EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Montgomery County is not broke. It is broken — broken by political will.
Since Fall 2023, a state-authorized property tax rate hike and back-to-back SDAT
reassessment cycles have flooded the County with record revenues. Income tax collections
surged. Property tax collections climbed without another rate increase. A $260 million
windfall arrived in November 2025 alone. Yet County officials stood before cameras and
declared a “structural deficit” — then proceeded to propose an $8.02 billion budget, a 26%
spending increase in four years, and a progressive income tax hike they called a
“restructuring.”

This report documents what the money bought — and what it did not. Residents are paying
29% more in property taxes than four years ago. Their streets are not safer. Their schools
are not dramatically better. What did grow: county union paychecks at 6.5%+ effective
raises per year while federal employees received 1.0%; non-competitive grants to political
advocacy organizations that campaign for the same incumbents who write them checks;
and a spending trajectory that the County’s own Revenue Estimating Group warns is
unsustainable by $854 million over six years.

KEY FIGURES: Budget grew $1.67B (26%) in 4 years. Tax bills up 29.3%. Revenue
exceeded expenses by $231.7M in FY25 — yet officials claim insolvency. A $257M
structural deficit is already projected for FY28.