Good afternoon everyone and welcome to the county council meeting this afternoon. We have a public hearing. And before we begin the public hearing, I want to note that council member Mink is joining us virtually this afternoon and to let you know that this is the first of five public hearings on our FY 26 operating budgets and our FY 26 to 31 public services program and fiscal policy for Montgomery County government, Montgomery College, Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission, WSSE Water, and Montgomery County Public School. Council committees will conduct work sessions on the budget beginning Wednesday, April 9th, and full council work sessions will begin on Monday, May 5th. The committee schedule is available on the council's website. Everyone who has registered to speak has and should be afforded the opportunity to testify. Please keep applause and noise to a minimum, if possible. We will ask for no interruptions or distractions. We have about 70 people registered just for this afternoon. And so we want to get you in here. We want to listen to you and get you home safely. So we do ask that people listen to those who are testifying. Also, for our rules for the hearing room, please do not hold up signs that will block someone's view and please keep the aisles clear so people can easily exit and enter. As a reminder of our public hearing testimony guidelines, your comments must be limited to issues relevant to the public hearing topic for which you are testifying and are appropriate for a public meeting. You will hear a tone when your time is up and we appreciate everyone abiding by their allotted time. And Mayor Ashton, you won the prize for the very first person to sign up for this year's FY26 operating budget public hearings. So we're gonna let you kick us off, Mayor Ashton. Good afternoon. We fully understand and respect all you're doing on budget, we're going through it ourselves. County Council President Stewart, council members, my name is Monique Ashton. Mayor Rockville, I'm also the president as a male chapter from Montgomery County, where 20 municipalities, 20 plus municipalities, I wanna speak to you on a couple items regarding tax duplication, support for our schools, and Rafa Volunteer Fire Department. We're grateful to the County Council, County Executive, and staff for the collaboration on tax duplication. We support the County Budget Reimbursement Allocation, included in this year's budget, good to see. Looking ahead, we just wanna get ahead and think about the Quadrenable Review and we hope that we'll start this summer and we hope that it's a collaborative process. In terms of police fear embarrassment, we worked closely with the county's office to modify the police components to be more fair. As you know, the county pulled out six officers from each of our jurisdictions and we appreciate and support the reimbursement included in this budget. In terms of transportation, I want to flag that it did decrease this year mainly due to an error in the county's calculation. We just request more diligence and data reviews and tax duplication formulas that details be shared early in the process. We have testified with before MCPS, we wanna come to you as well. We support funding for Para Educators, Mental Health, Social Services, and Maintenance Workers, including in the MCPS operating budget. We also endorse operating efforts that support revitalization studies for schools within Rockville. I want to call out that we are requesting that the county consider supporting excel beyond the Bell program. It's from the elementary. It is a Title I school 88% farms rate and they need the extra support. In terms of the Rockville volunteer fire department, we understand that the fire department, they were proposed reductions to three staff members as well as a heavy rescue squad vehicle. We do wanna make sure that there's adequate support at that station. It does provide a lot of support to the south, southern part of our city and we need to secure it. We understand that both parties are looking at that. I would also like to highlight the following. We want to support your work at the crisis center, The City of Rockville had over 300 calls for service to the crisis center. We need to make sure that it's a safe facility for all. Thank you to the county for allocating more support. For the rental assistance program and social services, we really want to make sure that there's adequate funding in the budget. We know there's going to be an increase in need for social services with all that's happening at a national level. And regarding our impact tax, memorandum of understanding, we are close to a deal, the city looks forward to a mutually agreeable resolution on the reimbursement for some of our transportation projects which have already occurred. And in closing amid the widespread federal workforce and transition issues, we commit to working closely with you and county leaders to share information and resources in support of our community who are directly impacted. We know that it's not just the city, the county, the state, but also many non-profit providers who will be helping to address all these issues. Thank you for your time and we appreciate all of you work on the budget. Thank you very much. Mayor Ashton, next we have Linda Bergowski. Good afternoon. I'm Linda Bergowski. I'm Co-chair of the Commission on Aging. I want to thank the Council on County Executive for their support of Aging and Disability Services. While there are some modest increases in the recommended budget, one in four Montgomery County residents is age six year over and that percentage is growing, so we need more help from you. Specifically, the issue of affordable and accessible housing for older residents continues to be a challenge. We ask $480,000 to be allocated to a number of initiatives. Starting with how to make more housing now senior friendly, older adult friendly. Also to ensure that we understand how the policy lever is zoning and any bills brought before the council affect older adults. We need all of the materials available to older residents to be translated into multiple languages right now. They're only in English, somewhere in Spanish. We also need to train property managers on how to make their properties more accessible and available to older residents. So that's housing that's a big issue for us. We've talked to you about the ambassadors program. This is where commissioners go out and speak to community groups about the programs and services available to older residents. In over 30 presentations to more than 1,000 people, the number one response we get is I had no idea these services were available. So we've asked for one person to be designated in the Department of Health and Human Services to serve as the communications and outreach manager for aging and disability services. This person is critical for us. We need to alert seniors that their programs are available. I also wanna bring to you a solution, senior fellows. Some of you have heard us talk about this before, that was a line item in our senior services budget for many years. For senior fellows at $50,000, I would recommend a plus-up given the cost of living. Because of all the people who are being let go from the federal government, there are many people who would be willing to serve as senior fellows, internal consultants with expertise, a lot of professional background to support some of these FTE requests that were making helping implement the Hummington Media Base Workforce plan, outreach manager within aging disability services. We stand ready to work with the council to implement these recommendations and I'm available to answer any questions. My written testimony will include more details. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you this afternoon. Thank you. Next I have Mr. Tom Cove. Thank you, President Stewart. Oh, please, please. Thank you, President Stewart, Council Members. I do serve as the chair of the Montgomery Sports Advisory Committee. It's the first time we've been here in official capacity. So I'm going to take just a second to talk a little bit about that and then a couple of quick points of what we're working on. Established by the County Council leadership of Council Member Alburn, I really appreciate that. 17 citizens on the committee, credit to this group, the County Council for having named a wide diversity of folks that are represented. As the chair, that's not always great all the time, but that turns out to be a really good insight for all parts of the county, whether it's geography, different sports, gender, field access, et cetera. So the committee has also benefits from the ex-officio support of many county agencies. So it's working well, we're young, but we're at it. The unifying principle of the committee has been to focus on increasing sports participation rates and improving the quality of the sports experience for the most underserved in the county. This county has terrific opportunities, terrific programs, but like many other parts of the country, it has gaps, it has disparities. And those disparities are gender income inequality, ethnicity, zip code, unacceptable for us as a committee and I'm sure for you as well. So that's what we're focusing on. So we talk about barriers related to what are the barriers to sports participation and not only youth but for older as well. Transportation, field access, family cost, support for organizations and limited awareness of available programming. All areas to address, we issued an annual report and we've met with several of you. We're going to meet with all of you, hopefully, in the coming weeks. In the interest of time, I'm going to just make a specific recommendation and an upcoming major event. First, we're calling for the establishment of a countywide online sports programming directory, which would provide easy access real time to people all over. My colleague, Tina Sherman, who's also here, she's gonna speak a little bit about that. Secondly, we're excited to announce the establishment of the Montgomery County Unsung Sports Hero Award program, award designed to honor individuals and organizations who work behind the scenes. The people, the coaches and the parents and the volunteers and the maintenance workers and the people that cut the grass. Those folks we want to highlight. I'm going fast because I also want to and we have a Hall of Fame induction ceremony on May 4th. We hope you all can make it. It's going to be great. We have three unsung heroes. And then we just added this point. I added it because I think it's really important. In these times of economic and social disruption, we know what's going on in the DMV. We know what distress involved is. Sports, recreation, parks are fundamentally important to the well-being of our citizens. Kids, families, communities need more than ever now the respite that recreation provides. We recognize your unlimited resources, we realize it, but we're asking you to consider the power of sports and recreation. Thank you. Tina Sherman. President Stewart, Vice President DeWondo, members of the county council, thank you for the opportunity to speak before you this afternoon. My name is Tina one, Sherman, and I'm a Montgomery County resident, mother of two MCPS student athletes and vice chair of the sports advisory committee. I had the honor to testify before the county council last year, and I'm honored to be here again alongside my colleague Tom Cove, the committee's chair, to testify in the proposed FY 2026 operating budget. I'd like to highlight two points today, the geographic representation on the committee and one of the recommendations from our 2024 annual report. First, as one of the county's boards, committees and commissions, we understand how important geographic balance is to the council. Given this, I'd like to share that our colleagues from Montgomery County RAC were intentional to ensure that initial committee members reflected residents from across the county, including up county. As we embark on another call for new membership applications in the coming months we plan to continue with that intention. Second, I wanted to briefly call attention as Tom noted to a recommendation from our first annual report. This recommendation is to publish a directory of available sports programming offered by the county. Municipalities within its jurisdiction and other providers. The directory would be publicly available online or via a mobile app so that youth, adults, and seniors could view real-time information about programs that would help facilitate participation in sports. We've met with some of you already to discuss this recommendation. For those we've spoken to, thank you for meeting with us and for sharing your enthusiasm for this directory. For those we have not, our plan is to speak with you in the near term and hopefully have you share that same enthusiasm. We have one ask for the council today. That is for technical assistance from council staff to help us develop a key aspect of this recommendation. While we have spoken with stakeholders, outlined many details and are mindful of the extremely limited resources available, we don't yet know as the committee were the best and most cost effective place would be to house a sports program directory. This is where you all come in. We believe your staff may have insights that could help us partner with an entity in the county to make this recommendation a reality. So we ask you to consider providing us council staff for this technical assistance. In closing, the committee is excited to continue engaging with the council on this recommendation and its other efforts. Thank you. Thank you. Next, we have Ariana Ross. I think I did it right. Thank you, President Stewart, Vice President João do and honorable council members. As a mother, a parent of two, sixteen year old and a seven year old, artist, an educator, a voter, and a CEO of a not-for-profit story tapestries, and a life-long resident of Montgomery County. I have witnessed and continued to witness in my own family a lack of equity between those who receive extra educational funding access to sports. I could literally repeat everything they said to replace it with the word arts. Mental health services and certain types of programming after school and within the community. I have seen an increased level of isms in our community that has taken to the extreme level. When I was a child in Montgomery County I grew up in Bethesda. I'm not gonna lie to you all I totally grew up with rose colored glasses of what I imagine the world would look like. I was bullied, however, for being the only child at my school that had dark brown curly hair that looked different than everybody else in my school, even though I was potentially the same culture as every single person who was there. People may argue that Montgomery County already does all of the above, works to serve each other, buildss neighbors who are active or flex the stories we hope to see has available mental health. But I have witnessed that is inaccurate. When can the you, the county council continue to invest in the community so that stories like the one I'm about to share doesn't happen again? Let this resonate with you. My sixteen year old daughter recently wrote a story, and I'm going to read it because I want to get her words correct. About an experience she had in the first grade. We don't have time for the whole story, just a knowledge that two boys were bullying her. Her teacher and adult, she was supposed to trust, just ignored what happened. She justified it in the hallway. She told her that she was the problem, that it was because her parents were different. For the rest of the day, she told her that it was her fault, that child's fault. I want you to understand that these things, if we want things to change, the government, the businesses and the not for profits have to work together. I ask that you consider continuing to fund a rec center and Montgomery Village, continue to fund BlackRock, continue a 3% increase to the R2Mays Council of Montgomery County, and fully fund the schools as well as I added this because it's important, support MCM as cable funds are dwindling. Next year my daughter will continue to go to Pulseville Elementary School, my youngest who's seven. I want to make sure that she is access to the same things other kids do. I do not have the funds as a parent. What about all of those parents who do not have the funds? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you and thank you to our first panel this afternoon. Next up we have Jennifer Hughes, Tom Leiter, Susan Hartung, Jasmine White, and Gordy Bren. You can just make your way up and we'll start with Jennifer Hughes when you are all settled. Gadmas, you can start. Yeah, good afternoon, council members. I'm. Hughes speaking on behalf of your Animal Services Advisory Committee, a group of 11 residents appointed by you and charged with advising the Executive and the Council on all matters related to animal services. I personally don't envy your task in producing a fair and sustainable budget this year, but we are asking you to at least maintain the proposed budget for OAS. Ms. Hairfield has been the executive director for just over a year, and in that time has reorganized and streamlined the office so that their mission ensuring the animals in the shelter and throughout our county are treated humanely and properly is fulfilled efficiently. Her staff has also worked hard to increase the number of on site and foster volunteers and forge strong relationships with community-based animal welfare organizations to leverage the county's volunteer and nonprofit resources available for animal care. Despite these efforts, OAS is still on the brink of not being able to properly care for and feed the thousands of animals that are its legal responsibility. OAS is one of the first agencies likely to feel the community's pain as the economy suffers. With many residents out of jobs, more are likely to surrender or abandon their animals due to financial hardship, increasing the number of animals in OAS's care. If you were to reduce their resources just as its workload increases, the outcomes for the animals is likely to be dire. On that note, we are also requesting you fund $30,000 for a more dependable pet food bank that can be critical to keeping animals out of the shelter, off the streets and with their families. This food can be distributed through an existing network of volunteers and non-profits with no additional strain on OAS staff. This $30,000 investment would leverage hundreds of hours of volunteer time and other donations while paying for itself many times over. The cost to a taxpayer of each animal entering the shelter is nearly $1,000. The math is simple. Keeping hundreds of pets in their homes by helping to feed and vet them is far cheaper than taking them into the shelter or letting them be out on the street. Since the county changed its community grant mechanism, there is no opportunity for groups like McPaw to receive grants for this purpose. We are also asked that you preserve the $125,000 you provided last year for a community spain neuter program. As noted in the Maddie's Fund report, this program is critical to stemming the tide of unwanted animals being born and entering the shelter or being abandoned. Again, the dollars spent on this program pay for themselves to avoid it costs. Thank you very much. Tim Leiter. Thank you, Council President Stewart. Council members, I'm Tim Leiter. I'm here as the chair of the Montgomery County Library Board. On behalf of the other 12 members of the board, there's over 100 citizens on our library advisory committees. I'm representing 1,000 of your constituents. And it's fitting to the day that I'm testifying on the first day of the National Library Week. Where thousands of Montgomery County residents will celebrate their libraries. Thank their wonderful library workers and teach their kids while libraries are so vital to our lives and communities. As we all know, the library is not where you just go to check out books. It's where you go for the story time with your children, it's where you book, do book club meetings, you go to vote early. It's even where we went for our COVID masks and test kits. But most, more immediately, today, when our 80,000 federal government workers in Montgomery county are uncertain about their futures, it's a go-to place for job resources to use computers, to do the printing, or to research potential new careers. The library budget accounts are less than 1% of the county's operating budget, but the impact of libraries can have on our lives as far greater than that. Hundreds of thousands of our Montgomery residents use our libraries, the tots, teens, adults, and seniors. So we realize there's turmoil and challenges throughout all levels of government and Montgomery County Public Libraries are no exceptions. Specifically, the current federal executive order to eliminate the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which provided funding to Maryland Libraries. According to the American Library Association, it involves the elimination of funding, and it will decimate services such as early literacy development and reading programs, high speed internet access, employment assistance, homework, and research resources, and accessible reading materials. We know that the Montgomery County Library System uses this funding for capital projects, staff development, and special programming. This is background. County Executive Average's Fifth School Year, 2026, budget requests for MCPL becomes even more critical. His request maintains core MCPL service and provides a small bump to support the two strategic areas of digital publications and world language collections. At a minimum, we, the board and the LACA, gerage to support the county executive's budget request, but also keep in mind the looming threats of censorship and book banning, as well as a lot well-being of of library staff and patrons during this chaotic time. Our public libraries are one of the county's most valuable assets. We urge you to fully fund the operating budget so they can continue the better the lives of all residents in Montgomery County. Thank you. Thank you very much. Next we have Susan Hardton. Good afternoon, can you count some members. My name is Susan Hardton and I'm speaking to you today on behalf of the Commission on People with Intellectual Developmental Disabilities. To thank you for your years of support and ask you to support a 3% increase to the DDSupplement proposed by the FY26 budget. Over the last 40 years, I've had a number of positions advocating for populations with developmental disabilities. All these positions have taught me the importance of caring for the most vulnerable members of our society. But nothing has done that more importantly than being the mother of my two adult children, born aged to their 39 and Emily aged 35, both with different significant developmental disabilities. Some information I think is important to share with you includes the fact that Montgomery County, one in every 10 households has a child or an adult with an intellectual or developmental disability. Over the last 10 years, special education enrollment has increased by 12.1% in Montgomery County. This past year, 5,000 direct support professionals provided nearly 6 million hours of highly individualized community-based services. The state of Maryland's minimum wage is $15 per hour. On July 1st this year, Montgomery County's minimum wage will go to 1765 for large businesses, $16 an hour from median businesses, and for employers of small businesses, 1550 per hour. The FY26 state budget includes a 1% cut to Medicaid providers, as well as a 1% cut to the dedicated support rate, and the geographic differential, which provides an increased rate for counties with higher cost of living like Montgomery County was reduced by at least 4%. This will mean that all developmental disability providers will be receiving revenue reductions. This will mean that all developmental, I'm sorry, and those operating Montgomery County will be disproportionately affected. While the disability community truly appreciates the inflationary increases received over the last few years, there have been no rate increases to address the increase for the number of people receiving support services. I do hope you will consider all of this as you finalize this year's budget, but I would ask you to please consider one more thing. For many years, Montgomery County has done an outstanding job of committing to creating an inclusive society for all people with disabilities so they can achieve their best of their abilities. The benefits to the individuals who are supported this way are measurable. But consider the benefits to the county. The people supported by the agencies that support, are supported by the supplement by their groceries in our stores. Shop in ourmarkets, eating our restaurants, working our businesses, volunteering our communities, go to our movie theaters and help pay their staff salaries. Not a dime of the supplement is wasted. It all goes back into enriching our economy. There was a time, not that long ago, where this was not the case. People like my son and daughters spent most of their lives in institutions supported by our tax dollars and none of it came back to us. There are a few things in life that are truly win-win situations but the county supplement to these agencies is surely one of them. Please continue this support. Thank you. Ms. Jasmine White. Good afternoon, Council President Stewart, Vice President Jolandeau and Council members. My name is Jasmine White. Good afternoon, Council President Stewart, Vice President Jolando and Council members. My name is Jasmine White and I'm honored to serve as the CEO of Montgomery Community Media. I come before you today not only to advocate for MCM but to challenge you. To respectfully urge you to stand up for free and dependent and accessible media at a time when our democracy depends on it. We are living in an era of deep political division where misinformation spreads faster than the truth. And trusted media is at an all time low. Yet here in Montgomery County, we have something remarkable. A nonprofit public access media organization that is rooted in the community and committed to reporting hyperlocal news with integrity and fairness. MCM is not beholden to advertisers, corporate stakeholders, or political interests. Our work is not shaped by profit margins or outside agendas. It is driven solely by the needs of this community. That independence allows us to remain objective and to focus on issues that matter most to your constituents. When mainstream media overlooks the achievements and progress of local government, MCM steps in to keep Montgomery County residents informed about the issues and decisions that affect their everyday lives. Regardless of background, income or political belief, we amplify the diverse voices of Montgomery County. We connect communities using multimedia platforms to educate, inform, and to empower people. From our local election coverage to live broadcasts of town hall meetings and other civic engagement programs, MCM provides a platform where facts matter, where voices are heard and where democracy thrives. But sustaining this mission requires more than words, it requires action, it requires investment. The budget decisions you make this year will signal whether you stand for local journalism and community storytelling, or whether you will let this vital public resource deteriorate as the cable planned funding diminishes. We ask you to stand with MCM not because we create content, but because we create connection, but because we are a safeguard against disinformation that threatens our shared future. Montgomery County deserves an independent media organization that reflects its values. Diversity, inclusion, and civic engagement. MCM is that organization. We ask you to protect it, support it, and ensure that it continues to serve this community for years to come. Thank you all for your time and consideration. Thank you. Gordy Bren. Gordy Brenney with the Taxpayers League must be spring because I'm here. The Taxpayers League would like to see more jobs, not more taxes. Our analysis shows that MCPS can be funded at the state mandated maintenance of effort level while improving effective principle in teacher recruitment and retention. This will eliminate the need for the recommended tax increase. The county budget itself needs to hire reserves to deal with the extra risks next year. And compensation increases should be limited to step increases pending a comparative salary survey that was last done in 2011. We oppose rate increases, fee increases, fee increases for the 911 call centers solid waste until alternatives are presented to the Recommendations for cutting specific MCPS and county programs spending are in our written testimony. I'm going to turn to MCPS for the rest of my time. We recently discussed the MCPS budget with superintendent Taylor, chief of staff, McGuire, and board president Yang. Our objective was to learn how they justify higher spending for taxpayers who are struggling with 10% property tax increases and to see how the budget tells taxpayers what they're getting for their money. It doesn't. The budget just lays out formulaic instructional cost inputs that don't tie to strategies to lower the achievement gap and is bloated with overhead costs built up up over the decades, and has not undergone any value added analysis. The superintendent points out in his letter that central office employment has grown 24% since 2019, while enrollments remain flat. We don't know if any of the proposed instructional funding increases are sufficient because they aren't linked to proficiency improvements. There aren't even any targets for improving reading and math proficiency among our struggling student groups. For example, we couldn't tell if the successful pilot test of a strategy sponsored by the Black and Brown Coalition for individual literacy instruction plans and parent communications will be rolled out to all low income schools next year. Our education consultant helped us to understand that one reason MCPS is failing to teach poor kids in East County is because one size fits all solutions designed for West County schools, disadvantaged East County schools, where we need more effective principles and teachers. The council now has an opportunity to insist budget approval be tied to proficiency targets to overcome institutional biases against these county students. The council recently said an initial spending affordability guideline at the maintenance of level. Thank you. That's $256 million less than the executive's recommendation for local tax support. But that's an appropriate budget for one that doesn't target proficiency improvements. Our written testimony includes five examples how to cut spending by $348 million. That's more than enough to meet the maintenance of the effort level. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you to this panel. Next I like to call up Linda Flores, Bruce Cohen, Trish Helfinger, Wendy Eskibar, Rivera's and Sean Haneman. The first name was Linda Flores, if you hear it. This floor is you can start. Cu dasta no? Maynett is Linda Flores. Soy orgullosamente de Salvador, específicamente de Samil, a la cual llamamos la perla de Oriente. Hello, everyone. My name is Linda Flores. I am proudly from El Salvador, specifically from San Miguel, which we call the Pearl of the East. Soy graduada la Universidad del Salvador, Licenciada en Ficiot University of Therapy and Occupational Therapy, and I have a degree in Pedagogical training for professionals. I decided to come to the United States due to the wave of time and the dominance of the group called Marasalbatrucha, known as MS-13. I was also forced to be a part of the large number of people who were charged a fee called rent. And if you didn't pay, you suffered severe consequences. I had a physical therapy clinic in the medical area of San Miguel, and they imposed this fee on me, threatening to harm me. My life was in danger, so I decided to close the clinic and relocate to the United States. Since then, I have been serving my community since the pandemic as a promoter for the Latino Health Initiative. And since 2023, I have been certified as a community health worker by the state of Maryland. I want to bring this opportunity to talk about a problem that is affecting my which is the lack of affordable housing. the owners of houses in a park. I would like to take this opportunity to talk about an issue affecting my community, which is the lack of affordable housing. The owners of houses and apartments are increasing rent without control. In my family and I have experienced this when they raised a rent by $300 at once. I live in the city of Silver Spring. I also have a friend who resides in Montgomery, and they gave him a month to save his house and he had more than five years of Silver Spring. I'm being to I'm in a way that's the one that's been in Montgomery, and they gave me a month to save their house and have been living for more than five years. And so many cases, that's why I ask for a living that is worthy of the cancer of all the people that we have in this neighborhood, without any survivors, and without threats of running out of their houses. And what are the two statistics? A friend who lives in Montgomery County was also given only one month to vacate her house despite having lived there for five years. There are many more similar cases, and that's why I am asking for affordable housing that is within the reach of all of us who live in this county without exorbitant fees and without threats of being evicted from their homes. According to a statistical data, vivienda y por eso pido que se respeta la ley de estabilización de arquilera del condado de Montgomery promulgada al 20 de julio del 23 juio objetivo. It is estimated that 23% of renters in Montgomery County pay 50% or more of their income on monthly housing expenses. That is why I ask for respect for the Montgomery County Rents theabilization law enacted on July 20th, 2023, whose objective is to limit rent increases in its regulations, specify that fees in landlorsking charge a tenant must be limited to maintain afford to maintain affordability. I hope this law is respected and that all of us in Montgomery County have access to dignified housing with a safe roof for our children and our families. Thank you. Thank you very much. Next is Bruce Cohen. Good afternoon. My name is Bruce Cohen, aka Big Bruno. I resided to North Blade Court, Gavisburg, Maryland. I volunteer at the animal shelter in Durwood, Maryland and have been volunteering to help homeless animals in Montgomery County for nearly 16 years. I'd come to you today not just on behalf of the animals at our care of the shelter, but on behalf of the families, seniors, children, and individuals whose lives are made better by what we do at the animal shelter. The shelter does so much. Here are some of the items people might not know about. Number one, the shelter recently started a much needed span new to program, which will gain popularity very quickly, and the shelter must be prepared. Number two, the Shelter Assist local families in crisis offering temporary care for pets during hardships through our Safekeeping Program helping families stay united with their beloved animals. Number three, the Shelter has a modest pet pantry program. Let's support Montgomery County families. The next time you are shopping for your pet, please consider buying an extra case or two of pet food for the pantry. Number four, the shelter also provides outreach programs, volunteer opportunities and school partnerships that teach compassion and civic responsibility. And see, it's a county of 2024, the volunteer hours total nearly 20,000 recommendations. I recommend to increase the number of ACAs as animal care attendants from 15 to 23 beginning and FY 2026. The ACAs as they are known consists of the dedicated folks who take care of nearly 300 animals every day from cleaning cages, kennels, feeding all animals, walking dogs, so many more important task and duties. This recommendation is consistent with the Maddie's Million Pet Challenge report that was issued back in September 2023. This group has been understaffed for many years and we we need to get back on track. Increasing the number of ACAs will allow for proper care of every animal something we need to improve upon. Increasing the number of ACAs will allow the shelter to develop an evening walking program which I strongly recommend. Currently dogs are locked up in their kennels anywhere from 12 to 20 hours every night. Their final potty break is anywhere from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Adding an evening walking shift and taking them out for a final potty break between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. will greatly increase their physical and mental wellbeing, keep them house broken, and help them get adopted much quicker. I want to thank the council for always supporting the homeless animals in Montgomery County, and for this opportunity to speak on their behalf. Thank you. Thank you, Trish, helpful finger. Good afternoon, my name is Trish, helpful finger. Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to speak with you today to request the restoration of the Montgomery Parks FY26 operating budget. I'm currently the president of the Montgomery Parks Foundation. However today I'm testifying as a 50-year resident of Montgomery County. Parks have always played an important part in my life. For over 20 years, I developed and operated the Maryland Soccerplex in Germantown, an innovative public private partnership. The South Germantown Park and Soccerplex demonstrate the role the parks play in sports tourism. Years ago, many in the county viewed parks is nice to have. Lovely, open green spaces, and they are. But we've learned the parks provide so much more. When my kids were growing up, parks were playgrounds and ball fields. But when the pandemic hit, they became a sanctuary. Nothing was open, but parks were open. Parks leadership saw a tremendous need for safe open spaces, and were again innovative and created the open parkways. Parks again became essential. Today we face a similar environment. People are worried. They feel helpless. They need safe, open spaces. I like to walk the trail at Lake Needwood and on holidays it is packed with families, celebrating having fun. Parks are the great equalizer. They are the community gathering places. Everyone is welcome. Parks are essential. Last week I was at the ribbon cutting for the fantastic new carousel at Wheaton Regional Park. This is just the beginning of the amazing master plan development for Wheaton Regional Park, a park that will offer incredible active spaces that are essential to the community. We know this is challenging year. We know you have difficult decisions to make. When you're deliberating about restoring the park's budget to what was proposed, please don't think of parks as just nice, open green spaces. Please think of parks as essential to the health and well-being of all of the citizens of Montgomery County. Thank you. Thank you. Next we have Wendy Escobar Verres. Buenas tardes representantes del Consejo. Mi nombre es Wendy Escobar. Soy resident de este condado desde ya 11 años vivo en la ciudad de Silver Spring. Good afternoon, Council representatives. My name is Wendy Escobar. I have been a resident of this county for 11 years and I live in the city of Silver Spring. hace ya 6 años vivimos tiempo difícil es a nivel mundial una pandemia por un We lived two difficult times globally due to a pandemic caused by the virus called COVID-19. We didn't know how to face it and even less how we could get contagious with the virus. We lived through time of anguish, sadness, and we were in lockdown because of a pandemic. Many of us lost our jobs and the most painful part was losing family members in France due to a virus. Today I come for you to request that you please consider providing more funds for the free food distribution program. Programme Hughes, UNC, the Mid-County Hub. The Hughes, UNC, the Mid-County Hub. Para poder tener una variedad de alimentos conforme a nuestras personas de origen. So that we can offer a variety of foods that reflect our diverse cultural background. Alimentos que contribuyen a una sana alimentación baja en grasa y para personas que sufren de algún tipo de enfermedad y alertia. Foods that contribute to healthy eating, low in fact, and for people who suffer from various diseases and allergies. We need to educate the population to eat healthy food due to the high levels of obesity and diabetes problems in the early and advanced stages. We need to educate the population on how to eat healthy due to the high levels of obesity and diabetes, both in early and advanced stages. In 2019, we met a church where they give food to thousands from Asian and African-American European countries. In 2019, I learned about a church that gives away food to thousands of people, Asians, Africans, Europeans, Latinos, Europeans, seniors and single mothers. Madras solteras. At seniors and single mothers. As seniors and single mothers. In this church, the church is the Methodist Unidas, known as the Jewish Methodist Shored of the City of Witten. This church is a huge united Methodist church in the city of Witten. Every Tuesday, safe food is given to over 700 people. From 2019 to today, the number has increased to 1,1100 people each week. The represents a 25% increase. We are living through difficult and traveling times due to the high cost of food. Precious food, alkyl, medical insurance, Incremental activities, electric energy, gas, water and little increase in the minimum room. Naroni Fouur, Baruch. Precious food, alquiler, seguro médicos, incremento, utilidades, energía, electric, gas, agua, y poco aumento al salario mínimo. Not only food, but also rent, health insurance, and increased utility bills, electricity, gas, water, and a slight increase in the minimum wage. Por lo tanto le solicito to mega consideración al sufrimiento de cada persona that comes to our church to ask for food, medical medical signs, free every week. Therefore, I ask you to consider the suffering of each person who comes to our church every week to request food, diapers and free medication. Let's fight to maintain this program which is a great blessing for every household. every household. Let's fight to maintain this program, which is a great blessing for every household. Sigamos combatiendo el hambre y erradicando la pobreza, creando fuentes de empleo como condado, como estado, como parte de esta gran nación de Estados Unidos y América. Let us continue fighting hunger and eradicating poverty, creating job opportunities as a county, as a state, as part of this great nation, the United States of America. We need to live in a better world where residents feel supported by their leaders. Let's leave a positive legacy for a better future. Comida para todos gratis. Free food for all. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Next we have Sean Haneman. Good afternoon. President Stewart, Vice President John Dough and Council members. My name is Sean Hanuman and I am a language access manager with Ayuda, which is a nonprofit serving low-income immigrants in the DMV region and a proud member of nonprofit Montgomery. Through this testimony and the accompanying written testimony, which I spent it last week, Ayuda respectfully urges the Council to firstly maintain executive L-rich's recommended cost of living adjustments for nonprofit contracts. Secondly, to retain in the budget executive L-rich's recommendation for the Office of Grants Management. And finally to allocate an additional $20,000 for IUDO's Interpreter Bank through our contract with the Department of Health and Human Services. Since 2013, Ayuda's Community Legal Interpreter Bank has been a lifeline for low-income county residents needing legal help. Funded in part by the county, we provide free interpretation and translation to pro bono and public interest lawyers. In a county where 16% of residents that's over 160,000 people have limited to no English proficiency in English and thousands more art deaf or heart of hearing. Language access services like these are indispensable. Our interpreter bank contracts with 135 specially trained local interpreters working in 35 languages including Spanish, Amharic, French, Mandarin, Farsi, and American Sign Language. These interpreters specialize in out-of-court legal settings, ensuring accuracy and confidentiality for drafting declarations, petitioning for asylum, filing for divorce, maintaining custody over their children, gaining protection from violent and abusive relationships, and much more. Thanks to funding from the County Government, Ayuda has provided professional legal interpreters to low-income county residents on over 1,500 occasions and translated over 500 documents. The demand for our services is enormous and growing. In the past year alone, the cost of providing these essential services has exceeded our current county funding by over $20,000, which has forced us to halt document translations and implement stringent cost saving measures, meaning that vulnerable residents were potentially denied crucial access to justice. Lawyers were left with difficult choices, potentially compromising client confidentiality or having to turn away those in dire need. An increase in funding will allow Aida's interpreter bank to meet the surging demand and ensure that language is not a barrier to access and critical legal services in Montgomery County. By investing in language access, you will empower thousands of county residents to understand their rights, navigate the legal system and achieve justice. Thank you for your time and consideration. Thank you very much and that is it for this panel. Thank you again for joining us. Next up we'll call up Carl Newman, Jose Antonio Lopez, Dave McGill, Casey Anderson, and Carl Held. And Mr. Newman, you can start when you are all set. Thank you for this opportunity and good afternoon. My name is Carl Newman and I'm representing the Coalition for the Capital Crescent Trail. I'm here today to ask the county council to restore the funding requested by the Parks Department and the FY26 operating budget. The Coalition is a community-based, non-profits supported by thousands of county residents. Our mission is to preserve, protect, and improve the capital crescent trail. The capital crescent trail is the most popular, multi-use trail in the Metro DC area, and much of the credit for this goes to the hard work of the leadership and staff of the Parks Department. of the major benefits of living in our county is our access to the wonderful network of parks, trails, and recreational centers. Because of the county's foresight, the Parks Department has developed and maintained an outstanding recreational system. Our parks make our county an attractive place for residents to live and work. They help us draw new residents and businesses to the county. So we're extremely frustrated and concerned about the county executive proposed, drastic and short-sighted reduction to the parks department FY26 operating budget request. The Parks Department requested a 7.2% budget increase, but the county executive cut it to 3.2%. The average budget increase for other county departments is 6.7%. We don't know why the Parks Department is being short-changed. This reduction would underfund employee compensation and essential amounts needed for routine maintenance, service, and upkeep of the park's facilities. We know that what this means, it will inevitably result in staff reductions and cuts to the park services and maintenance. It doesn't seem smart or strategic to short-change one of the best things for the county which is our park system So on behalf of the coalition for the capital Crescent Trail I respectfully request that you restore full funding for the parks department. Thank you very much Thank you very much. Next Mr Lopez. En este nuevo país fue adaptarme a mi nueva forma de vida. Hacer el penitcionario de asilo político tenía la necesidad de encontrar orientación legal sobre el proceso a seguir ante una corte de migración. Hay muchas organizaciones que brindan este servicio pero la demand es muy alta. Poco a veces se consigue una cita ya que sus recursos son limitados para atender a todos los solic Good afternoon. Good afternoon, Council President and Council members. My name is Antonio Lopez, and I am from Honduras. I arrived in the United States seeking a political asylum. After my arrival in the country, one of the biggest challenges was adjusting to my new life in finding legal guidance regarding the immigration process. There are organizations that offer such services, but the demand is very high. In only a few people are able to secure an appointment because resources are limited to help so many clients. community, as a community of our condoms, we enrich the cultural area, we bring taxes, we are a very large workforce, we want to continue living in this free condom, to feel protected and safe, we do not want to see more families separated from the deportation and rearing their countries where their lives go rice. As a background, there is this organization we guarantee more legal help to all these families that are needing them. And I close this with a declaration you Con más fundos a esta organización garantizamos más ayuda legales a todas estas familias que los están necesitando. Y cierro con esto con la declaración universal de los derechos humanos de 1948. Me agradezco un derecho humano. Gracias. My testimony before the Montgomery County Council is to request some more funds to be allocated for the budget to the organization Casa. as they provide legal immigration assistance with the new federal administration that demand for legal services has increased. As immigrants, we bring many valuable contributions to this country. Such as culture, we pay taxes, we form a significant labor force, and we want to continue living here. Free, protected and safe. We do not want more families to be separated by deportations or individuals to be sent back to countries where they are not safe. Increased funding for Gaza will help provide more assistance to family in this need of legal support. And I conclude with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights from 1948. Migration is civil rights. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Next, Dave McGill. Good afternoon and thank you to all the County Council members for holding a hearing like this, listening to input on the budget. I am testifying as an individual. I'm an active member of the Mountain Bike Group more. and we do a lot of trail work, a lot of volunteer work. But so I'm here to again support Parks Budget and ask you to restore, if not all of it as much as you possibly can to the Parks Budget. As has been said, Parks Budget seems to have been singled out for greater rate of reduction than other departments. I guess from a personal point of view, I certainly can tell you stories about how happy it makes my family and me to use the parks. But I also say that I'm one of those many people in the county who is actually pretty happy to pay my taxes to a well-run county. But I don't mind paying taxes for a fine school system where my kids don't go. I don't mind paying taxes for social programs to help disadvantaged people. But I also, like many others, like me, expect some of the services that I want to use to actually be funded. We do what we can as a volunteer, and parks are really important to so many people all across the economic spectrum. And it's one of the reasons why many people move to this county and stay in the county. So please consider that while there are lots of needs, what you're doing in supporting parks is supporting everybody. And a lot of people who are very happy to be in this county because it's well-run and well-maintained. Thank you. Thank you. Casey Anderson? I'm Casey Anderson, President of Mid-Atlantic Offer and Enthusiasm. We represent over 2,000 paid members and several thousand other supporters throughout the DMV including a couple thousand here in Montgomery County. Obviously I agree with everything. Mr. McGill said also want to endorse everything at Church Heffelfinger said and Mr. Newman needed a fine job speaking up for the parks department. So I won't belabor that. I want to make a couple of additional points. The first is, as you may have heard, but it bears reminding you, the pros survey that was done three years ago for the Parks Department's strategic plan was a really rigorous piece of opinion research. I know Council President Stewart is an expert in that and that field. I encourage you to go dig back through the crosstabs because of what it shows is that a cross-section of this community from rich to poor, people of different racial ethnic groups, people from every geographic area of the county believe that the parks system is in fact the number one tied with the school system, most valued service for what it may, what it, the question was, what is it that makes a county a great place to live? Public safety comes in a close third behind parks and schools. The other point I want to make is that really we shouldn't be here talking about how underfunded the park system is. The County Executive shorted the parks department. He's in charge of negotiating compensation. You approve those compensation agreements and the park's department is effectively stuck with whatever you work out. I don't think it is excusable under those circumstances for the County's executive to send over a budget that fails to cover even basic known commitments of the park of the park's department. They are at the receiving end of this, they don't control what those inputs are into their cost structure. And you've heard from a number of people here who expect more services from parks, more sports programming in particular. That's not possible if the parks department's operating budget is not funded. So the belong can be mo, the woodships can be filled in on the playgrounds, the trails can be maintained and support, even the volunteer services that we provide. So I ask you to put the money back, give the parks department, let's do, give it back at least 6.2% the average that other county agents received. Thank you. Thank you very much. Carl Held. Council President Stewart, Vice President Joando and Council Members members My name is Carl Held and I remember of the climate coalition in Montgomery County and I want to thank you for the opportunity to testify today We strongly support with some changes the county's executive's climate related budget proposal We fully support additional funding noted in the budget's climate-related budget proposal. We fully support additional funding noted in the budget's climate change chapter for the design of the material recovery and biological treatment facility, implementation of the amended bag fee law, the expansion of solar resiliency hubs, increasing the fleet of green buses, and more even chargers for county facilities. There are several areas we are asking the council to address in their budget review. Number one, as you know, the county law requires a 10% allocation to the green bank of the revenue received from the fuel energy tax. The county has recommended only 15.7 million for this year, which is only about an 8.5% allocation of projected revenues. This is the, this is decreased, is primarily due to, quote, affordability transfer limitation, which I really don't know what it means, but maybe you can help me on that. So we asked the council to increase the allocation for this year to the required 18 million that it's due as a minimum. They are not going to get their federal funding possibly and they need all the funding to support the terrific, uh, legislation that you passed. I want to congratulate you on that as well. Second, the coalition believes that increasing the development of in County private solar energy generation is a key element for achieving the climate action plan. We ask the council to add a one time expenditure for a consultant study to support the Department of Environment in preparing a solar installation strategic plan, which would cover all types of solar applications, rooftop, ground-mounted, community, and utility-scale facilities. Third, I don't think I need to say much about. It's railings of parks, and I've had four advocates. They're already saying everything I could ever say. They're essential, they're needed. They're escapes from heat islands. That's the climate aspect. So I'm not going to say anything more. Return the $2 million decrease in the parks department CIP that was budgeted and restore their funding similar to what other county agencies are getting. I don't know what the percentage is, but somebody said 6%. Fourth, I'll get 22 seconds. We support the Solid Waste Service Charges in order to invest in various county zero waste initiatives. Are we concerned about this $35 million that's budgeted for the operation of the incinerator? That's just for this year. If this goes on many more years since it's not up and extended, that could be over $100 million potentially. You need to look at that carefully and question the EP about what that is. So in closing, I just want to say I think you all are concerned about the environment like we are and we really hope that you will support keep moving forward on the progress on the climate so we can protect this planet for our future children and grandchildren. Thank you, Mr. Held. Thank you very much. Our next panel is Mike Riley, Sheila Jenkins-Diaz, Courtney Hall, Victoria Thomas, and Shannon Bay Thomas. We know the family. We have to go. Yeah. Mike, please, they're yours. Good afternoon, council president Stewart. In county council members, I'm Mike Riley, proud resident of South Kensington and District 4, and the county's former Park Structure. It's great to be back in front of so many friends. Yes, obviously I'm here to support the parks. I love the testimony I've heard so far today from park advocates, but I thought I'd do my part by just sharing a little brief personal story back in 2011 2011 and 12, I spoke at career day at my kids' school at North Chevy Chae Elementary, two consecutive years. And I was deputy director of parks at the time. And all I did is showed up with a slide show that showed the most popular parks, the soccer plaques, Brookside Gardens, the Shirley Povitch Field, the miniature trains, the cab and John wheat and ice rakes. And I had the most captive and animated audience. I was getting all kinds of ooze and ayes and I love those fields and I've been there and oh I got to go back there again. And then there was a little reception each year with the teachers afterwards. And they all came up to me and said things like, I didn't know all those things were part of the parks. I've got to go to Brookside Gardens, what wonderful facilities. And I, it was very rewarding, I felt like a celebrity. But my point today isn't to try to convince you that I'm a celebrity, it's that at 10 years old, these kids already knew the value of our parks. And they're not faking it. they get excited because they've been there, they've used the facilities. As been mentioned, each year in recent memory, our current county executive sends you a budget that does not even meet the minimum needs of the parks part when it doesn't cover basic known commitments like compensation, inflation, written employee raises, health care, anything like that. And you know he's not enamored with the institution I dedicated four years of service to. So he reflects it in his budget and sends it to you to deal with. And every year in recent memory you've fixed it at the very end with a very relatively small of money in the county's budget that makes a big difference to keep the parks moving forward instead of moving backwards. So I'm simply here to ask you to do it again, what you've done in recent years, and to thank you so much for your past support of our parks, and there's 45 seconds back. Thank you very much. Next we have Sheila Jenkins-D.S. Good afternoon, county council members. My name is Shaleia Jenkins-D.S. And I appreciate the opportunity to speak with you today. I'm here to highlight a critical issue affecting individuals with disabilities and aging adults in Montgomery County. My family and I have lived in Tacoma Park, Rockville, and Germantown for over 40 years. And I have personally experienced the challenges of navigating the county's support systems. Please consider the following year FY26 operating budget. Number one, regular audits and updates to online and printed resources to prevent outdated information from circulating. Number two, cross agency training, so staff across all departments are equipped with the most up-to-date knowledge to assist caregivers and families with clear and consistent guidance. Number three, a centralized user-friendly system that allows residents to access verified information. When my mother suffered a stroke in 2017, my world changed overnight. Four years later, my brother had a stroke as well. And I found myself navigating while trying to balance my own family responsibility as a wife and mother. What I expected to be a structured support system was instead of maze of outdated resources, broken links, and conflicting information. Causing visits to the county offices, lab men, circles, leaving me emotionally drained and exhausted and often in tears. The Maryland One Point and HHS website meant to be comprehensive, are often convoluted and outdated. I will note that the HHS website was recently v-MAM, however, the website still lists outdated materials. Caregivers and families should not have to struggle to find accurate information to support their loved ones who rely on basic resources for vital support. Family seeking assistance should not have to fight through a broken system, and show an accurate resources in well-trained staff when power caregivers, reduce barriers, and provide the support our community deserves. I urge you to take action to improve information accessibility for those who need it most. Thank you. Thank you very much. Next is Courtney Hall. Good afternoon. Thank you for the opportunity to testify about the fiscal year 26 operating budget. As you know, Interfaith Works provides programs to help our neighbors challenge by poverty and homelessness find a pathway to stability. We appreciate the county executive's proposals to hold the line by preserving several programs that help residents gain access to housing and funding for additional security at progress place. We fully recognize that the budget situation this year is extremely challenging. I don't envy you. But we believe supporting programs that prevent homelessness would be the most cost-effective strategy, keeping people stably housed and out of the shelter system. Interfaith Works provides two successful prevention programs. The first is Interfaith Works Connections. The most crucial of connection service is providing emergency financial assistance to assist with overdue rent and unpaid utility bills. In FY24, Connections serve more than 600 families with $282,000 in emergency assistance. However, that is not enough. While we were able to help 600, we were unable to assist 843 families. We don't just turn people away. We redirect them to other options, but those often can only provide limited help. Unlike other programs, we can help before eviction notices are issued. Before families are legally entangled and on the brink of losing their homes, let me also mention that 60 to 70% of our referrals come from the county government, many from your constituent service offices. Our second homelessness prevention program is our vocational services program. VSP helps under and unemployed neighbors find employment, serving people with limited incomes. Some are shelter residents, many are seniors, a significant portion speak English as a second language. Our VSP clients range from 18 to 82. Despite many challenges, VSP served 253 clients in FY24. The average hourly wage for accepted jobs was $18.53, 8% higher than the minimum wage. VSP also helps Montgomery County's economy over the past five years, more than 500 VSP clients have earned a collective $12.5 million in initial annual wages to support their families. Our message is simple. With the county's investment in these prevention-oriented programs, we will be able to serve more people so they can find sustainable employment, remain stably housed, and avoid moving into the shelter system. That is a cost-effective strategy. We ask that support be made part of the base budget and specifically, 580,000 for connections and 430 for VSP. This is not a request of fully fund these programs as the county would be leveraging support that we already have from the state of Maryland, private donors, foundations, et cetera. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Victoria Thomas. Good afternoon. Thank you again for the opportunity to advocate for the vulnerable animals of our county who can't speak for themselves and the underserved residents who love them. My name is Vicki Thomas and I'm Vice Chair of Montgomery County Partners for Animal Well Being with PA, a 501-C3 non-profit animal welfare organization. Our programs include fostering homeless animals, assisting underserved residents with low-cost, spayneuter and vet care, and running a pet food pantry. Like Bruce, I also volunteer at McKase like three times a week, and I'm a member of the Animal Services Advisory Committee. I know the council has numerous priorities and hard decisions this year, but many of us in the Animal Welfare community believe that helping both the homeless pets in our county and the pets of underserved residents is important. Pets mean just as much to those families who have less as they do to us. As Director Harfield has said, this is a matter of equity and fairness. Ma'pa, like OAS, believes that no family should have to give up a furry family member because of cost. As I mentioned, Ma'pa runs a bi-monthly pet food distribution which we started during the pandemic, and five years later with continued economic uncertainty, the need hasn't lessened. Last year, we distributed over 70,000 pounds of pet food. However, our donations of food and funds have decreased like most nonprofits. Nepal endorses the animal services committees request of $30,000 for community pet food in the OAS budget, which will be shared with our organization and other nonprofits. This is a very tangible way of helping keep pets out of the shelter and off our county streets and with their families. This investment will not only decrease the cost of the number of animals in the shelter, which has a limited capacity for care, but it also matters of fairness and compassion. I also urge you to continue full funding for the Office of Animal Services, including for targeted spain neuter and basic vet care for underserved residents. People who can't afford food for their pets cannot afford to spain neuter or provide basic vet care. Research suggests that at least five sets of high surgeries for pets belonging to underserved individuals per 1,000 residents will help reduce shelter intake. So in the long run, targeted spay neuter will reduce cost to the county by reducing the number of animals entering macaque sick. And the spay neuter program is also mandated in chapter five of the county code. I'm currently fostering four abandoned kittens and nine other cats. And while they are ridiculously cute, we don't want more kittens born than there are families to care for them so that they don't end up the shelter or starving on our streets. So thank you for all you do for our county residents, both human and furry, and let me know if you need any kids. Thank you so much. Next we have Shannon Babe Thomas. Good afternoon President Stewart and council members. My name is Shannon Babe Thomas and I serve as the executive director of Community Bridges and I'm a board member of nonprofit Montgomery. I first want to thank you for the opportunity to speak today and for your continued investment in the Nonprofit sector here in Montgomery County. I'm here today to strongly urge you to maintain the proposed 3% inflationary adjustment and continued funding for the Nonprofit sector in the FY26 budget. This support is not a bonus, it is essential. It ensures that nonprofit like ours can continue to meet the growing needs of the families we serve. At community bridges, we work with girls from third through 12th grade and we see them through college completion. We also support their families every step of the way. We provide academic support, mentoring, leadership development, college access and success, and family services, including food assistance. We are often the first call when many things get hard, and sometimes we're the only consistent support that a family has. Let me share a story with you about the Alabama family. Two of Mr. Alabama's daughters have completed our college access program and are currently in our college success program. One is at MacDangle College and the other at Towson. Both are thriving and actively involved in campus. During their school breaks, they returned to community bridges, they volunteer, they give back to their girls coming up behind them. Their younger sisters are currently enrolled in our elementary school program. They're continuing the cycle of empowerment and growth. The family also receives food support through our Food Is Medicine program and was part of our holiday giving program this past winter. Here's something that Mr. Alba shared. He said community bridges says what other organizations wouldn't even think about. They go above and beyond for each student and continue to help not only the girls but also their families. The college access program helped my daughters in ways that we couldn't. The power of sustained investment in community-based organizations. That's what the 3% adjustment helps preserve. Our ability to be consistent, reliable, and deeply rooted in the lives of those we serve. Montgomery County's nonprofit sector is not an afterthought. We are an infrastructure. We are a trusted partner and an essential part of the county's social fabric. And we're asking that you ensure this partnership remains strong. This year is already proving to be very difficult. cost arising, needs are growing, and the nonprofit sector is being asked to do things more than we ever have before. We're ready to meet the moment, but only if we have a support to do so. Thank you for your time today, for your leadership, and your commitment to the people that we serve. Please protect the 3% adjustment and sustain the investment in the nonprofits like Community Bridges in FY26. Thank you. Thank you, thank you very much to this panel. Next panel, we have Link Hoing, Esther Wells, Lucy Swartz, Leon Harris, and Debra Hanley. I'm going to go to the committee. Okay, Mr. Hoey, you can start when you're ready. It sounds like it might be a good idea to start out by saying I support the park system and we do. As as you'll see in my testimony, there's a good reason for that. As you know, the committee for the Western County was established in 2018 and with your help, we have accomplished a number of goals regarding our mandate to achieve equity. We thank all of you for your recognition of our needs and your partnership, including health care funding through a grant to our wonderful charitable services organization, WUMCO, and funding for a community center. With these successes, it is worth remembering that our area has lacked access to many county facilities and services for decades. Our high school is under constant pressure to its small size and was repeatedly left off the modernization schedule despite being the oldest high school on the county. The county tried to close Monoxy Elementary School in 2009. We had a clinic believe it or not once upon a time, but it was closed in 1989 to do what were called budget pressures. An effort to establish a community life center, a co-located community center in our area, was started in 1979 and was quashed that same year by the county, again for funding reasons. In great many ways then, we are not asking for new money, but are simply asking for catch-up funding for services and facilities we should have had long ago. We are disappointed therefore that the proposed FY26 operating and CIP budget proposals do not include the innovative proposal, the committee made to install a pool bubble system on the Sarah E. hour outdoor pool it can be used all year. The swim team, young families on older adults who need the facility for everything from practice to rehab exercises must get the facilities that believe it or not are sometimes as much as 25 miles away. The Sarah E hour pool had almost 17,000 daily admission visits last year and just a little over three months of, and generated tens of thousands of dollars to support the pool. We also have more than 200 swimmers on our very successful swim team who use the pool. The pool could do so much more for our community if it could be used all around. We could use the facility all year for practices and family entertainment, but could also hold our own competitions and events of all kinds, attracting visitors from other areas to our area. The county really needs more indoor pools and demand is very high. This would be a cost effective way to add another facility. These proposals are modest in size, especially when you look at it compared to the overall capital operating budget, but to our small community, they are a major initiative that could have a big impact on the lives of many. We urge cany-leaders to fund the pool bubble and the community center in the next fiscal year budget. And I know you would be disappointed with me if I did not close by also saying, white's fairies been closed for four years and four months, we need to get it running again. Thank you very much. Thank you very much Nest is Esther well. Good afternoon Council President Stewart Council members staff and community members. My name is Esther Wells and I am the president of Montgomery County Tax Pairs League. To learn more about us please check out our website at www.mctaxpairs League.org. The objective of the Montgomery County Tax Pairs League is to educate and advocate for county taxpayers. This year the county executive has proposed a 7.7% water quality protection charge rate increase. 105% solid waste service charge increase for non-residential customers and 31% rate increase for residential customers. Public hearings for these two fee increases are scheduled for this Wednesday at 2.30 pm for anyone at wishes to provide comments. County Executive has proposed a 3.5 cent property tax rate increase. Keep in mind that last year FY 2024 we saw a 4.7% property tax rate increase and property assessments those blue envelopes are higher as much as 40% during the same period. The county is already receiving tens of millions of dollars more in property tax revenues each year for at least the next three years when reassessments will occur and values likely to increase again and the cycle continues. MCTL recommends that the Council vote no on all county executive, L-rich, tax and fee hikes included in its FY2026 operating budget. These county increases will be added to the many tax and fee increases coming out of the Maryland General Assembly today. Happy signing die. Governor Moore and Maryland General Assembly has tentatively approved these tax and fee hikes for FY 2026 operating budget that will directly impact each resident living in Montgomery County. According to the Maryland matters, there is a new 3% tech tax, sales tax on information, technology and data services. The Maryland delegate from St. Mary's County said last month that he moved his IT business out of Maryland rather than lose his company. New 6% sales tax on vending machine purchases. 3.1% increase in the maximum local income tax from 3.2% to 3.3%. Montgomery County is currently at the maximum income tax rate allowed. New 3.5% excise tax on rental vehicles. 8% increase in the sales tax on a car purchase from 6% to 6.5%. 114% increase in the state's vehicle emissions inspection fee. 33% increase in sports betting and cannabis tax and an increase in cost of titling of vehicle in Maryland. Tax payer fatigue is one of the leading causes for residents and businesses choosing to migrate to places outside of Montgomery County and Maryland. All of these taxes and fee hikes being implemented at the same time is spectacularly unique to Maryland. We must focus on growing our economy and remaining competitive. We cannot tax or fee our way into more revenues. Thank you. Thank you very much. Next we have Lucy Swartz. Good afternoon. My name is Lucy Swartz. I'm here on behalf of Interfaith Works where I am a volunteer and I support full funding for Interfaith Works in the coming fiscal year. I've been an IW volunteer for 10 years starting with a vocational services program. I work with our clients to develop their resumes, to have access to computers and the Internet, and also to help them search for jobs and then prepare for job interviews. Without the services of IWs Vocational Services Program and the access to the Internet and to computers, our clients would not be able to look for jobs online. They just do not have the technical expertise, not to mention the access, only through interfaith works are these clients able to find jobs and to support themselves and their families. I continued to volunteer with the Vocational Services Program, but I also volunteer with most of the IW housing services programs, organizing donated supplies for easy accessibility by the staff and the residents. I'm at one of the shelters at least once a week and I want to tell you how kindly the staff treats the people at the shelter, the residents at the shelter, with kindness and respect. In turn, the residents themselves treat the staff with kindness and respect. And certainly they treat me that way as well. IW clients and residents come to IW because they are desperate. Some have made bad choices, but through no fault of their own, they don't have the resources to recover from those. They don't have family to support them. They don't have friends to support them. They, and perhaps have not had educational opportunities. They've perhaps suffered abuse. They've lost a job and I can downturn a health crisis. The only place they can turn to is IW. With strong financial support in the past from Montgomery County and our donors, including myself, and the dedication of IW management, staff and volunteers. IW provides critically needed resources to our less fortunate neighbors. I am very proud to be part of the IW organization and I'm very proud to be a 45 year resident of Montgomery County currently in Silver Spring. I love living in a county that wants to support people who desperately need our need. Thank you very much. Thank you. Next we have Elaine Harris. Good afternoon, council president Stewart, council vice president, Juwondo members of the county Council. My name is Lynn Harris. I am a 34 year resident in Montgomery County and a member of the Interfaith Works Board of Directors. And I'm here to ask you and encourage you to look favorably on Interfaith Works modest budget proposal. It is a central tenant of every faith that we must care for the most vulnerable among us. And for 53 years, interfaith works has been helping Montgomery County do just that with providing cost effective essential services for those among us who are experiencing poverty and homelessness or who are at risk for either. And looking at the fiscal landscape around us, it seems clear that the need for these kinds of services is only going to increase. We're living in dark times where those at the highest levels of government, right down 16th Street, daily to clear, with every word, deed, and executive order that only certain types of people matter. If you're white and straight, you're good. Bonus, if you're rich. But anybody else can be discarded, can be discounted, and if you are a public servant, you're disposable. But here in Montgomery County, our values align very directly with those of Interfaith Works because we believe that every human being has inherent dignity and value. And that is why I think it is so important that the work that Interfaith works does in this county and hopes to expand with your support works very intentionally to prevent individuals from losing their homes, to prevent individuals from falling into poverty because we all know that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of care. Anytime a family or an individual loses their home ends up needing services that are far more expensive, our shelter services, our emergency services, and so anything that we can do to create a deeper wider net of simple effective, already existing services to assist individuals who find themselves in financial distress, or at risk of losing their home, or under or unemployed, any dime that we spend to prevent those individuals from needing far more expensive services is money well sprint. And I think Interfaith Works has a 53 year history of providing strong return on the investment that you provide and I ask you to continue it and thank you very much for your service. Thank you. Next we have Deborah Hanley. Good afternoon. Thank you for this opportunity to state my support for the full MNC-PPC proposed budget. My name is Deborah Hanley and I am a resident of Silver Spring. As a Montgomery County master naturalist, and an active volunteer in several Montgomery County nature centers in our parks, I experience firsthand the importance of our parks to our residents. I delight in seeing the joy of a child as he is introduced to the Locust Grove Nature Center, Turtles, Snakes and Birds. I love seeing a pack of girls racing to get to the meadowside frog pond first. For these children and their parents, I request your consideration of the full budget as proposed by parks. The minimal 7.2% increase to the general budget is based on continuance of current staff, continuance of current levels of programming, and the minimal maintenance necessary for safe and accessible parks. In these uncertain economic times, the parks, services and facilities are part of the critical safety net for our citizens, mental health, physical health, and safety. For school field trips to explore steam topics and for their education in good stewardship of nature and its importance in our environment. Long wait lists for summer programs which are critical for working families who cannot afford private childcare indicate demand is not being met by current staff levels. This programming in our nature centers is unique and not an overlap with the REC department. Important to recall is that parks are comprised of living, breathing organisms, trees, for instance. And basic maintenance cannot be delayed or ignored without major safety and cost implications. Responsible implementation of environmental stewardship to protect water quality, stream restoration and landscape maintenance must be continued at the current levels. This includes upgrading existing paths to enhance accessible trails for users with adaptive equipment. The impact of the reduced budget to the Nature Center Services provided to our communities will be noticed by your constituents. I urge you to approve the bare bones increase of 7.2% proposed by parks to enable continuation of the high level of park services historically offered to the community. Thank you. Thank you and thank you very much to this panel. Our next panel consists of Ellen Madementaner Edgar Rivera, Cari Fitzgerald and Jack Pincalski. Oh, and Susan Karnin. Come down to. I just before sit. All right. It's made man Tanner can start when you're ready. Thank you very much. President Stewart vice president, you want to counsel members. Thank you for this opportunity. I'm a member of Friends of S like a Creek, a group of volunteers who address a variety of issues regarding the health of the Creek and the surrounding areas of the forest and the myriad issues that have led to its recent rapid decline. But today I'm testifying on my own behalf because the S like a Creek Park has been an extremely important part of my life for the last quarter century. Sleigo Creek Park serves to come a park, Silver Spring and Wheaton, as well as portions of Prince George's County. It is a family-oriented park that runs through 10.2 miles of Montgomery County. Again, my testimony is based today on 25 years of training for marathons in that park and then walking my dogs there every day. Here's some history on the current dire situation. It was after the intense drought downpour cycle of 2018 that the state-lieled oaks of the region, a keystone species, started to fail. It was around that time that many other trees suffered issues related to the downpours and droughts of climate change. It is around that time that we saw a huge surge in invasive species. Today, when you walk through Sligo Creek Park, as well as many other parks in Montgomery County, you will see heartbreaking vistas of down trees. You see too many deer, a situation that makes it almost impossible to replant and then sustain young trees. This year you will be very hard pressed to find broad areas of parkland not totally covered by a plant called Lesser Sellen Dine. It's crowding out all other native species. Parks is working hard to mitigate the deer and invasive plant issues. During my walks, like many of the others who love these parks, I clean up trash and I warn young families to keep their children out of the water because of high levels of bacteria. Some areas of the creek smell like sewage from nearby sewer covers. This past winter, the whole creek was overwhelmed by intense salt runoff, a situation carefully monitored by friends of Slaigo Creek, now working with parks and others to try to reduce the level of salt that is toxic to plants and creek byata. Thus, at a time when the creek desperately needs Montgomery County support to slow the degradation of it and other regional parks, I am here to highlight the fact as so many others already have of the current budget proposal, which includes only a 3.2% increase to the parks department versus the 7.2% requested. With current economic trends, a 3.2% increase is tantamount to a budget cut for these crucial community spaces that provide health, education, and peace for our communities. Our parks also help cool the county in the face of climate change. It was hard to walk in the park last year because of the temperatures. So I thank you for all that you're doing. We've all seen the research on green spaces that contribute significantly to the health of our communities. Please do everything you can to maintain the requested level of funding for these pressure park. Thank you very much. Mr. Reves. Let's start this. My name is Eddie Reves. I'm here to testify on behalf of parks as well, especially the nature centers and the request for the 7.2% increase. But most, especially in what's not showing up on some of your documents, and I did submit this for the record, is the fact that that increase includes one FTE for one position to do senior programming within all the nature centers. That is important. You've heard the statistics right now, anywhere between 27% and 30% of our population in this county is over 60. That's over 314,000 older people. You know that I also represent the village movement and you know how important villages are to the county and to the nation and you know that villages are using the parks as well. We use them for nature center walks. We use them for bird watching. We use them for a lot of different things. The budget and who knows what's Mr. Alex's head, but the budget is not sustainable the way he introduced it for parks. We need more money to be able to do the work that's being done and to expand like getting that one FTE that we need. Some examples like Deborah, my colleague, the nature nerds of the parks said earlier, we are happy to be in the parks during the volunteer work that's necessary. At Brookside Gardens, Deborah and I team teach turtle talks. I do it in Spanish, she does it in English, whenever Latino families come along. At BetoSide Nature Center, I've been a part of a group of naturalists who met with Spanish-speaking families with children on the spectrum to have day of activities, outdoor activities for those kids who couldn't participate in other ways. At Locust Grove, they have a citizen science project called Feeder Watch, in which elders come and count species, count numbers of birds, and provide that information to a national database on birds. And lastly, nature on wheels. I don't know how many of you are aware of nature on wheels, but it is a RV that travels throughout the county to communities that are marginalized, that do not have access to parks, and therefore get out to activity through this van. The last thing I will say is simply that some of your master naturalists will even be at Canal Cleanup Day this weekend, helping with national park service and CNL Trust pull weeds on behalf of the county residents. Thank you very much. Please restore that 7.2% at least. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Gerald. Next. Hi. My name is Carrie Fitzgerald. I'm a professor of astronomy and physics at Montgomery College. And I also serve as the director of our Astronomical Observatory and our Planetarium. And I'm here today to ask for your support of the college's proposed budget. I've been at Montgomery College for 16 wonderful years. Prior to that, I served as a scientist and an emergency responder for the National Nuclear Security Agency, where I research nuclear forensics and responded to nuclear emergencies at home in a broad. I am immensely proud of that work, but nothing has given me more pride or more satisfaction than being a part of Montgomery College. It's impossible for me to convey in just three minutes how special Montgomery College is and how our work matters to our students and our community. We aren't just teachers. We're mentors, we're counselors, we're career advisors. And you may already know that Montgomery College is the most diverse community college in the continental United States. and we serve many students who are the first in their family to go to college. Because of the support you've given us, we have been able to put thousands of students on a path to a better life. And I see firsthand what we do in the sciences. And I know my humanities colleagues have similar stories, but in my department, we mentor student research, we connect students with internships and opportunities with laboratories and universities and we travel with them to competitions and conferences and these are truly transformative experiences for our students. Fundamentally we strive for excellence as educators as we train the future workforce of Montgomery County and we work every day to elevate our students, our community, and one another because we believe it matters. We believe every person who walks into our classroom matters and that they deserve the finest education possible. We also take our role as a community college seriously. We welcome the community to our campuses for events and workshops, whether it's an art show, a play, a musical performance, or an observatory night. We are there providing education and enrichment to our neighbors. Every year we host countless events for public school students, scouts, senior groups, and nonprofits. I want you to know that these are not just words to me. I identify deeply with my students like so many of them. I'm the daughter of immigrants and the granddaughter of immigrants and I'm the first in my family to go to college. I'm sorry. I am here because of the support that teachers and mentors have given me along the way and And so I know firsthand how important our work is at Montgomery College. So on behalf of the full-time faculty, I am asking the council for you to continue to invest in us by fully funding the college's proposed budget request. And from the bottom of my heart, I thank each and every one of you for your service and your past support. I appreciate all of you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Next we have Jack Pankowski. Hello. Here Mike. There you go. Right here. Hello. Hello. My name is Jack Pankowski. I'm 20 years old. I graduated from North North white high school. I live in Germantown. I think I need my address. One, three, one, three, seven. Dairy May Drive. I'm here. I'm not affiliated with anyone, but I want to support the FY 2026 budget, or maybe my unsupport for it. The park's supportment has been slammed in half. A very big number feels very low and it's going to be hard following that to get this number back up, right? So that we're like properly just maintaining our parks and building new ones and providing for new ones. I have built and maintained a skate park for the last five years built in the German town, Maryland. It's right outside the soccerplex. And I'm no fool. I know that one day it's going to get destroyed and someone here might even do that, come across your desk and take it out. But it doesn't matter to me because I know it touches the kids that use it every single day. And I've met so many friends and I've just met so many new people with this park and it means so much to me. That doesn't matter if I lose all my money on it. And I say all this because I want you to know how important parks and our exercise facilities and all these different things are for the young people here. The kids really need it. We want to go outside and touch grass. We want to go outside and, you know, have a good time and enjoy ourselves with our friends and it's, it's just really important to each of these young men. Like I know, I know older friends who he swears he would have been in jail right now if he never got into skateboard and sadly I know younger people have grew up skating with who put down the skateboard and picked up other things and got into other petty crimes and It's not for lack of ambition. These are good kids. These are good people But oftentimes we don't have the environment to properly shape these minds It's like we get to shape society but oftentimes society shapes us right back and if we don't build a proper society to properly shape these kids and their kids, then we can't be surprised when I mean we're stuck with these things, right? So I asked you and I challenged each and every single one of you. Have you made all the calls? Have you talked to everybody you can talk to? Truly because this matters to me. This matters to everybody in this room. I know you guys got a water gun and we just gave you 100 different fires. But look, this matters to everybody in here. And especially the parks department. It's something, it's the great leveler. Anyone can go, you don't need to be rich. You know, it's a park, anyone can enjoy it. So please, I ask you guys to greatly reconsider this budget up to that 7.2% or even just the minimum average increase of 6.7 across all other departments. Thank you very much. Thank you. Next Ms. Curran. I'm going old school here. My name is Susan Karen and I chair peace action Montgomery. I'm here to ask that you end the annual grant to the Maryland Israel Development Center. What used to be an annual community grant is now hidden inside the county executive's budget. It doesn't even require an application. Just a quiet pipeline of money, our money flowing to the MIDC year after year no questions asked. The MIDC provides a welcome mat for Israeli WANT manufacturers to our state. Two of them, Rafael and Elta, aren't even private businesses. They are part of the Israeli government itself, a government engaged in genocide. Others will speak in more detail about the MIDC, and you can also watch two three-minute videos on our website, dropthemidc.org. But I want to speak about what their presence enables, the unimaginable human cost in Gaza. Gaza is one fourth the size of Montgomery County. In that small space, one child is killed every 45 minutes, over 17,000 children dead. That's nearly the entire population adult and child in Tacoma Park. Almost 40,000 children have lost a parent. Some have lost both. Imagine one fourth of all MCPS students watching their mother or father die in front of them. This is the scale of grief we're talking about. And that figure doesn't capture the other beloved touchtones in a child's life. The loss of a grandparent, teacher, brother, sister, or cherished friend. More than a thousand Palestinian children in Gaza now live with missing arms or legs, the equivalent of half the students at Walt Whitman High School. The UN has called this the largest group of child amputees in modern history. Every fifth through 12th grade in Gaza has lived through five bombings since 2008. Their entire childhood has taken place inside an open air prison. One fourth the size of Montgomery County. The bombing this time has been unprecedented. In the first month alone, Israel dropped the equivalent of two nuclear bombs, and all in a place one fourth the size of Montgomery County. While our county quietly and without protests gives the MIDC funds to bring these merchants of death into Maryland, many Marylanders are doing everything they can to stop the genocide. Senator Van Holland and Congressman Raskin have voted against military aid to Israel. Eight towns in Prince George's County have passed ceasefire resolutions. Please end Montgomery County's funding for the MIDC. Don't let our county be known as paving the way for more bloodshed. Choose peace, choose compassion, choose life. Thank you. Thank you and thank you to this panel. The next panel is Lydia Lawrence, Michelle Joseph, Mohamed Sadiq, Samantha Demado, Jazzlin Flores. Thank you. And Lydia Lawrence can begin when you're ready. Thank you. Good afternoon. Members of the Council. Thank you to Council President Stewart and Council Vice President Jowondo. My name is Lydia Lawrence, and I am the co-chair of the Stormwater's Partner Network of Montgomery County. We are a coalition that advocates for clean water, protecting and improving our watersheds in ways that are equitable and ecologically sensitive. We improve community resilience to stormwater impacts, such as storm-driven flooding, and connecting communities to their backyard waterways. We thank the council for the opportunity to provide testimony on the Montgomery County FY26 operating budget, and we ask the council to approve the proposed budget with the following amendments. For planning, we ask that the budget adds the climate initiatives planner. This position is the linchpin for so many of the master plans of the county. Without someone who is solely focused on the many moving parts of our resource management. Our plans are likely to fall short of our lofty goals to address climate change impacts. Currently the county has no one pulling who is dedicated to climate, resilience studies and vulnerability. How are we supposed to know what areas of our county need resources without adequate study? For Montgomery County DEP, we thank the county executive for his leadership in fully funding DEP's watershed restoration grants. Grants like this support support the watershed projects for many stormwater partner network members. And as per our written testimony, we ask for the council and DEP staff to please consider and improve the water quality protection charge which goes towards addressing numerous stormwater issues in the county. We appreciate the annual increase that the county executive proposes. For parks, you guys have heard a lot about parks. So here, here, we also want to highlight that this cut of funding with the cutback of $2 million in the CIP funding could be devastating for our parks that work to protect so many of our watersheds. So thank you for your time. Thank you so much. Next we have Michelle Joseph. Good day everyone. I'm Michelle Joseph on the proud resident of District 6. A product of Montgomery County Public Schools, first generation from immigrant parents, an amber program graduate, sole caregiver for my 96-year-old disabled mom, and a board member for non-profit Montgomery. I came here today wearing my executive director hat for ESCAP leaders, which stands for the Student Global Ambassador Program, where underrepresented teens developed people and leadership skills needed for college and career success. As a small but mighty non-profits, such as empowering the ages where you heard from community bridges and site tech to you, we foresee the need for nonprofit partnerships and strengthen collaborations to ensure that we fulfill our mission and reach our goal. Escap leaders is committed to attain attain 10,000 graduates from ESCAP leaders program by 2030. We've reached about 5,000, but we really need some help. And we need your help to achieve that goal. So I'm asking as a testimony today, that you ask and be mindful to affordable housing for our challenged individuals who are actually working with us. We have two individuals who are part of the West Moore's Year in Service program and one of the challenges I'm having with them is you know here's a mother of two she's trying to find a place for her kids and move into a new home, but she's also having some challenges just finding affordable home, a home. And if she would have moved away, we would then lose that particular individual. So I'm asking for support there. I'm also asking for support with regard to our funding for our nonprofits, specifically looking for our students that are going through and are challenged. I'm gonna share with you just one excerpt from one of our 10th graders, Malia. She is amazing and she's part of our Fellows Program. She's raising awareness around greenware, which is recycling of electronics. So she wanted to share with you something that she did at the hub and she wanted to say how meaningful her eyes insights were from the podcast that she participated in. And in here she says, the podcast has made our goal, which is very ambitious, 500 recyclable waste within I think 60 days to be have an impact on Montgomery County community as a whole. I realize that this project could potentially go big. I realize that there's still a lot of work and careful planning that must be done, but I feel I could achieve this. So we're hoping to inspire our students and nonprofits often do that. So I yield. Thank you very much. Thank you. Next we have Mohamed Sadiq. Good afternoon, Madam President and respected members of the county council. I think, My name is Muhammad Th Sidik. I think most of you know me. A resident of Montgomery County for over 30 years and plus. The reason for my appearances, the proposed increase in property tax. I have been retired for over 10 years. Needless to say, I collect Social Security and I've been for which I have paid all my working life. For the last several years, most of the time, the annual increase in social security has been less than 3%. And not the only one who receives social security, in fact, many people of my age are on social security. It becomes very difficult when the property tax increase is higher than the annual increase in social security. Now that the property tax increases will be 3.1%, I have a proposal to make it simple and practical. For any homeowner who reaches the age of 65 their property tax be frozen at that time. With no increase then onward. It will make their life more comfortable than facing the tax increase every year. I am confident that younger people can make up for their discrepancy. I am not making this proposal because it will apply to me today, but remember all of you will get there one day. You will appreciate my proposal today. County Council will not be, our County Council will not be the first one to approve this suggestion. The entire state of California has this as a law. I request that all my County Council members look into it seriously and make life easier for seniors including myself. Apart from this, I have been a citizen of this country for 37 years. I want you to please keep eyes away from my house. Thanks for listening to me, looking forward for your action. Thank you. Samantha DiMotto. Good afternoon. My name is Samantha DiMotto, and I'm here as the president of the Greater Capital Area Association of Realtors or G-Car. To express our serious concerns about the proposed property tax increase. I'm a Realtor, I'm a Settlement Attorney, and I'm a mother to three young children. The eldest is in second grade, MCPS, and the other two are in daycare. In the last three years, my family has seen a 30% jump in the price of daycare. 4 4.7 property tax increase on top of a 27% increase in the assessed value of our home, and over 100% increase in our homeowners insurance premium. Like most residents, I'm sure we have not seen comparable increases in our income. And as a result, we have made some hard choices as a result. We do not go out to eat. We do not hire babysitters and we have cancelled many of our long-standing working relationships with service providers who helped us maintain our home and our lives. We've become even more selective in the activities we enroll our children in. We no longer contribute to the economy and the way we use to because the cost of living in Montgomery County has increased so drastically. I am baffled that the only way forward is one that makes our community a more economically challenging environment for our families who are homeowners or seek to be homeowners. In the last seven years, Montgomery County has brought in hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue based on skyrocketing property assessments. Combine that with high interest rates coupled with a continued lack of new construction translates to an increasingly unaffordable housing land group across the board. Thousands of federal agency jobs in our county have been cut with many more hits to our federal workforce likely on the way. The effect of these unprecedented layoffs, not only businesses that work directly with the federal government, but on those that rely on the foot traffic from locally, had quartered agencies will be felt for years to come. The economy is once again in turmoil. While the state is holding the line on taxes by tightening their belts, neighboring jurisdictions are able to offer tax cut to aid their residents in this time of uncertainty. What does it say about our values that with all these factors in mind, there is serious consideration being paid to the further burdening, the financial demands of our residents. How is this better for the future of our children and our families? We ask that you pass a budget within the county's needs and reject a tax increase. Thank you. Thank you. Jasmine Flores. I'm really nervous senior Olympian. My road to becoming Olympic champion is something short of a miracle. At the age of five, I fell out of a moving vehicle and suffered a traumatic brain injury. That split second incident has caused a lifetime of medical issues, both physical and psychological. As time went by, my health deteriorated, I lost my job. With... With... Take your time. Okay. With troops of society and deep despair and anxiety sitting like right right now, during these difficult times, Montgomery County Recreation was always there. My daughters were able to play sports, find their first jobs, and when we couldn't afford the rec fees, recacists covered them for us. Their support and willingness to assist without judgment was priceless. Fast forward to a little over a year ago. Now I'm an empty nester, aging boomer, and pretty much full-time recluse. COVID didn't help that I was already before COVID. My doctors repeatedly urge me to try and get out of the house and back into society. They strongly encourage me to look at programs offered by the recreation department. After reviewing the catalog multiple times, I found not only with the gyms now free, they also had free and interesting senior fitness classes, along with mental acuity activities and even senior lunches. I could not use my lack of fortune as an excuse to not go out and to avoid it. It was then that I rediscovered our recreation department. I was greeted by amazingly talented, supportive and friendly instructors, staff, participants, and a culture of inclusiveness. If I couldn't participate 100%, it was fine. If I became ill or overwhelmed and left before the class ended, I was warmly told to please come back. Little by little, I was getting out. Then I learned about the Maryland Senior Olympics. The recreation staff persuaded a motive me to set a goal to participate. Their motto is to participate is to win. And they were correct. I had a phenomenal experience, and I even won two silver medals. But more importantly, how I valued and perceived myself began to improve. My family was thrilled and more than a little proud of what I had accomplished. Since the Olympics I've taken a variety of classes, I've also lost 40 pounds. While I may never be completely liberated from my health issues, I know for certain that without McKinney recreation, I would not be here in person today. Their programs and centers are desperately needed in this current era or social isolation and loneliness. Recreation is more than just physical. They design meaningful programs that meet residents needs, ensuring their intellectual, social, and emotional well-being are also addressed. They produce hope and yet they're often overlooked. It is imperative that the recreation department is not viewed as superfluous. They are necessary to provide all of our county residents with accessible free third space that allows for a flourish and quality of life regardless of income age ability. And they must be fully staffed, funded, and supported as such. Thank you. Thank you very much. And thank you very much to this panel and everyone who's spoken. Next we have Laura Faguer, Elizabeth Fiddler, Makita Seer, Adam Luke King, and Greg Ramirez. Okay. and Laura Figuire can start when you're ready. Good afternoon everyone. My name is Laura Figuire and thank you very much for having me here today. I am a Montgomery County resident and I'm here to express my opposition to the proposed property tax rate increase. I'm also a mom of three and my children do on bulletin Montgomery County schools. Being said, housing affordability is already a crisis in Montgomery County and even in good economic times many people are already priced out of living in our area. A property tax grease will exacerbate this crisis. We are already dealing with a great amount of uncertainty in our local economy. Executive orders and actions of the new U.S. administration have caused disruption across public and private sectors. As we sit here today, the markets are reeling from the administration's new tariff policy. The tariffs are effectively attacks on American people and further stress their spending power. Our region is hurting especially as not only federal government employees, but also those employed in related businesses are losing their jobs from the cuts across government agencies. I have close personal friends who have lost their jobs and the increased competition in the job market means it's harder than ever to find new employment. For all these reasons Montgomery County residents like many others in the greater DC metropolitan area are tightening their belts. Increasing property taxes will have a crushing effect on residents and only add to the economic stress they are feeling. Accordingly, I urge the council to consider alternate means of meeting our school's needs without imposing additional property tax increases at this time. Thank you. Thank you. Elizabeth Fiddler. Chair, Council President Stewart and Council members Thank you for the opportunity to testify on the FY 26 operating budget My name is Lizzie Feetler and I'm speaking on behalf of Syro waste Montgomery County Which is a dedicated group of local residents who have been advocating for zero waste programs and closing of the incinerator in Montgomery County over many years. We are very concerned about the proposed $35.5 million in FY 26 operating budget earmarked for the maintenance of the Dickerson trash incineration. So in previous year it was zero. So at moment it's $35.5 million just for the maintenance in addition to the regular operations of the incinerator. are known how much the county plans to spend on the same line item on fiscal year 2027, 2028 and beyond. However, if we must spend more than 35 million per year, that adds up to more than $100 million spent on a facility that we are planning to close. We ask that you investigate the need for the significant expenditure and provide the public with full details about the increased operating expense related to the trash incinerator. The county executive announced in December 2021 that he plans to close the incinerator within 12 to 18 months. Last year, the county executive announced that he plans to extend the incineration for another five years until 2031. We can see now the consequences of this decision, which is the operating budget being increased by more than $35 million and the need to increase the solid waste service charges for all residents and businesses. Therefore, we as residents of this county, we need to know how will the county include the stakeholders in decision making on a timely manner moving forward. Considering various threats to the local economy and the county's financial stability, increasing the operational expenses might more than $35 million on a trash incineration that was supposed to be closed in 2026, it's quite challenging to justify. How can we ensure more careful long-term planning in the county moving forward? I also want to thank you Council members for your active participation at the briefing on the county zero waste plans on January 28th. We still have not seen answers from the DP for all the questions that were asked by the Council members and other participants. So we really hope that we will be able to get the office. answers from the GP for all the questions that were asked by the Council members and other participants. So we really hope that you will be able to get the answers to the public. So thank you so much. Thank you. Miquitas here. Good afternoon, Council President, Council Members and Fellow Residents of Montgomery County. My name is Makadasa Ayra. I am here today as a resident of Montgomery County to strongly support increasing the county's budget specifically to tackle food insecurity, especially within our African immigrant communities. Food insecurity is a growing issue right here in our backyard. The capital area Food Banks 2024 hunger report shows that 37% of households in our region faced food insecurity this past year. This is the highest rate we've ever seen, marking a significant increase from previous years. Montgomery County itself has a vibrant African immigrant community, about 55,000 and growing, making up around 16% of our immigrant population. Many within this community continue to face unique barriers such as language obstacles, limited access to culturally familiar foods and economic hardship. Local groups like African Communities Together Act and AFRI-TRIVE are already doing great work by investing in community mapping, community navigation, creating community gardens, and expanding support for. And distributing culturally appropriate produce, but their impact relies heavily on sustained funding. Expanding support for programs like this would significantly help reach more families who are currently underserved. We also can't overlook that fear surrounding data collection and concerns over immigration enforcement has stopped many immigrant families from accessing help as recent reports highlight. This clearly shows the need for trust building,, culturally sensitive, and community-led approaches to food assistance. Adressing food insecurity is in just morally necessary, is economically smart. Hunger contributes to higher healthcare costs, lowering school performance and decreased productivity. Investing in solutions today means healthier families, stronger schools, and a more productive workforce tomorrow. I urge the council to prioritize increased funding for food security initiatives that directly support and uplift our African immigrant neighbors. Together, we can ensure Montgomery County remains a place where every resident thrives without worrying about their next meal. Thank you for thank you very much for your time and commitment to addressing this important issue. Thank you. Adam Lucking. Good afternoon councilmembers. My name is Adam Lucking. I'm here to testify on behalf of the Collective Impact Center being organized by Montgomery moving forward. I grew up here in Montgomery County. I live here, raised my four kids here, and I even own a business here as well. My career even started in this building as a staff member on the Montgomery County Council. It seems like decades ago. Actually, I think it is decades ago. Now, my company Clear Impact supports governments and nonprofits across the globe to create measurable improvements, mostly using the collective impact model. What is common in all these efforts is that a group of cross-sector leaders, the business community, nonprofit community, faith community, government, on and on come together to create, solve social problems. It starts with defining it a common purpose. A common purpose such as all children in our school ready to learn, all families are economically self-sufficient, all people in the community are healthy. From there, all partners identify root causes, whether contributing or restricting factors to why these they are, who are the partners, traditional, non-traditional with a role to play, what works, what are the evidence-based strategies, what's working in other places that we wanna bring here, and lastly, what's the action plan for improvement, which includes naming exactly what each person is doing to make these things happen. This includes alignment from partners to identify their potential contributions and share their accountability. What is also common is the sense of urgency and a shared commitment to by aligned contributions by all those partners. The most successful of these efforts also include inequity lens, knowing that the most marginalized need to be included in the process, as well as have their voice heard. Social issues can't be solved by anyone's sector, especially government. The power of a collective impact center is the ability to galvanize sectors to come together to create change, including those from the private sector like myself. I implored to fully fund the Collective Impact Center, so there's a neutral convener to improve the conditions of well-being here in Montgomery County. I've personally invested my time and money, including tools in this effort and hope the county government will do too. Thank you. Thank you. Next we have Greg Ramirez. Good afternoon, council members. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. And thank you for your continued dedication to serving the people of Montgomery County. My name is Greg Ramirez. I serve as a vice president at Helene Construction, a long-standing partner of Montgomery College. At Helene we have seen firsthand the transformative impact of Montgomery College programs on our workforce and our community. With 60 years in business, Haley Construction has continuously turned the Montgomery College to find a skill, reliable and well-trained professionals. We currently employ several Montgomery College alumni in key roles through our company. What we always know we can count on with these MC graduates is their invaluable technical skills alongside with their passion for excellence. And that drives our success. As a prior graduate of Montgomery College myself, I know that it's exceptional education and training that the college provides. It is a testament to the profound impact Montgomery College has on handling construction and the broader industry, producing professionals who are not only equipped to lead by also to driving innovation at the highest level. My experience is just one of many. I am proud to say that many top performers, not only those at Henley, but throughout the county, are also Montgomery County of Montgomery College. The educational programs of Montgomery College equate graduates with the skills that they need to succeed in construction, whether they are in the field or project management. The construction sector continues to face significant labor shortage due to an aging workforce and increase in demand for skilled workers. Today is more important than ever that we have a steady pipeline and skill workers to draw from. That's why Henley Construction is so proud of our partnership with Montgomery College. We know that when we hire Montgomery College graduate, they are well prepared to step into a meaningful role. At Henley Construction we have a mutual goal with you, the Council and Montgomery College. That is to strengthen our local community. Graduates from MC are committed to stay and growing in Montgomery County. The relationship is not just about feeling positions at Henley, it's about contributing to the growth and prosperity of our county. It's about providing good paying jobs, leadership opportunities, and career at the investment for local talent. Sorry. Your commitment to the college operating budget has allowed to continue the library high quality education and workforce development. The funding you provide allows Montgomery College to remain a leader in supplying local talent to businesses like ours. As you make decisions in the coming weeks regarding the fiscal year 26 operating budget, I alone with many other area contractors appreciate your continued support of Montgomery College. Your investment in the college is an investment in all of our futures, our local workforce in our businesses, and the continued growth and success of Montgomery College. Thank you very much for your time. Thank you. Thank you very much to this panel. Our next panel consists of Hail Ginsburg and Drew Chad, Melissa Widenhofer, Kate Liu and Kathy Goethe. Mr. Ginsburg, you can start when you're ready. Okay. I want to thank the council very much for allowing me to speak this afternoon. My name is Hal Ginsburg. I have been a Montgomery County homeowner since 1990. My family has broad and deep roots in Montgomery County and in Maryland. My younger son is a third-generation University of Maryland graduate. Both of my sons are second-generation BCC graduates. I have been a Democrat my entire life because I view the party as the party of underdogs and there is no greater underdog on this planet than the Palestinians, particularly the Palestinians of Gaza, who are facing the combined onslaught of the Israeli and US military support. This includes bombs, bullets, missiles, with virtually no defense whatsoever. As a party of underdogs, I would hope and expect the Democratic Party to stand against funding a development center that promotes business relationships with companies that represent the state of Israel, that are part of the state of Israel, and that provide weaponry and support for the genocide in Gaza. I asked the council to say no to the county executive who is argued in favor of this immoral policy. I note that budgets are often, we are told, considered to be moral documents, and I consider this to be true. I don't know what could be more immoral than spending our tax payer money on weapons of mass destruction against poor folks who are imprisoned in a tiny area. I would note that the the defenses for this development center do not pass muster. One argument we have heard is that the county cannot police the companies that do business within it, including one example given is Lockheed Martin. Lockheed Martin is a US-based company that is incorporated in the United States. It must obey US laws. That is not the case for the Israeli companies that are supported by the Israeli Development Center. I've also heard the argument even today that the hostages that Hamas took are what matter. We have seen that the hostages have been released at times when there is a ceasefire. When the weapons that are companies, companies in this county, are not using their weapons to kill, gozzins. So any argument that supports the MIDC would appear to fail on its own terms. Budgets are moral documents. I ask this county council to act morally. Thank you. Next is Andrew Chow. Good afternoon council members. My name is Andy Chowd and I am a third generation business owner and real estate professional here in Montgomery County, as well as serving on the board for MCEDC. I am before you today to strongly advocate for the full restoration of the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation's budget to its previously approved level of 6.2 million and to commend the county executives for whose increase over last year's cuts. In the dynamic and often challenging economic landscape we face, MCEDC serves as nothing less than our county's dedicated sales force. They are on the front lines actively working to attract new businesses, retain our existing anchors, and foster environment where innovation and growth can thrive. To put it simply, MCEDC is instrumental in driving economic prosperity for all of us. We understand the budgetary decisions are never easy, particularly during times of economic headwinds. However, this is precisely when we cannot afford to retreat. Just as any successful business understands on facing challenges, you don't only make economic cuts and hope for the best. You double down on the efforts to generate Re and expand your reach. From Montgomery County, MCDEDC is that engine for top-line growth. The proposed increase in funding and ultimately the restoration to the 6.2 million level from FY23 is not only about returning to the status quo. It's about strategically investing in our futures. We need to invest in and our own people to make any of our programs a success. The board has heard you loud and clear, and we have been working tirelessly to use this opportunity to revamp and restructure the organization to execute its mission. Investing in MCEDC empowers the team to undertake and expand crucial initiatives such as creating opportunities for a displaced federal workforce and diversifying employment. If we lose this talent pool and not only hurts us in the immediate future but guts our generational transfer of knowledge within our ecosystem, setting us up, setting us back for many years if not decades. We need to boldly and effectively communicate the unique value proposition of Montgomery County. Our tagline MoCo is built for business needs to resonate across the nation and the globe, not just represent words on a piece of paper. The impact of MCEDC's work is tangible and significant. Their efforts to create, retain and expand jobs, generate millions in wages, and high growth industries. These high paying jobs directly translate to higher income tax revenue, which as we know is the county's larger source of revenue. MCEDC's budget request is not extravagance. It is an essential investment to sustain these critical business outreach and marketing effort. It represents only 800th of a percent of the proposed budget. I urge you to not only support the county executives' proposed increase but to go further and restore MCEDC's budget to the previously approved $6.2 million. Let's empower our sales team to continue their vital work in driving economic growth and opportunity for our community. Let's put our money where our mouth is and show the world we mean business. Not just talk about it. Thank you for your time and consideration. Thank you. Next we have Melissa, Wyden, offer. Good afternoon, President Stewart and Vice President Joondo and Council members. My name is Melissa Whedon-Hoffer and I am the Community Health Manager for Womco Help serving the huge swath of Western Upper Montgomery County primarily in the Agri-Serve. I'm here today to express appreciation for the funding last year, the 232,000 that came on the DHS County budget, and underscore the importance that it remains in the budget so that we can continue with the work we've done. In the last six months since we received that funding initially, WOMCO has served 430 people by addressing social determinants of health or health-related services. We facilitated 53 local primary care visits, 95 local dental visits and 49 local mental health visits for our low income and under-resourced residents that otherwise would have been unlikely to have happened. also grateful for the partners that are willing to come to us, essentially removing two key barriers, geographic distance to and cost of services. We're grateful for the county's support in helping us support these individuals and families in a way that might be different from other parts of the county, but works well in our rural area. So please continue your support of these DHHS line item now and in future budgets and continue to be a part of taking continued steps toward addressing a significant inequity and access to health services, especially for some of our most at-risk residents, the low income, the elderly and the immigrant populations in Western Upper Montgomery County. Thank you. Thank you. Next we have Kate Lou. Good afternoon. Thank you for this opportunity. My name is Kate Liu. I'm the clinic director for CCACC Health Center, which is part of the Chinese Culture and Community Service Center. We are proudly to be a part of the Montgomery Care Network since 2003. and myself, Cheney as a clinical social worker, and I'm happy to bring mental health and Asian-American focus, health disparity to the focus point. So the Montgomery Care system only served 2% of the Asian-American population, and about 10% of the Korean residents in this county was actually uninsured. Many more. Asian-American population and about 10% of the Korean residents in this county was actually uninsured, many more for the Mongolia and Cambodian. So there's actually a lot of work to be done to reach out to them and we are happy to be the agent for that. So I'm here today on behalf of the Safety Net Clinic to speak for the thousands of uninsured and underinsured residents in Montgomery County, people who often have nowhere to go get healthcare other than us. Montgomery Care Clinics are part of the, we want to consider we are part of the Public Health System. While COVID hits, we are there to test testing and vaccinate and also provide treatment and will remain open. So we are still here ready to serve in any health crisis that is needed. But the work our work is at risk. The irreversible rate of 102 per visit does not come close to cover the cost to run the program. Our real cost across the clinic is about 250. There's no quick visit for our client. Our patient always have compressed medical issue, no consistent care, and no access to specialty care. Each visit takes two to three times longer than the insure patient. And beyond healthcare, we help this patient to get food security, to address food insecurity, housing, transportation, et cetera. But most of that service is not referring in the rate. Last year, the county executive proposed a race of the rate to 125. It was small but important step. But the council removed it without explanation, without conversation, without a chance to debrief. That silence actually hurt. After all, if done, it felt like the work was not valid and not recognized. The impact is real. People's community clinic and Catholic charity has already left the program because they cannot sustain the operation. And I heard that another clinic is close to closing soon in a few months. As CCCC, we work hard to fill the gap. We have nearly 20 volunteer physician, and we apply for grants from the state and the federal level. So I hope the council to consider to keep the rate on to a sustainable level. Thank you. Thank you. Next, we have Kathy Gooday. Hi. Thank you. I'm Kathy Gaudet, resident of Silver Spring, and a regular visitor to Montgomery County Parks. I'm a volunteer weed warrior. I ride mountain bikes, walk, behave trails, attend farmers markets and festivals, and love spending time outside in the wide variety of our wonderful parks. Last year when I told a teacher I feel guilty asking for money for parks when I know schools need so much she turned and looked me in the eyes and said parks are just as important as education especially these days you're doing the right thing. So I'm here asking you to please restore the parks budget next year. As a vital part of our county, parks are the backyard for everyone living in apartments and condos. They are the playgrounds and sports fields for all kids, adults, and families. They are the programs and camps, meeting places, training areas. A realtor once told me, our parks are why people move here and why they stay here. Last month I heard a story on WTOP about our county being one of the healthiest places to live in Maryland and in the United States. It's from the 2025 county health ranking. It's a study out of University of Wisconsin. Their goal is to provide a revealing snapshot of how health is influenced by where we live, learn, work, and play. Montgomery County is recognized for having a life expectancy of 83 years, which is quite a bit higher than the national average of 77. We do a great job making exercise options available with 100% accessibility rating. We have 37,000 acres of park land in 422 parks and open space areas. Parks are certainly not the only factor in our ranking, but they are definitely important. We must maintain them. I walk on Sligo Creek Trail several times a week, often with a disabled person in a scooter. Maintenance of the trail is imperative for her safety. We can't scamper cut back. Potholes inside drop offs are so risky to her well-being. And much of my park exercises mountain biking, and people come here from all around for our awesome trails. And when people ride bikes, they eat at local restaurants, they buy gas, they get their gatorades, their snacks near the parks. So it's a financial boon as well. As a weed warrior, I'm part of Corinne Stevens volunteer army that fans out over Montgomery County parks, trying to keep the relentless invasives a big. There is a, someone working somewhere almost daily. It's a never-ending battle to save our trees that are so important to fighting climate change and keeping our parks beautiful. We must preserve our trees and parks. I'm very passionate about our parks, but I'll stop here and I hope you strongly consider not cutting the budget for our gems of our parks. The staff and infrastructure are so vital to the county's quality of life now and even more in the future. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you to this panel. Our next panel in person is Stephanie Helsing, Jonathan Thiesman, Steven Lampham, Benjamin Ross, Amy Acroberg Hastings. I miss Helsing you can start when you're ready. Council President Stewart, Vice President Joondo and esteemed council members. First I feel like I should say I also love parks and I also wish I had some kittens to give you. It's been a long day. For the record, my name is Stephanie Helsing and I'm the President and CEO of the Greater Silver Spring Chamber of Commerce. And on behalf of the chamber representing more than 320 employers, mostly small and minority owned businesses, we are here to express concerns as you deliberate action on the county executive's proposed FY26 budget. The chamber recognizes a challenge facing our county leaders today. And as business leaders in Montgomery County, we share a vision of growing the county's economy, creating jobs and fostering a thriving business community and community at large. So we ask our county leaders to focus on creating an environment where economic development is welcomed, not just in a tagline, but in reality. One that invites investment into our county includes incentives for growth and creates competition with our surrounding jurisdictions. Unfortunately, this budget does not do that. If enacted, this will continue to create non-permissive and non-competitive environment and will only continue to incentivize businesses and to be honest, wealthier individuals to leave Montgomery County. A minority majority, county equity focus area, Silver Spring has been slower to recover even after five years of the pandemic for reasons out of their control. The community continues to be negatively impacted by continuing purple line construction, rising prices on basic goods, and now a community that is being gutted by federal cuts. The proposed 3.5% property tax increase coupled with another increase in maintenance of effort for MCPS and other fees proposed not only impact a business's bottom line directly, but the ability of the community who is also struggling to continue to support those businesses. The increases proposed are unsustainable for this community and expecting more at this moment is unreasonable. This past year Montgomery County raised property taxes, recreation taxes, implemented rent control, and passed legislation requiring electric only building permits by next year. Business energy performance standards regulations while passed by our prior council, we understand that, do place a new reporting and capital cost burden on large building owners, including houses of worship and condo associations. That's just a small list. The requested tax increase in additional fees will deter investment overall, disincentivize the workforce from considering Montgomery County as a viable option, and make it difficult for business owners and residents to continue to choose Montgomery County as a place to live, work and play. We don't envy your position, but do urge you to protect businesses and residents who are already facing affordability issues. The Chamber is supportive of funding priorities that enhance our overall quality of life and competitive and progressive environments. With that, we will grow businesses who will in turn support the entire community and the social agendas that they care about. Thank you for your consideration. Thank you, Jonathan. Jason? Hi. Good afternoon, President Stewart, Vice President Jolanda, and members of the Council. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today on the fiscal year 2026 operating budget. My name is Jonathan Thesson, and I am the parent of three children who have attended MCPS schools, including a third grader who's currently at Bell Elementary School. I'm also one of the Montgomery County Council of PTA's cluster coordinators for the seven schools in the Richard Montgomery cluster. Budget proposals are moral documents, reflecting the community's values and priorities. The funding we provide to our schools will impact our children's personal growth and adulthood, their ability to succeed in college and careers, and the broader trajectory of their lives. Superintendent Thomas Taylor, in the Board of Education, had proposed an FY26 operating budget that addresses the district's extensive needs. The proposal would help create safe and welcoming learning environments and for systems and processes for continuing school improvement, invest in differentiation and instruction, and return the system to academic excellence. On behalf of our Richembourg Government cluster of schools and PTAs, I urge you to fully fund MCPS schools. In my brief time remaining, I will touch on three points on why it is imperative that the county provide full funding for our schools. First, funding, full funding would best ensure that MCPS can maintain existing class sizes and avoid a harmful increase in class size. Last June's class size increased, led one elementary school in our cluster to reduce the number of kindergarten classes from four classes to three classes. For kindergarten students at that school, the size of their class is now several students larger as compared to previous year's classes. Our clusters high school richer Montgomery lost seven teachers as part of the class size increase. Second, full funding would allow the Board of Education to address inequities in staffing ratios, allocations, and formulas. Specifically, in this one example, it would allow elementary schools, including Byrd Rustin and R Cluster, to receive a second assistant principal because a school has more than 750 students, a part of one of the superintendent's proposals. Third reason we need a fully fund our schools is because that funding will allow MCPS to better meet the needs of emergent multilingual learners and special education students, which are priorities in the superintendent's budget. I want to say that the council should be confident that the political will exist to provide MCPS with robust funding. As MCPS was implementing last June's class size increase, over 2,600 county residents signed a petition that I led that urged the Board of Education not to increase class size. And most of those 2,600 individuals signed within two to three days of my making the petition active. Families choose to live in Montgomery County in part because we believe our leaders will devote the resources necessary to provide a world class education to our children. Finally, I want to take the opportunity today to discuss Twin Brook Elementary School, our clusters Title I and Community School, whose farm rate has steadily increased over the past 20 years from 50% to its current rate of 88%. I want to reiterate the request that our class is made that the council and the DHHS establish linkages to learning at 20. Thank you very much. Thank you. Mr. Labem. Hello. Hello. My name is Steven Sellers-Lapam. I'm a 30-year resident of Montgomery County. Thank you. For this opportunity, you speak about the FY 2026 County budget. I pray that my every word be rooted in compassion for all human beings that I stay on topic as well. I'm not asking you to restore funding or to give more funding. I'm asking you to spend less. Montgomery County is now implicated in war crimes. In October 2024 Israel dropped bunker busting bombs on multi-story residential apartment buildings in Beirut, Lebanon, killing dozens of civilians. These bombs made in the United States contain the Spice GPS guidance system which is which is built by a Rafael, a company that is an agency of the Israeli government. Rafael came into Bethesda, Maryland through the support of MIDC, the Maryland Israel Development Center. MIDC brokers deals with U.S. bomb makers to use the Spice system. I'm here to ask why has this council selected one nation, Israel, to receive public funds, the exact amount seems to be a secret, for Israel's military industries and indeed Israel-state war agencies, while our county's budget for services and infrastructure for its own citizens is facing cutbacks as we're hearing today. If this county council were to give sole preference and privilege to France or Finland, to Togo or Tunisia with a direct grant, we'd ask what the heck was going on. But because the recipient is Israel, we citizens are supposed to be cowed into silence. Who wants to be called an anti-Semite? However, one method to fuel real Jew hatred and hatred of all Americans is to enable Israel's suicidal, ever-expanding wars, and ongoing genocide against the people of Palestine. What I am about to say is directly relevant to this controversy. Epidemiologists warn that the next pandemic is likely to be bird flu. The end of days, Christian Zionists, who run the White House, are threatening to cut off more than 8 billion in federal grants and contracts to Harvard University. They don't like Harvard's response to student-led campus protests in solidarity with the suffering people of Gaza. The loss of funds could shut down the top life-saving research on vaccines against bird flu. Why is the Trump administration conducting this witch hunt? Because the Zionist lobby has made spurious charges of anti-Semitism against that university. Who polluted the elections in Montgomery County by spending six million dollars in a primary to defeat Congresswoman Donna Edwards in her seat to run for Congress again? The Zionist lobby, who pressures for MITC, the Zionist lobby. These never-ending wars in the Middle East to a stop, the genocide must stop. Zionism in the words of a proud Israel patriot, Zeb Jabotinsky, a subtler colonial adventure that worships guns. It is a death cult. Step away from death choose life. Montgomery County's grant to MITC must and take a stand give the Maryland Israeli Development Center zero dollars. Thank you Mr. Ross. Good afternoon my name is Ben Ross. I'm speaking today about the the Ride On bus budget has an individual. Ride On ran its first bus in 1975. In 30 years, it grew into one of the nation's best suburban bus systems. Today it's in decline. In 2007, Ride On carried 29 million trips. That was 31 trips per county resident. This year it will carry about 19 million trips, 18 trips per resident, a decline of 43%. Why is this happening? A part of it is past policies in the county's older neighborhoods where it's easy to run transit, restrictive zoning keeps potential riders out. In the up county, the overbuilt roads make it difficult and dangerous to walk to the bus stop. Now we're working on those problems. But a bigger problem with ride on is that's not the main problem. Our neighboring jurisdictions have the same inherited issues, and they haven't suffered the same loss of bus ridership. The bigger problem is that right on his lost its focus on the bus rider to chase after shiny objects. My written testimony has a long list of examples, large and small. The builders of right on led by great public servants like David Bone and Carolyn Biggins gave priority to serving the riders. Every route ran at least once every half hour. Relief buses were ready to fill in when a bus broke down. Now buses on many routes arrived 35 or 40 minutes apart. And those buses come on time only 70% of the time. On a route like that, no one who has a practical alternative will use it. What bus riders want most is buses that come frequently all day and evening. Frequency, span, and service and reliability should be the priorities in the transit budget. Fancy bus shelter shouldn't come at the expense of good bus service. Bus riders should not be paying alone the cost of converting buses from diesel to electric when those who drive gasoline powered cars don't contribute. The extra costs of buying and operating electric buses should be paid out of general funds, not from transit revenues. Electrifying a bus doesn't help the climate if riders switch to driving. Now growing transit ridership is essential for the county to reach its goals for transportation, for the economy and for the environment. Please use this budget to set right on on a better course. Put the riders first, that will bring them back to the buses. Thank you. Thank you, thank you very much. Now, Amy Acroburg Hastings. Great job. Good afternoon, President Stewart, members of the county council and staff. Thank you for the opportunity to testify about the county's operating budget allocations. My name is Amy Acroburg Hastings. I serve MCCPTA as the Central Area Vice President for the Churchill, Richard Montgomery, Poolsville, Rockville, and Wooten clusters, and I am the parent of an RM Junior. Our community's requests full funding of county executive L. Rich's recommendation for MCPS's FY26 operating budget. We realize that the present moment poses challenges for budget setting with probable county revenue shortfalls, state-level deficits, and an impulsive and capricious White House administration. However, staffing and materials only grow more expensive, while historically high social emotional and academic needs of students and employees persist. As PTAs, we advocate for every child to receive the highest quality education and to mature holistically through positive and meaningful experiences with classmates, teachers, and staff. Just as the maintenance of effort portion of MCPS's budget retains essential support such as social workers and bridge to wellness programs, the new funding requests address long-standing serious needs. In particular, I think every school in our five clusters could tell hair-raising stories of behavior disruptions that detract from the education of children with severe mental health needs, as well as the education of their classmates. Line items especially important to us include $46.7 million to hire 188 special education teachers and 500 full-time para educators, $3.2 million for 52 additional FTE school-based security assistance and 4 $4.3 million for $47 FTE teachers to support emergent multilingual learners. Although the Central Area supports full funding of this budget, the chief concern for parents is class size as you've heard from Jonathan. We were disappointed that it was not directly addressed this year, but we understand that the added positions offer a first step toward reducing student teacher ratios. We will keep bringing this issue to you and to MCPS, and we are encouraged that Dr. Taylor has expressed interest in reforming class size guidelines. I know that determining a $7 billion budget is an enormous job in itself, but I will close with an additional request. Please continue to partner with us in holding MCPS accountable for prudent and transparent use of its funds. I am heartened by how much has changed since I was here a year ago, such as the culture of plain speaking that appears to be taking root. And yet, as we heard during Tuesday's operating budget form hosted by Vice President Joando, I tenderate special education staff from Central Office remain unclear about whether their positions have been cut or reallocated. Employees are human resources who need to know that they are part of the whole team. Thank you for your attention. Thank you very much. Thank you to this panel. Our last panel in person today for this afternoon, not today, will be John Ross, John Holland, Susie Dijoli, apologies, Brittany Davis and Chris Bruch. And Mr. Ross, you can kick us off. President Stewart, Council members, friends, thank you. It's been a long day, I suspect, democracy in action. I stand before you today with a deep conviction, rooted in the belief that justice is not merely an ideal to be aspired to. It is a moral duty to be that must be fulfilled. My name is John Ross, as you know, the Executive Director and Founder of Nursing Bethesda, a nonprofit dedicated to combating food insecurity and providing wraparound services in Montgomery County. We find ourselves at a critical moment, one where the test of our society's character lies in how we care for the most vulnerable amongst us. Having access to healthy, nutritious food is not a privilege for the fortunate, but a sacred right for all people. Food insecurity is not just an economic issue, it is a matter of dignity, question of humanity, and a test of our collective conscious. No mother should have to tell her child that there is nothing to eat. No senior should have to decide between filling a prescription and filling their plate. No working person should labor day in and day out only to find their wages insufficient to provide their family with a simple meal. This is the reality for thousands in our county. Federal cuts to USDA food programs, mass layoff of federal workers, high food, and living costs threaten the very stability of our organizations, such as nourishing the Thursday and the people we serve. My friends, we are witnessing a new way of food insecurity. It is not just a traditionally underserved who we seek, who seek our help now. It is our neighbors, our colleagues, those who once believed they were secure, but now find themselves in need. And the economic ripple effect of federal workforce layoffs will only exacerbate this crisis. As those employees lose their jobs, the service industry workers who support them, the janitors, the food service workers, delivery people and caregivers will feel the economic pain most acutely. They are the very individuals who keep our communities running. They will not come as strangers, they will come as brothers and sisters in search of sustenance and hope. We must be prepared to meet the growing need. Nursingourishing with as in other organizations like ours have answered the call, we distributed more than a half million pounds of food to 1700 households at 10 locations last year, but we cannot bear this burden alone. We are working closely with 65 community businesses, faith organizations, and civic groups, but we need the full way of Montgomery County standing beside us. I urge the council to recognize food insecurity as a permanent and essential service. This means ensuring stable funding for food assistance programs, expanding partnerships with local farms and businesses, and advocating at the state and federal levels for a restored and enhanced food program funding. These family are not just dististics, they are our neighbors, co-workers and friends. Thank you. Thank you. Next we have John Holland. Good afternoon. My name is John Holland. I have paid property taxes in Montgomery County for 27 years and I've resided here for almost all of the last 40. Peace Action Montgomery has made me aware of the part of the county's budget that supports the Maryland Israel Development Center. I wish to register my disapproval of my tax dollars going to this entity. In general, I am not happy with any of my tax dollars, state, federal, or county going to weapons manufacturers. I believe that the profit motive applied to companies that create technologies of death, destruction, and subjugation drives more and more of those things. Death, destruction, and subjugation. Right now, I'm objecting to my taxes supporting those things through the Montgomery County budget and its support of the Maryland Israel Development Center. While Israel is a controversial topic in the United States, a significant majority of countries in the world have voted in favor of UN resolutions condemning Israel's military operations and occupations of Palestinian territory. One such resolution easily found on a web search was passed on September 18th last year. The Maryland Israel Development Center funds companies developing military technology. Advances in military technology are advances in the use of force to coerce, injure, and kill people. I do not want my tax dollars supporting those results, and for reason I asked the council to end the funding to the Maryland Israel Development Center Sitting here today, departing from what I wrote, I know I did not realize that the county is looking at Lessening the budget for parks as well as raising property taxes and I think doing both of those things in conjunction with supporting this, this Maryland Israel Development Center. Especially, I think it's very, very morally dubious. And in addition, I find it very suspicious that the support for this center can't be part of the regular budget and is slipped in sort of at the last minute. So thank you for your time. Thank you very much. Next we have Susie and I'm going to ask you to pronounce your name for me. G. Jolly. D. Jolly. Thank you. Just pretend the D's are silent. OK. Appreciate it. Hello, President Stewart, Vice President Jawando and County Council members. My name is Suzy G. Joli, and I'm a proud MCPS speech language pathologist, as well as a graduate, and as of this year, I'm an MCPS parent. I am here today to urge you to fully fund the education budget, not just as a line item, but as an investment in our future. Every student in this county deserves access to a world-class education, regardless of their zip code, background, or income. But the stark reality is that too many schools are overcrowded, understaffed, and under-resourced. Educators are working tirelessly, yet many are stretched to the limit. During my time in this county, I have had the joy of helping my students develop their speech and language skills of partnering with their families and contributing to communities that are fiercely dedicated to the children and their success. But during my tenure here, I have also faced the frustration like so many other educators in confronting obstacles that are not so easily overcome. A major obstacle currently is vacancies in our special education positions. From teachers to therapists to psychologists to pair educators, I've seen firsthand how deeply impactful this is for our students. There are special education classrooms for students with significant needs that have gone all year without a teacher, receiving disjointed instruction from a revolving door of substitutes. In classrooms that do have teachers, many of them are stretched to their limits by a pair of educator vacancies that leave them with just a skeleton crew who are not able to fully meet student needs. This doesn't just affect those special education classes. There are ripple effects throughout the entire school when staff are pulled from other vital positions to fill in special education classrooms or when dysregulated students who are not receiving the support they need disrupt instruction or cause safety concerns for their peers. Over these next two days, the council will hear from many, many educators who will share their joys, their frustrations, their hopes that you as our elected politicians will do the right thing for Montgomery County's kids and fully fund the school budget. Each of their stories has inherent value because at the heart of each story is a student, their promise, and their potential. But how many stories need to be told to know that there truly is a problem? How many stories need to be heard to know that this kids are not all right, that our educators are not all right? How many students, how many stories are needed so that we can begin to see action is taken to fix these problems in schools and across the school district. Superintendent Taylor comes from Stafford County where 63% of the county budget is allocated to the schools. Montgomery County trails that very sadly at only 46%. We tell ourselves the story here in Montgomery County that we believe in and are deeply committed to public education and I hope we can make that story a reality by fully funding the budget. Thank you. Ms. Gioly. Thank you for coming and now we'll go to Brittany Davis. Good afternoon. Good afternoon council members president and vice president. My name is. I am a Montgomery County resident, a parent to a high school senior at Bethesda Chabee Chase High School, as well as a special education advocate. I come before you today because I have spent countless hours and money for my life savings in 401k to help my child obtain a free and appropriate education, one that has not been free at all for me. As a parent, due to IAP challenges in school support services and placement issues, underserved students face, my son has repeated the 12th grade twice. With an exception of this year, I have decided to send him to a military school hoping that he would be able to efficiently and successfully graduate from high school. Students with disabilities and specifically, unrepresentative and underserved African American students continue to be misidentified and adequately supported, overdisdisciplined, and don't receive proper school placement, leading to outcomes that limit futures and damage families. This is not just my story. This is a community issue and it requires immediate actionable solutions. In Montgomery County, Black students constitute 26% of of special education enrollment despite representing only 22% of the student body indicating a significant over representation. Furthermore, less than half of Black Third Graters, 46.8% are reading at a grade, are reading at grade level. To address these disparities, I am asking the county council to commit to the following programmatic, I'm sorry, programmatic actions that can begin making an impact now and bridging the gaps to connect disparities for children with special needs so that students will not be forced to repeat grade levels. When ensure students with disabilities are no longer misidentified, underserved or punished for needing support, I am asking the county council to please help bridge the gaps of special education family resource centers, expand early career transition services starting at 10th grade, conduct immediate audits, and special education, placements and discipline, and embedments who health crisis teams in schools and communities. These are not just program ideas, they are urgent, legal, leal line, and community driven actions that will restore trust, close longstanding service gaps, and turn policy promises and to real protections for our most vulnerable students. I am asking for action to bridge the gaps for underserved students, transparency and collaboration in which can start now with strategic partnerships and reallocating existing resources. Thank you for listening and for leading with action that will be measured by real outcomes for our children. Thank you, Ms. Davis. Next we have Chris Bridge. Good afternoon, Council President Stewart. My name is Chris Brue. I'm a Presidency of the Dono Companies. We're based in Bethesda. I'm also a 61-year resident of this great county. I'm here today in opposition to any tax for fee increase. The nation is bracing for a multi-year economic downturn and economists at GMU Center for regional analysis predict Montgomery County and Maryland will be the most impacted jurisdictions in the DMV. Meanwhile it seems to be business as usual for a county government. The pattern of annual budget increases and employee growth is unsustainable. How can a 7.7% budget increase be warranted when there's virtually been no population growth, no job growth, no MCPS enrollment growth, and no increase in services? As if there was every time for physical constraint and belt tightening, it's certainly now. What's happening is analogous to a hurricane. The Weather Channel has a Category 5 storm on the radar. It's heading directly at us, but rather than preparing, our strategy is to hope that it will turn and miss. Why not challenge our departments and agencies across the board to find one and a half percent savings? That would be $120 million. Reduce your 40,000 employee headcount by eliminating positions that have been vacant for six more months. A 5% reduction would yield $250 million. Cancel the $36 million Dickerson incinerator and spend only enough to complete a feasibility study in a formal cost estimate. These items alone could yield about $400 million in savings, but it requires leadership and tough decisions. It's disappointing that our county, which has the largest concentration of federal employees and contractors, seems to have no empathy or concern for the 10,000 plus federal employees and contractors who are recently unemployed. Now is not the time to raise their taxes and fees on our neighbors. Those coping with life changing events now is the time to demonstrate physical restraint and prepare to weather a multi-year category five storm. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. That does it for this panel. Thank you for coming today and that is it for our in person. Testimony now we will turn to our virtual testimony and start with Mayor Jeffrey Slaven. Good afternoon, County Council. Jeffrey Slaven here, Mayor of the town of Somerset. Today I am here in my capacity as a member of the board of directors of Montgomery Community Media and as its past president having served for 10 years. I wanted to let you know that I stand with MCA and I want to thank the County Executive for the generous budget proposal and urge all of you to support it. You heard from our outstanding CEO, Jasmine White earlier on this topic, but I want to thank all of you for your engagement with this valuable resource and to urge you to continue the engagement throughout the year and also encourage your constituents to do the same. Because remember, information is power. Thank you. Thank you. Next we have Tonya Gilchrist. Hello. Can you hear me okay? Yes. Go ahead, Ms. Gilchrist. I'm Tommy Gilchrist and chair of e-commission on people with disabilities. Thank you for your time today. The commission on people with disabilities recommends that the county eliminate or greatly minimise the installation of designated bike lanes on main artery streets. This needs to be done as they cause serious safety concerns for pedestrians who have a disability and drivers from teenagers to older adults. Designated bike lanes present specific barriers to people who have low vision, blindness, hearing loss, mobility limitations or intellectual disabilities. the FY26 recommended operating budget, the most recent including 62.9 million dollars for vision zero initiatives, which include increased bicycle and pedestrian initiatives. Designated by claims are expensive to install and we ask, does this cost justify their installation, which with such little observed use? If even some of these funds were used for services for people with disabilities instead of bike lanes, think of the difference that could make for people with disabilities. The county could and should do more to prioritize safety for people with disabilities as the Americans with Disabilities Act, ADA, which is a federal civil rights law, prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities and everyday activities. The ADA mandates accessibility in employment, public services, and transportation for people with disabilities. People with disabilities are covered as a protected class, whereas cyclists are not a protected group. Secondly, the commission supports full funding of the developmental disability supplement. The county executives current budget includes a 3% increase for the supplement and the request from the inner ACCDD was a 6.6% increase which the commission supports. If approved the FY26 DD supplement of 6.6% would increase to over 23 million dollars to be distributed to between 41 provider agencies. The full request includes an increase for the cost of living that is projected and is critical for program expansion, transitioning new and waitingless placements, which are anticipated to grow. Providers tell us that it is difficult to recruit and retain direct support professional staff, and we recommend that this supplement be used for increased wages for these workers. We also recommend preserving the public library funding, cuts to library, staffing, hours, or resources would negatively affect many people with disabilities who use the computers, check out different book formats, go to meetings, and socialize at their community libraries. The Commission supports the county executives allocation of $800,000 to reduce long-standing wait lists and increase capacity in programs serving vulnerable population. Thank you for the opportunity to buy a comment. Your consideration of this testimony is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much. Next we have Josevina Rios. Buenas tardes. Mi nombre es Josefina Ríos. Soy parte de la Junta Directiva de la Sociedación de las Provedoras Lactinas de Cuidad de Infantil Inferno. Esta asociación representa más de 360 Provedoras latinas de Cuidad de Infantil activas en el Condado de Montgomery y en todo el Estado. Good afternoon. My name is Josefina Rios and I am part of the Board of Directors of the Maryland Latino Chalca Association. The Maryland Latino Chalca Association has more than 360 active Chalca providers across Montgomery County and in the state. I am here to ask your support to the proposal of four million in additional funds for subsidios, the care and program of support for the first child. As a home child care provider for more than 20 years, in a long trajectory having worked directly with children and families in our community, I am here today to urge your support for their recommended $4 million in additional funding for child care and helps bridge this gap. La proveedoras de cuidado infantil como yo enfrentamos grandes presiones financieras el aumento en los costos del personal. In the case of the operate in a possible way, without raising the bills to the parents. These funds would help stabilize to the providers as I, allowing us to have educated, qualified educators and keep safe and safe in the care of the children. for those videos. Chalker programs are under immense financial pressure, rising costs for staffing supplies and facilities make it nearly impossible to operate sustainably while keeping tuition affordable. This funding will help stabilize providers like mine, like me, allowing us to retain qualified educators and maintain safe and nurturing environments. that assist in education programs with quality learning and get to the best-prepared school, with social skills, emotional, cognitive, more solicited, more este financiamiento y a reforzar el conocimiento de nuestro condado en las familias, las proveedoras de cuidado infantil y nuestros niños más pequeños. Muchas gracias por su tiempo y consideración. The long-term benefits are undeniable. Children who attend high quality early education programs enter school ready to learn with stronger social, emotional, and cognitive skills. This reduces costly interventions later and builds a strong future workforce. Without this investment, more programs will close, more parents will lose childcare, and more children will miss out on early learning opportunities. I urge you to support this funding and strengthening our county's commitment to families, providers and to our youngest learners. Thank you for your time and for your consideration. Thank you. Thank you very much. Next we have Peter Gray. Good afternoon. President Stewart, Vice President Jando, members of the council. I'm Peter Gray, testifying on behalf of the Washington area, Bicyclist Association, and Wabba's many supporters in Montgomery County. Wabba promotes safer biking, walking, and accessing transit as the best ways to get around the county. Today, I want to make two points about the FY26 proposed operating budget. First, the amount allocated to be spent on bike share appears to be the same as in FY 2025. Given that the number of bike share stations in the county has decreased in the past few years, we recommend an increase in the funds allocated to bike share. Thrive Montgomery 2050 set a long range plan for the development of the county that encourages improving multimodal transportation, reducing vehicle miles travel, and more. In fact, Thrive found that half of all auto trips in the county could be made within a short bike trip. If we truly aspire to provide multimodal options for those who do not have access to cars or for those who from an environmental perspective, health perspective do not want to drive everywhere. We must increase the amount spent on bike share. Second, we've heard a lot about the parks department and the effective cut that this proposed operating budget entails. This would create a $1 million shortfall in funding staff salaries and a $3.1 million cut to parks abilities to maintain existing parks and other essential programs. Our county parks, as you've heard from many people today, are a critical asset for daily life in our county and Wabba recommends accepting parts full operating budget request. Thank you. Thank you very much. Next we have Robert Eisenberg. All right. Can you hear me okay? Yes, we can hear you. All right. Thank you for the opportunity to speak before the council. Again, my name is Robert Eisenberg. I'm simply a county resident. Not a member of or representing any organization. My wife and I have been home owners in the Damascus area for more than 35 years. We are both now retired. Our children attended MCPS from Braids K-12 and I appreciate the importance of quality schools along with other county programs and resources. However, I am greatly concerned about the proposed 2026 county budget that includes a 3.5% increase in property taxes. I am strongly opposed to this tax increase. Tax increases like this are especially hard on retired individuals like us, many of whom like us don't qualify for any form of tax reduction. This tax increase would be on top of the already increasing property taxes we pay due to increasing property values. I'm personally astonished sometimes that the current value of the home we purchased back in the 1980s and which we hope to be able to stay in for many more years. I also have younger neighbors who struggle to purchase a house in the county due to the overall high cost of living and would also be negatively impacted by this tax increase. Again, I understand the importance of having high quality schools and providing other key services to residents. However, the county, like the rest of us, must learn to live with the financial resources it has. If, for example, schools should we need more money than spending should to be reduced elsewhere. I know those are very difficult and painful choices. I've heard many speakers today describe many valuable and worthy programs and resources like our parks, for example. But those difficult funding choices and trade-offs are no different than the types of decisions residents make every day. The calorie, like individuals, must prioritize spending of the available and limited resources and not repeatedly increase taxes, which can make living here unaffordable and negatively impact the quality of life for all residents. I ask that you not approve the proposed budget with the property tax increase or any similar tax increase at this time. Thank you. Thank you very much. Next we have Frank Yang. Hi, my name is Frank Yang. I'm the president and CEO of Leotr Sink. We are a startup developing building installation material that's based in twin labs in Rockville. And I'm testifying regarding the role of the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation for the 26 operating budget. So first of all, I wanted to just express a strong statement of appreciation and support for everything that not only MCEDC, but others in the county have done for us as a business. But what I also wanted to do was just sort of share our story and share how the corporations have been pivotal in keeping us here in Montgomery County and helping us grow. So I'm a two-time startup founder. Before I move back to the area, I ran a solar manufacturing company that built a 100 employee manufacturing plant in the US. And then in 2018, founded Leatrice, you know, here from scratch with my co-founder, Dr. Arthur Yang, who was a researcher and he's actually also my father. So it actually initially took us about a year and a half to find initial funding for this this. And then even after that, it took us a little bit of time to get it off the ground. And as that happened during COVID, we really looked at a lot of options for how to set up the company and where to set up. And then in late 2021, ended up signing a long-term lease on a 5,000 square foot lab at Twin Labs in Rockville, largely with the initial sort of help and introduction of MCEDC. And I think if you think about economic development, these sort of local chambers of commerce or sort of similar entities are really the gateway for businesses to come in and get acquainted with the county. So at that time, we could have put the business almost anywhere and chose to put it in Rockville in Twin Labs. And since then, you know, we've raised additional funding and been fortunate enough to get government grants and corporate partnerships. So we're now employing 11 people full time. We've doubled the footprint of our lab recently and will be announcing some additional expansion activities soon and MCDC's been there with us every step of the way they've been very proactive in working through some questions we've had on the expansion different hiring and training and incentive. issues in the county and they've been a really valuable partner throughout. So, I wanted to express my appreciation and support and also remind everybody of the role that small business plays in this county, particularly during a tough economic time where there are government layoffs going on. Startups like we atrus are continuing to invest in the the economy and MCDCs a part of what keeps us here. So appreciate everybody's time and consideration. Terrific. Thank you so much. Next we have Irma Washington. Good evening to President Stewart and Vice President Jorondo. My name is Irma Washington. It's a pleasure again to come before you this year. I'm coming on behalf of housing and affordable housing. The county executive recommended a good funding level of affordable housing programs and we like that. However, HOC requests assistance for several specific programs and properties that haven't received any funding and face of uncertainties HOC and the county needs to be a source of stability for low income families and HOC budget request is tailored for that Please consider HOC's funding request for that for request so that we can ensure all of our customers get what they need. Please also maintain the county executives recommended funding for affordable housing throughout the county for your physical, for your upcoming physical budget for 2026. And again, it's a pleasure to be before you. I thank you. And may you all have a wonderful evening. Thank you very much, Ms. Washington. That is the last of our folks testifying this afternoon. So we are done with our first of five public hearings on our budget this year. Thank you to everyone who is here. Thank you to our staff for having our first afternoon go smoothly. Will return for another public hearing on the FY26 operating budget this evening at 7 p.m. The council is now in recess. Thank you, your own. Thank you.