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Coming Soon! Fee Structure Changes for Community Use of Public Facilities

 

Overview

The operating budget for the Office of Community Use of Public Facilities (CUPF) of the Montgomery County Government is based solely upon fees collected from groups who use public facilities. CUPF does not receive tax money to fund its budget.

CUPF operates similarly to a non-profit in that revenues received annually equal the annual expenses. Monies collected go toward expenditures of the CUPF program only; they do not go toward other County initiatives.

CUPF is governed by the Interagency Coordinating Board (ICB), which has established a requirement that CUPF maintain an annual 10% enterprise fund balance to manage finances and protect against budget shortfalls. Revenues raised through fees must support and sustain that fund balance annually.

While CUPF has not increased facility use fees since 2009, expenses to operate the program, including energy costs and staff costs at host sites, have increased significantly.

Fee Study

In 2024, a fee study was completed by an outside contractor to determine how Montgomery County fees for community use of public facilities compared to other jurisdictions and what changes CUPF needed to make to serve its customers best while being able to maintain operational costs.

Fee study contractor recommendations included:

  • Simplified fee structure
  • An overall increase of approximately 30% in hourly fees for indoor facilities
  • Aligning fees for natural grass athletic fields with Montgomery Parks
  • Miscellaneous changes to non-school facilities and various use types 
Fee Increase

The Interagency Coordinating Board (ICB) for Community Use of Public Facilities acknowledged and agreed that a fee increase was needed. As part of the ICB evaluation, the Board determined that the study's recommended implementation of a fee increase (as stated above) may be burdensome on some community user groups.

To relieve some of that burden, it was determined that the following be adopted:

  • Simplified fee structure for public school facilities
  • Spread out fee increases over multiple years with an annual review before implementation
  • Alignment with Montgomery Parks hourly fees for natural grass athletic fields at public schools and recreation centers
  • Various recommendations regarding fees for non-school facilities and specific use types are outlined below

Fee Structure Highlights

The ICB members approved a simplified fee structure for public school facilities. Instead of the current seven fee categories with eleven fee charts, there are now three fee categories, each with a single simplified chart—Categories A, B, and C.

Some highlights of additional changes include:

  • Room use fees eliminated at Montgomery County Public Libraries
  • Room use fees eliminated at some other County Government facilities
  • Room use fees have been eliminated at schools for Parent-Teacher Associations as such use will now be considered MCPS/school internal use
  • Classrooms in schools for after-school enrichment increased by $2.00 per hour for non-profit use
  • Natural grass athletic fields increased by $5.00 per hour to align with Montgomery Parks athletic field rates for non-profit groups
  • Synthetic turf athletic fields increased from $125.00 to $138.00 per hour for non-profit groups
  • The cost of auditorium facilities for weekend use by non-profit organizations increased from $160.00 to $176.00 per hour

Details of the above summary of ICB policy changes are outlined later in this document.

While most room use fees continue to include necessary staff, there will always be instances where additional staff may be needed for an activity. The ICB authorized that the average hourly staff costs at host facilities continue to be passed on to user groups as necessary. A schedule of those fees is included herein. 

Implementation Timeline

  • County Government Buildings: Effective for dates of use on or after July 1, 2025
  • Athletic Fields: Effective for dates of use on or after August 16, 2025
  • Indoor School Facilities: Effective for dates of use on or after August 25, 2025

Fee Categories, Public Schools


Category A, Public School Facilities

  • Before and After-School Childcare Vendors Selected by MCPS
  • Non-Profit Cultural School
  • Government

Hourly rates:

School Facility, Category A

Weekday

Weekend & Holiday

APR, Cafeteria, Other

$13.00

$26.00

Kitchen

$45.00

$61.00

Gym

$12.00

$26.00

Classroom

$9.00

$11.00

Auditorium

$167.00

$176.00

Field, Natural Grass

$10.00

$10.00

Field, Natural Grass Stadium

$83.00

$83.00

Field, Synthetic Turf

$138.00

$138.00

Field, Lights

$35.00

$35.00

Outdoor Basketball Court

$11.00

$11.00

Running Track

$11.00

$11.00

Tennis Court

$11.00

$11.00

Parking Lot

$18.00

$18.00

Parking Lot Pick-up/Drop-off Location (per reservation; not per hour)

$55.00

$55.00


Category B, Public School Facilities

  • Non-Profit
  • County Residents

Hourly rates:

School Facility, Category B

Weekday

Weekend & Holiday

APR, Cafeteria, Other

$16.00

$44.00

Kitchen

$49.00

$62.00

Gym

$15.00

$44.00

Classroom

$9.00

$36.00

Auditorium

$167.00

$176.00

Field, Natural Grass

$10.00

$10.00

Field, Natural Grass Stadium

$83.00

$83.00

Field, Synthetic Turf

$138.00

$138.00

Field, Lights

$35.00

$35.00

Outdoor Basketball Court

$11.00

$11.00

Running Track

$11.00

$11.00

Tennis Court

$11.00

$11.00

Parking Lot

$18.00

$18.00

Parking Lot Pick-up/Drop-off Location (per reservation; not per hour)

$55.00

$55.00


Category C, Public School Facilities

  • Commercial
  • Non-County Resident

Hourly rates:

School Facility, Category C

Weekday

Weekend & Holiday

APR, Cafeteria, Other

$18.00

$56.00

Kitchen

$52.00

$66.00

Gym

$20.00

$56.00

Classroom

$13.00

$47.00

Auditorium

$181.00

$203.00

Field, Natural Grass

$12.00

$12.00

Field, Natural Grass Stadium

$197.00

$197.00

Field, Synthetic Turf

$225.00

$225.00

Field, Lights

$35.00

$35.00

Outdoor Basketball Court

$17.00

$17.00

Running Track

$17.00

$17.00

Tennis Court

$17.00

$17.00

Parking Lot

$34.00

$34.00

Parking Lot Pick-up/Drop-off Location (per reservation; not per hour)

$84.00

$84.00


Staff Costs, Public Schools (applies to all facilities and fee categories)

  • The following hourly staff costs may apply as outlined in the User Guidebook for School Facilities:
    • Building Services Worker $31.00
    • Building Attendant $31.00
    • Kitchen Worker $30.00
    • Media Services Technician $51.00
    • User Support Services $51.00
    • Security $41.00

Fee Structure, Government Buildings

Public Libraries Meeting Rooms

  • Room use fees are waived for dates of use on or after July 1, 2025
  • Hourly staff costs, such as building services and security, may apply
  • Groups are restricted to only two uses per month at the same facility

Police Station Meeting Rooms

  • Room use fees are waived for dates of use on or after July 1, 2025
  • Hourly staff costs, such as building services and security, may apply
  • Groups are restricted to only two uses per month at the same facility

Gray Brick and Red Brick Courthouse Meeting Rooms

  • Fees are waived for dates of use on or after July 1, 2025
  • Hourly staff costs, such as building services and security, may apply
  • Groups are restricted to only two uses per month at the same facility

Council Office Building (COB) and Executive Office Building (EOB)

  • Fees are waived for dates of use on or after July 1, 2025
  • Hourly staff costs, such as building services and security, may apply
  • Groups are restricted to only two uses per month at the same facility

Regional Services Centers Meeting Rooms

Clarksburg Cottage

Gymnasium, Housing Opportunities Commission (Kensington Elementary)

  • Room use fees will continue to align with MCPS public school gymnasiums
  • No change to existing cleaning and electronic access card fees

Wheaton Urban District

Silver Spring Civic Building at Veterans Plaza

Recreation Center Fields

  • The fees and fee structure for using the following natural grass fields at Recreation Centers will continue to be aligned with fees charged for natural grass fields at public school facilities:
    • Ross Boddy
    • Damascus
    • Germantown
    • Mid-County
    • Potomac
    • White Oak

Staff Costs, County Government Facilities (applies to all facilities and fee categories)

A Message from Our Director

As the Director of CUPF, I appreciate the community's trust in CUPF to provide facilities and resources for gathering, celebrating, and conducting community business.

CUPF has been operating at a loss since the Pandemic. Pre-pandemic CUPF was able to use the enterprise fund balance to cover shortfalls from very low permitting fees. This was possible because, at that time, there was a very healthy fund balance that has now been significantly depleted. As CUPF considered information from the fee study consultant, it became evident that Montgomery County has been charging much less than surrounding jurisdictions for similar or same facility use. While the proposed fee increase will raise prices for permitting in Montgomery County, the cost of permitting will still be below that of surrounding jurisdictions in comparable facilities.

A primary reason that the ICB adopted a plan that allows review each year before the fee increase is implemented is to allow that review to determine if additional increases are needed, which could result in less than a 30% total increase as increases are incrementally imposed over a few years. The ICB also wanted to allow the community to have input each year before the subsequent increase is implemented. The ICB also wanted to consider the need for equity, which is intended to ensure that all groups and parts of our community have access to facilities at affordable cost. To accomplish that equity, the Board has approved waiving fees for public facilities such as libraries, police station conference rooms, courthouse meeting rooms, executive and council office buildings, etc. This makes available space affordable in convenient locations close to public transportation.

The fee structure described in this document has been approved by the County Executive and included in his budget recommendations sent to the County Council. The actual fee schedule will not be final until approved and appropriated by the County Council after May 22, 2025. The fees and fee structure described and discussed herein may be subject to change until after a full review by the Council has occurred and they have approved for appropriation. The dates indicated herein are the implementation dates for the new fee structure to take effect. 

CUPF and the ICB appreciate the partnership with our community and intend to strive to meet its expectations and needs. We desire that the Montgomery County community continue to work with us, which will allow CUPF to continue to provide support by offering safe and affordable facilities for community use.

Respectfully,


Ramona Bell-Pearson, Director
Office of Community Use of Public Facilities
Montgomery County Government