A Practical Guide to Closing the $854 Million Six-Year Structural Gap

Executive Summary

Montgomery County faces an $854 million revenue shortfall over six years while compensation costs at County Government and MCPS accelerate to 7-10% annual growth—three to four times the historic 2.5% average[1][2][3]. This two-page analysis identifies specific areas where cuts can close the structural gap without touching core services like 911, police, fire/rescue, roads, and trash collection.

Key Finding: Modest restraint in compensation growth combined with targeted cuts to non-core programs, NGO grants, and administrative overhead can generate $100-150 million per year in recurring savings—enough to balance the budget without tax increases.

  News & Opinions

_______________

County executive candidates discuss regional issues at Wheaton Collective forum | Bethesda Today | Ceoli Jacoby | March 30, 2026 10:35 am, Updated April 2, 2026, 4:00 pm

_______________

Montgomery County considers new school zones impacting elementary schools | WUSA 9 | wusa9.com | March 25, 2026 11:21 pm Updated March 25, 2026 11:21 pm

_______________

Opinion: MCPS needs to tame its monstrous overhead costs |Bethesda Today | Gordie Brenne | March 30, 2026 3:00 pm, Updated March 30, 2026 2:53 pm

_______________

Opinion: Elrich Is Fighting the Wrong Battle on Pensions

Montgomery County is in a quiet but important fight over who controls billions in pension assets and the math behind them. The question is not abstract: should long‑term pension risk be managed by independent fiduciaries and actuaries, or by the County Executive’s political budget office?[1] [2] [3]

Bill 28‑24 before the County Council would move responsibility for choosing the pension actuary and setting most actuarial assumptions from the Chief Administrative Officer to the Board of Investment Trustees, the body that already has fiduciary responsibility for the retirement plans. County Executive Marc Elrich opposes this shift, and his administration argues that maintaining “shared control” is vital to good governance. That sounds reasonable until you look at how AAA‑rated governments actually run their pension systems.[4] [5] [6] [2] [1] READ MORE

_______________

Is This a Prohibited Contribution Under Public Financing? | Montgomery Perspective | Adam Pagnucco | April 1, 2026

https://www.ld15republicans.com/

Louella Tham for Montgomery County Council

WEBSITES FOR INFORMATION AND DONATIONS

Reach out to these campaigns, donate and volunteer! Get ready for the Primaries.

Maryland Governor

• Carl Brunner for Governor
• LD Burkindine
• Dan Cox for Governor
• Ed Hale for Governor
• Douglas Lacome
• John Myrick for Governor
• Michael Oakes
• Nancy Jane Taylor
• Shannon Wright

Maryland Comptroller

• Sonya Dunn 

Maryland Attorney General

• James Rutledge

US Congress District 6

• Chris Burnett for Congress
• Robin Ficker for Congress
• Mariela Roca for Congress

US Congress District 8

• Anita Mpambara Cox
• Donald L. Lech
• Cheryl Riley for Congress
• Michael Yadeta

Maryland State Senate

• Ben Hightower for State Senate 9
• Helene Meister for State Senate 17

Maryland House of Delegates

• Fitzgerald Mofor for Maryland House of Delegates (District 9A)
• Spencer Rhoda for Maryland House of Delegates (District 9A)
• Peter Chan for Maryland House of Delegates (District 15)
• Ann Guthrie Hingston for Maryland House of Delegates (District 16)

Local Candidates

• Shelly Skolnick for County Executive
• Esther Wells for County Executive
• Sherwin Wells for County Council
• Harold Maldonado for Montgomery County Council
• Ricky Mui for Montgomery County Council
• Reardon (Sully) Sullivan for Montgomery County Council
• Josephine Salazar for Montgomery County Council
• Louella Tham for Montgomery County Council
• Dolores Reyes for Register of Wills

Non-Partisan MoCo Board of Education

• Wylea Chase
• Sharon Creed
• Brenda M. Diaz
• Elma-Lorraine Diggs
• Andrew Frykman
• Brett Di Resta
• Omar Lazo
• Sally A. McCarthy
• Grace Rivera-Oven

Judges

• Circuit Court Judges

__________

If you're a Republican or non-partisan candidate send us your website and we'll include it.