Budget Overview
The FY22 Approved Budget for the tax supported Utilities Non-Departmental Account (NDA) is $23,716,495, a decrease of $1,529,224 or 6.1 percent from the FY21 Approved Budget of $25,245,719. Allocation of these utilities expenditures is approximately: electricity, 75.4 percent; natural gas, 10.5 percent; water and sewer, 10.2 percent; fuel oil, 0.1 percent; and propane, 0.1 percent. Renewable energy and other expenses total 3.7 percent.
The FY22 Approved Budget includes County government utilities expenditures for both tax and non-tax supported operations. Tax supported utilities expenditures related to the General Fund departments are budgeted in the Utilities NDA, while utilities expenditures related to special fund departments are budgeted in those funds. Some of these special funds, such as Recreation and portions of the Department of Transportation, are tax supported. Other special funds, such as Solid Waste, are not supported by taxes, but through user fees or charges for services.
Utilities expenditures are also found in the budgets of other County agencies: Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), Montgomery College, the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC), and the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC). The total utilities budget request for these "outside" agencies is $72,793,448 which includes the entire bi-county area of WSSC.
The FY22 Approved tax supported budget for Utilities Management, including both the General Fund NDA ($23,716,495) and the other tax supported funds ($3,600,772), is $27,317,267, a decrease of $1,884,224 or approximately 6.5 percent below the FY21 Approved utilities budget. The FY22 Approved Budget for non-tax supported utilities expenditures is $4,576,590, a decrease of $330,502 below the FY21 Approved Budget.
Increased utilities expenditures result primarily from greater consumption due to new facilities or services, increased rates, and in some cases a more precise alignment of budgeted costs with actual prior year expenditures by utility type. Energy conservation and cost-saving measures (e.g., new building design, lighting technology, energy, and HVAC management systems) help offset increased utility consumption and higher unit costs. Reductions in energy consumption at County facilities due to telework also contribute to reduced utility expenditures. Renewable energy includes the purchase of credits to offset fossil fuel purchases.