUDGET

• Recommend a total of $ 6.602 billion for the FY27-32 CIP for all agencies excluding WSSC Water, an increase of $634.1 million or 10.6 percent from the previous CIP.
• Recommend $6.300 billion for the tax-supported portion of the CIP which excludes Stormwater Management, Recycling and Resource Management, Housing Opportunities Commission, and the Revenue Authority.
• Assume general obligation borrowing as recommended by the County Executive in September for the Spending Affordability Guidelines (SAG). This is $340 million in FY27 with increments of $10 million annually for inflation, totaling $2.190 billion over the six-year CIP.
• Recommend $1.77 billion as requested by WSSC Water for Montgomery and Bi-County projects, a decrease of $54.9 million, or 3 percent, from the FY26-31 Approved CIP.
• Assume additional $47.8 million Pay-as-you-Go (PAYGO) funding with a six-year PAYGO funding of $219 million which is in alignment with the 10 percent policy target.
• Assume $108.0 million in Transportation and School Impact Tax funding and $854.6 million in Recordation Tax and Recordation Tax Premium funding. Estimates reflect significant shortfalls in Transportation and School Impact Tax in FY27-32 (-$61.5 million).
• Assume $378 million in State Aid for Montgomery County Public Schools funded through the Traditional State Aid and the Built to Learn Act programs.
• Assume an overall reduction of $464.0 million in State Aid for General Government, Health and Human Services, Montgomery College, Stormwater Management, Transportation, Public Safety, Parks, Revenue Authority projects, Montgomery County Public Schools, and Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.
• Keep tax-supported borrowing within prudent limits to ensure continuation of Montgomery County's AAA credit rating.
• Program Park and Planning bonds within County Council Approved Spending Affordability Guidelines.

PROJECTS OF INTEREST

New Projects (more than $15M)

General Government (Economic Redevelopment)

• University of Maryland Institute for Health Computing

Public Safety (Police)

• 4th District Police Station & Park Police Headquarters

Transportation (Mass Transit)

• Bus Rapid Transit: MD 355 Lakeforest Transit Center
• Bus Rapid Transit: U.S. 29 Phase 2 (Advance to add construction funding)
• New Transit Maintenance Depot (Advance to add construction funding)

New Projects (less than $15M)

General Government (Other General Government)

• African American Historical Markers

Transportation (Bridges)

• Burnt Hill Road Bridge M-0157
• Greentree Road Bridge M-0180
• Park Bridge Improvements
• Parklawn Entrance Bridge M-PK17
• Valleywood Drive Bridge
• Zion Road Bridge M-0121

Transportation (Parking)

• Advanced Digital Construction Management System - Transportation
• Parking Silver Spring: Public Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure

Transportation (Pedestrian Facilities/Bikeways)

• Gaithersburg Transportation Improvements
• Rockville Transportation Improvements

Recycling and Resource Management

• Shady Grove Processing Facility Improvements

Culture and Recreation (Libraries)

• Shady Grove West Library

Culture and Recreation (Recreation)

• Natural Grass Field at North Potomac Community Center

Other New Projects (Non-Facility/Infrastructure)

Public Safety (Fire and Rescue Service)

• Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) Replacement

Public Safety (Police)

• Police Body Armor
• Police Enterprise RMS

New Projects - Outside Agencies

REVENUE AUTHORITY

• Little Bennett-Electric Carts
• Stormwater Treatment - GCV

MONTGOMERY COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS (MCPS)

• Alternative Education Programs
• Burning Tree ES - Major Capital Project
• Highland View ES - Major Capital Project
• Holding School Improvements
• Transportation and Regional Support Facilities

MONTGOMERY COLLEGE

• Capital Asset Management System: College
• Collegewide Road/Parking Lot Repairs and Replacements
• Collegewide Security Systems

MARYLAND-NATIONAL CAPITAL PARK AND PLANNING COMMISSION

• Parkway Improvements

WSSC WATER

• Little Seneca WWPS Rehabilitation

Projects Entering Construction in FY27/FY28 (more than $15M)

• Bowie Mill Road Bikeway
• Bus Rapid Transit MD 355 Central
• Bus Rapid Transit MD 355 Lakeforest Transit Center
• Bus Rapid Transit: Veirs Mill Road
• Clarksburg Library
• Hydrogen Fuel Cell Buses and Fueling Site
• MLK Indoor Swim Center Renovation
• North Bethesda Metro Station Northern Entrance
• Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center
• White Flint Fire Station 23

Projects Entering Construction in FY27/FY28 (less than $15M)

• Anacostia Streams Restoration
• Brink Road Bridge
• Burnt Hill Road Bridge
• Greentree Road Bridge
• Gregg Road Bridge
• Mouth of Monocacy Road Bridge
• Schaeffer Road Bridge
• Seven Locks Culvert Replacement
• Shady Grove West Library

Projects Opening/Completing in FY27/28 (more than $15M)

• Diversion Center
• Fenton Street Cycletrack
• Full Upgrade of Existing Recycling Center Complex
• Gude Landfill Remediation
• Hydrogen Fuel Cell Buses and Fueling Site
• Kennedy Shriver Aquatic Center Building Envelope Improvement
• MacArthur Blvd Bikeway Improvements
• Public Safety Communications Center Phase II, Electrical Distribution and HVAC Upgrade
• Purple Line
  • Capital Crescent Trail
  • Bethesda Metro South Entrance
  • Silver Spring Green Trail

Projects Opening/Completing in FY27/28 (less than $15M)

• Affordable Living Quarters
• Bethesda Bikeway and Pedestrian Facilities
• Boyds Transit Center
• Brighton Dam Road Bridge
• Brink Road Bridge
• Brookville Depot HVAC
• Burtonsville Park and Ride Improvements
• Cherry Hill Road Bike Facility
• Dennis Avenue Bridge
• Garrett Park Road Bridge
• Glen Road Bridge
• Gregg Road Bridge
• Holiday Park Net Zero Initiative
• MD 198 Sidewalk Improvements
• MD 355-Clarksburg Shared Use Path
• MLK Child Care Facility Replacement
• Natural Grass Field at North Potomac Community Center
• North Bethesda Metro Station Access Improvements
• North High Street Extended
• Norwood Road Shared Use Path
• Oak Drive/MD 27 Sidewalk
• Oaks Landfill Leachate Pretreatment
• Redland Road Bridge
• Sandy Spring Bikeway
• Seven Locks Culvert Replacement
• U.S. 29 Streetlighting