Prince George's Budget Proposal Includes Furloughs, Force Reduction
County Executive Rushern Baker's $3.2 billion dollar proposed budget represents a 0.6 percent increase over Fiscal Year 2013.
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Prince George’s County employees could see five-day furloughs, a reduction in workforce, and incentivized early retirement if County Executive Rushern Baker's proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2014 is approved by the county council.
Facing a $152 million budget gap, Baker said that this was the county’s toughest fiscal year yet.
“In order to continue to move our great county forward, we had to address and begin looking at how we would focus our resources in a new and different way,” Baker said in a statement.
The county executive's $3.24 billion dollar budget also increases funding to the state’s attorney’s office to support the gun and drug unit and includes money to add more than 100 new public safety employees in the police and fire departments.
The proposed budget was presented to the Prince George’s County Council Thursday for its review.
County council chair Andrea Harrison released the following statement:
Working together with County Executive Baker and all stakeholders, including our residents and employees, to achieve a FY 2014 fiscal plan that addresses the priority issues that concern all of us—Transportation; Economic Development/Transit-Oriented Development; Healthcare; Education; and Public Safety—the Council will continue our commitment to a conservative fiscal approach.
The county council is required to adopt the FY2014 budget no later than June 1, 2014.
randyho
10:59 pm on Friday, March 15, 2013
What is this gun and drug unit supposed to be doing that current resources are not?
Krissy
10:18 am on Saturday, March 16, 2013
This has to be the worst county ever. The goverment officials always misappropriate the money, the schools suck and the county is beyond "ghetto". I have to get out of this county NOW!!!!!!!
John Floyd II
1:47 pm on Saturday, March 16, 2013
For those of us struggling to hold onto our homes in this horrid economy, employee furloughs are far preferable to raising property taxes. Thank God for TRIM!
JM
3:46 pm on Saturday, March 16, 2013
Unfortunately Krissy the county has been on a steady decline since the late 90's early 2000. It's very Unfortant how they misappropriate and spend money on dead end issues or spend it on issues that are of no importance. Prince George's County is to be one of the primer places to live The schools are terrible and I don't see any light at the end of the tunnel. I have been in the county 39 years and the last 10-12 years have been all down hill. It's just Sad.
Sharp Shooter
2:32 pm on Sunday, March 17, 2013
...and if you want a little something to lift you up - do some homework on the candidates that the county is entertaining for Superintendent of PGPSC. The candidates are not from aspiring school systems: DC, Chicago, and Durham. If this is the future I'd be getting out too.
Red White and Blue
12:13 pm on Tuesday, March 19, 2013
This county is the result of the people that are voted into office, the county cares about minorities only, if the federal government was not as close to the PG county it would look just like Southeast Washington D.C. and the slums of Detroit. It is a shame what the citizens of the county have become. 90% bust their rears everyday to take care of their families etc... but 10% are nothing but useless.