Prince George’s County, Maryland, is reserving a chunk of its $4.6 billion budget for fiscal year 2022 to education, with some funds also going toward pandemic relief, housing and police reform.
The county council adopted the budget Thursday, which reflects a 2.2% increase over last year’s budget, and it will take effect July 1.
Education will get $2.34 billion, but there will also be money dedicated to the partnership between the health department and Prince George’s County police to improve Mobile Crisis Intervention initiatives. This includes the addition of mental health crisis workers to 911 and the expansion of mental health crisis teams. There is also funding for officer recruitment for police.
The council will also give funding to housing rehabilitation along the Purple Line, as well as supporting businesses along the corridor, including Latino businesses affected by the construction and the coronavirus pandemic.
“It will take time for our slow economy to heal,” Council Chair Calvin S. Hawkins II said in a statement.
Calling it the “people’s budget,” Hawkins said it was built upon “sound and responsible principles of fiscal management.”
Other items in the budget include hiring a consultant for the county’s 10-year homeless plan update, increased funding for youth services, support for a housing program to address evictions and support for the county’s Developmental Disabilities Administration.
The Prince George’s County Council unanimously adopted the budget, and you can find out more details on it on the county’s budget website.
Neighboring Montgomery County, Maryland, recently approved its $6 billion budget, also focusing on education and pandemic recovery. D.C. on Thursday unveiled a proposed $17.5 billion budget for fiscal year 2022.
