Councilmember Will Jawando announced that he will vote no on the proposed property tax increase, standing alongside leaders from MCEA, SEIU Local 500, MCGEO, and nonprofit service providers at the Council Office Building.
“Working families in Montgomery County are already carrying too much. I won’t ask a bus driver, a teacher, a caseworker, or a family that just lost a federal job to pay more on top of everything else. Not when there’s a fairer way forward.”
— Will Jawando
Jawando laid out four priorities for the budget:
- No property tax increase on working families.
- Fund our workers’ collectively bargained contracts.
- Fund our nonprofit providers at 7.5 percent.
- Fund our schools.
To pay for these priorities, Jawando called for making the county’s tax structure more progressive — asking those who earn over $1 million to contribute more — and making targeted cuts to curtail the growth of government while still delivering on core commitments.
This position builds on Jawando’s longstanding advocacy for progressive revenue. In 2020, he called for state authority to tax income above a million dollars at a higher rate to fund schools. In 2023, he worked with Delegate Palakovich Carr on legislation that would have cut taxes for everyone earning under $500,000.
“We won’t ask the families Washington is already failing to pay more here at home,” Jawando said.