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Published: March 17, 2025
Updated: August 15, 2025
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
|
Hourly/Daily rates:
| Equipment Type | Fee |
| Audio Visual | $3.00/hour |
| Computer Lab | $50.00/day |
| Field Lights | $35.00/hour |
| Piano | $25.00/day |
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
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