Montgomery County Council Meets on Jan. 13 to Receive Briefing from DMVMoves Focused on a Sustainable Funding Model for Public Transit in the Washington Metropolitan Area
MARYLAND, December 1 - For Immediate Release: Monday, January 12, 2026
Also on Jan. 13: Council Commemorates Muslim American Heritage Month and Korean American Day
The Montgomery County Council will meet on Tuesday, Jan. 13 at 9:15 a.m. and the meeting will begin with a proclamation, presented by the full Council, recognizing Muslim American Heritage Month. At 1:15 p.m., a joint proclamation, presented by Council President Natali Fani-González and County Executive Marc Elrich, will recognize Korean American Day.
More detail on each agenda item is provided below.
Interviews: The Council will interview George Margolies and Barbara Sapin, who are candidates for the Council’s representatives on the Merit System Protection Board. The Council is interviewing candidates following the expiration of the second full term of Chair Sonya Chiles on Dec. 31, 2025. The board oversees the Merit System and protects employee and applicant rights guaranteed under the County Merit System. The board processes grievance and disciplinary appeals by issuing written decisions following a review of written records or after conducting appropriate hearings.
Interviews: The Council will interview Mark Gaston Pearce, who is the County Executive’s nominee for Labor Relations Administrator for the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), Local 1664, AFL-CIO. Gaston Pearce, Esq. is a labor and employment law expert with more than five decades of experience in arbitration, mediation and labor relations.
Consent Calendar
Each item on the Council’s Consent Calendar can be found on the Council agenda for Tuesday, Jan. 13, which is available on the Council website.
Resolution to Approve the Spending Affordability Guidelines (SAG) for the FY27 Operating Budget
Introduction: The Council will introduce a resolution to approve the Spending Affordability Guidelines (SAG) for the FY27 Operating Budget. The deadline for the Council to adopt these guidelines is the second Tuesday of February each year. The deadline this year is Feb. 10.
The Montgomery County Code requires the Council to specify the following when adopting the spending affordability guidelines for the operating budget: a ceiling on the funding from ad valorem real property tax revenues; a ceiling on the aggregate operating budget; and separate budget allocations for Montgomery County Government, the Montgomery County Board of Education, Montgomery College, the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, debt service and current revenue funding of capital projects. As part of this process, the Council will consider the condition of the economy, the level of economic activity in the County, trends in personal income and the impact of economic and population growth and projected revenues. Additional details are available in the Council staff report.
A public hearing is scheduled for Jan. 27.
Briefing: The Council will receive a briefing about DMVMoves from representatives of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). The initiative intends to present a unified vision and sustainable funding model for public transit in the Washington, D.C. region. The COG and WMATA boards jointly endorsed the final version of the DMVMoves plan on Nov. 17, 2025.
The primary outcome of the DMVMoves plan is a commitment to provide an additional $460 million per year to WMATA by FY29, of which $152 million would come from Maryland. This funding would address the metro system’s capital backlog, modernize the metrorail signaling system, move toward rail automation and stabilize WMATA's bond program.
Public Hearings
Unless otherwise noted, the Council will hold the following hybrid public hearings at 1:30 p.m. Residents can visit the Council website to learn about the multiple ways to provide testimony.
The Council meeting schedule may change from time to time. View the current Council and Committee agendas, Council staff reports and additional information on items scheduled for Council review on the Council website.
Council and committee meetings are streamed live on the Council’s web page via YouTube and on Facebook Live and can be watched on County Cable Montgomery on Xfinity/RCN 6 HD 996/1056, Fios 30, and on the CCM live stream.
Release ID: 26-008
Media Contact: Sonya Healy 240-777-7926, Benjamin Sky Brandt 240-777-7884
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