Prince George’s Budget Targets Schools, Mental Health, Pandemic Recovery

The Prince George’s County Council today unanimously adopted a balanced $4.6 billion Operating Budget for fiscal 2022. The spending plan, which reflects a 2.2 percent increase over last year’s budget, includes $2.34 billion for education, consistently the County’s top spending priority.

“These are times like none other – not only for the challenges but also for the opportunities before us,” said Council Chair Calvin S. Hawkins, II. “This final budget package is built upon sound and responsible principles of fiscal management, which we continue to follow. It will take time for our slow economy to heal, but Prince George’s County is not standing still, and we will not be pulled back.”

The budget includes funding to support a partnership between the Health and Police departments to improve mobile crisis prevention initiatives, including the addition of mental health crisis workers to 9-1-1 and expansion of mental health crisis teams. The Council also provided additional funding for officer recruitment from Prince George’s County and to ensure adequate staffing.

According to a press release:

Additionally, the Council increased funding for Federally Qualified Health Centers; supported the hiring of a consultant for a 10-year Homeless Plan update; increased funding for the County’s Youth Services bureaus; supported a Fair Housing Program to address unfair, wrongful evictions; and increased support for the County’s Developmental Disabilities Administration, to reduce the devastating impact of COVID-19 on operations.

The Council also ensured funding for housing rehabilitation along the Purple Line Corridor; funding to the Economic Development Corporation to support Purple Line Corridor businesses, including Latino entrepreneurs affected by the construction and the pandemic.  There are also monies to develop and deploy the Prince George’s Supply Schedule in the County’s Office of Central Services, providing opportunities for County-based businesses, and to support a countywide flood assessment by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

For more fiscal 2022 Prince George’s County budget information, including additional Council-initiated budget enhancements and the Chair’s remarks, visit the Council’s FY 22 Budget Portal.