Via Press Release:
LARGO, MD – Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks announced today that new projections show income tax revenues for fiscal year (FY) 2024 will be $60 million lower than initially projected when she transmitted her FY 2024 proposed budget to the County Council on March 15, creating a potential revenue shortfall for the County.
To ensure basic government services can be maintained in the next fiscal year, the County Executive is making adjustments to the proposed budget. The County Executive is proposing using reserve funds for FY 2024 to help close the gap while also reviewing the budget for ways to optimize spending.
“Just like jurisdictions across the country, we are still feeling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation, which have impacted our revenues and forced us to make difficult and fiscally-responsible decisions,” said Alsobrooks. “As we said when we unveiled our FY 2024 proposed budget, this budget is tight and we are focused on delivering basic government services and helping grow the commercial tax base, which will bring in new revenues over the long-term. Utilizing our reserve funds in the FY 2024 budget will help us deliver the critical services that our residents need, without resorting to cutting services at this time or raising taxes on residents.”
As the County Executive mentioned in her State of the County Budget Address, the FY 2024 budget is tight due to a number of factors. One of those factors includes the winding down of federal spending to bolster the economy, local governments, and residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. The local economy and revenues have continued to adjust to this new normal as the county recovers from the pandemic, which has also impacted revenue projections. In fact, through April, income tax revenues for the current fiscal year, FY 2023, are lower than actual income tax revenues for the previous fiscal year, FY2022.
Utilizing reserve funds will prevent cuts to critical government services that matter to Prince Georgians. For example, $60 million is roughly twice the amount of the entire proposed budget for the Department of Permitting, Inspections, and Enforcement, which is receiving increased funding this year to help improve permitting services. It is also more than the entire General Fund proposed budget for all health and human services agencies combined (Health Department, Department of Social Services, Department of Family Services), all of which received increased funding to expand behavioral health services, improve services for veterans, help combat food and housing insecurity, and more.
