Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed a $70.8 billion state budget this week that includes a provision barring Prince George’s County from continuing to move money out of the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission’s budget.
The county has shifted more than $27 million since last September into other parts of its budget, a practice that now runs straight into a state restriction written into the budget Moore approved. Del. Nicole Williams said the language is about good governance and transparency, and said the transfers are not illegal. “It’s not illegal for them to do it. I think we just feel as though it should take place during the regular budget process and not outside of that, just like we would do here on the state level,” she said. “So I think it’s just a measure in good governance and transparency.”
The Park and Planning commission is financed by property taxes paid by county residents, and that money is supposed to support the agency’s operations and programming. That made the transfers a source of friction even before the governor signed off on the new budget, because the county was using money tied to one public purpose to cover another.
County Council member Sydney Harrison said he voted against the transfers and wanted state lawmakers to be told in advance how the money would be used. “I did not feel comfortable voting for something like this, and if we were to attempt to do this, that we should send proper notification to our state partners in the legislature outlining everything of how this money shall be used, and getting approval from our state delegation if it’s OK to do this,” he said. Harrison added that he did not hear from Park and Planning leadership when the issue came up. “When this came up, I never heard from the park and recreations director, nor did I hear from the chairman of Maryland National Capital Park and Planning,” he said. “So here we are. The council is doing budget transfers, and there’s no testimony from the leadership of Maryland National Capital Park and Planning.”
Council Chair Krystal Oriadha said the money was moved at the request of Park and Planning and was directed to projects in the southern part of the county. “We were requested and asked to move the funds by Park and Planning, and we honored that request to move the funds,” she said. Oriadha said those communities have been overlooked for years. “My community and a lot of communities in the southern part of the county have gotten zero dollars. Zero. Right? Not one dollar for decades,” she said. “I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t advocate for my community to get their fair share, and I’m unapologetic about that. These organizations do amazing work.”
The new restriction gives the state a clear say over a dispute that has widened beyond county politics. State lawmakers had already told the county planning board to stop doling out grants amid concerns about transparency, and the budget provision now puts a harder stop on the transfers themselves. For Prince George’s, the next step is not another round of shifting funds without state buy-in; the governor’s signature makes that path far more difficult.
