Will the Montgomery County Council compromise on Marc Elrich’s budget proposal?

Once again, Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich is forcing his colleagues to make tough choices.

Yesterday, he unveiled the county’s $8 billion budget for fiscal year 2027. In it, he proposed raising property taxes by almost 6% to fund the school system.

This proposal is strikingly similar to his last two budget proposals, which also called for higher taxes to fund the county’s school system. It’s a common page out of Elrich’s playbook that has forced members of the County Council to compromise on their beliefs while grappling with the reality of a strained budget.

The council has compromised in the past, but it’s resulted in some tough choices.

In 2023, he proposed a 9.8% property tax rate increase to fund his proposed fiscal year 2024 budget. The council unanimously opposed such a high increase and eventually settled on a 4.7% increase.

That compromise still required the county to cut Elrich’s operating budget proposal, including the school system’s $3.2 billion request. It also led to tension between Elrich and some council members, who said they felt Elrich forced them into a bad position.

Last year, the council rejected Elrich’s proposed income tax increase entirely, citing the increased cost of living and widespread federal job loss under the new Trump administration. Elrich wants to raise this tax from 3.2% to 3.3% in the coming fiscal year, which would require a change of heart among council members.

Council President Natali Fani-González said last month that she’s considering lots of options to raise revenue, including raising specialized taxes, to help fund the county budget.

“The need is so huge. We don’t have the money. We just don’t,” she said at the time.

However, Fani-González is still just one vote on the 11-member council. A simple majority is needed to pass an increase, meaning at least six members must agree.

Data center debate looms

The County Council won’t move forward with a proposal to create a task force to assess data centers, to the chagrin of at-large council member Evan Glass.

The council’s Economic Development and Transportation & Environment committees voted 3-2 against Glass’ proposal for the task force on Monday.

“Residents across Montgomery County have raised real concerns about how data centers are affecting higher energy prices, straining our water resources, increasing noise pollution and compromising public health risks,” Glass wrote in a statement. “Those questions are legitimate and deserve answers.”

While Glass’ proposal was voted down, the council is still considering another bill, sponsored by Fani-González, that would determine where data centers can be built and which land-use regulations they must follow.

Council member Andrew Friedson suggested that data centers should have to “pay their own way” in order to be developed in the county.

“Any data center development in Montgomery County should protect local ratepayers,” Friedson said in a statement. “These facilities consume enormous amounts of electricity, and the rapid growth of artificial intelligence is accelerating that demand.”

Council member Will Jawando weighed in Friday, announcing plans to introduce legislation proposing a two-year moratorium on data center development.

“In two years, there will still be demand to build data centers,” Jawando said, according to remarks he shared during a rally with the Chesapeake Climate Action Network Action Fund. “But what we can’t get back is clean water once it’s gone. We can’t get back affordable electricity once we’ve locked families into higher bills.”

All three council members are running for the Democratic nomination for county executive.

County executive candidates file complaints against political forum organizers

Two county executive candidates have taken legal action or filed complaints against NPR affiliate WAMU 88.5 for not being included in the radio station’s March 13 county executive forum.

Candidate Mithun Banerjee is suing WAMU in Montgomery County Circuit Court for “economic, mental and non-economic damages,” and argues that WAMU is choosing to promote certain candidates by including them and excluding others.

Candidate Peter James has filed a complaint with the IRS against WAMU, alleging that the nonprofit newsroom is violating IRS political statutes by excluding him from the forum.

According to James’ complaint to the IRS, WAMU’s requirements for participation in their forum included having an updated campaign website and having raised $80,000 or more. James is arguing that these requirements are unlawful.

James has also filed an IRS complaint against the Sandy Spring Civic Association. According to his complaint, he reached out on Feb. 24 to ask to participate in the organization’s candidate forum series. A representative of the civic association told James that the series’ schedule had been set before he filed his candidacy, and they couldn’t extend an invitation to him.

Representatives for WAMU and the civic association did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

This is Banerjee’s second lawsuit for being excluded from a forum for candidates. In October, Banerjee filed a lawsuit against the Montgomery County Renters Alliance Inc. and Montgomery Community Media after being denied an opportunity to participate in their forum. In his complaint, he argues that tax-exempt nonprofits are prohibited from participating in political campaigns for or against a candidate. That case is still open.