Rockville’s Mayor and Council begin budget deliberations this month with public hearings and work sessions focused on a Fiscal Year 2026 budget that prioritizes the Mayor and Council’s focus areas of public safety, economic development and housing.
The proposed budget will be available for review beginning Friday, March 7 at www.rockvillemd.gov/budget.
City Manager Jeff Mihelich is scheduled to present the Mayor and Council with a FY 2026 budget proposal on Monday, March 17.
For information about how to testify at upcoming budget hearings or view the presentation on cable and online, see the FY26 budget calendar below.
The budget, which covers the fiscal year that begins July 1, is scheduled for adoption by the Mayor and Council on Monday, May 5.
The proposed FY26 operating budget of $174.9 million is a 3.9% increase over the FY 2025 adopted budget. The general fund budget, which supports the largest portion of the operating budget, is $116.6 million, a 6.9% increase.
The city’s current real property tax rate of $0.292 per $100 of assessed valuation would remain the same for FY26. All residential and commercial property owners pay this tax. Rockville has not increased its property tax rate since 1995.
Rockville Utilities
Rockville’s four utility funds are enterprise funds. They function like a private business, with costs fully recovered through user charges. The utility funds are the water fund, the sewer fund, the refuse fund and the storm-water management fund.
Revenue from the funds pays for repairs and replacement of aging water and sewer pipes and other infrastructure vital to providing these services, and for required payments to the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission related to a regional wastewater treatment plant. The city does not control the amount paid for regional wastewater treatment.
The city’s rate structure is based on property classification, namely single family, multi-family and nonresidential, to distribute, as equitably as possible, the cost of providing water and sewer service.
For a table showing water and sewer usage charges for each classification, see the proposed budget when it is posted Friday, March 7 at www.rockvillemd.gov/budget.
The budget includes a proposed $30 annual increase in the refuse and recycling rate, to $565 per household. The stormwater management rate would increase by $7, to $159 for the year.
The proposed budget prioritizes the city’s continued commitment to capital investments, including several large capital projects. The proposed FY 2026-FY 2030 CIP, the five-year plan for funding new construction and infrastructure maintenance, supports 65 projects during the fiscal year.
The proposal also funds Mayor and Council focus areas and includes the following initiatives.
• Approximately $10 million in new funding for the city’s Vision Zero Action Plan and Pedestrian Master Plan.
• Introduction of a two-year closed-circuit television security camera system modernization initiative.
• Two new full-time civilian positions in the Rockville City Police Department.
• Support for increased police officer recruitment incentive programs.
• Funding for the city’s annual gun buyback.
• More than $1.5 million to promote safety and quality for the city’s drinking water and water treatment plant.
• $250,000 for a new emergency response vehicle for the Rockville Volunteer Fire Department.
• $1.6 million for Rockville Economic Development, Inc.
• Five new full-time positions to support timely and efficient processing of plan reviews, permits and inspections, including the reinstatement of expedited building permit review processes.
• $650,000 for the expected annexation of the Shady Grove Metro station.
• Support for the ongoing update of the city’s zoning ordinance.
• A $250,000 transfer to and $750,000 in new funding for the Housing Opportunities Fund to promote the preservation and addition of affordable housing, launch an employee homeownership assistance program, and begin development of a homeownership downpayment assistance program for the community.
• Two new full-time positions to assist with the expansion of city programs addressing housing.
FY26 Budget Calendar
Note: Budget calendar dates are subject to change.
| Friday, March 7 | Proposed FY 2026 budget and Capital Improvements Program posted to www.rockvillemd.gov/budget. |
| Monday, March 17 | Introduction and city manager’s presentation of the FY26 budget and CIP, budget work session, and public hearing. |
| Monday, March 24 | Public hearing and work session. |
| Monday, April 7 | Work session and close of community survey and budget public record. |
| Monday, May 5 | Adoption of the FY26 operating budget and Capital Improvements Program. |
| Tuesday, July 1 | FY26 begins. |
For information about how to testify at hearings, find agendas, posted the week before each date at www.rockvillemd.gov/AgendaCenter.
Meetings are broadcast on channel 11 on county cable, livestreamed at www.rockvillemd.gov/rockville11, and available a day after each meeting at www.rockvillemd.gov/videoondemand.
The community budget priorities survey is available in three languages at www.rockvillemd.gov/budget.
To review the proposed budget, visit www.rockvillemd.gov/budget.