Montgomery County was established by the State Convention in 1776, and from its establishment until 1948, the Montgomery County government functioned under the County Commission system. In 1948, the voters adopted a charter giving the County home rule and a council-manager form of government. In 1968, the voters approved a new charter providing for separate legislative and executive branches of government, with legislative power vested in an elected County Council and executive power in an elected County Executive. The new charter became effective with the election of the County Executive and Council in November 1970. The Montgomery County Council is composed of nine members, four of whom are elected by all voters in the County. The remaining five Councilmembers are each elected from one of five Councilmanic districts.
Montgomery County contains 491 square miles (or 317,000 acres) of land area. The County population was 1,052,567 as of July 2019.