In a week when the Affordable Health Care Act was scheduled to be voted on in Congress and budget priorities are being debated in Annapolis, Md., Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker III can only wait and see how many of his budget priorities will be undermined by politics.
Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker says that the county will continue to flourish despite the next budget. (Courtesy Photo)
Last week Baker unveiled his FY2018 budget that was partly a road map on how Baker has lead the county over the last six years and what he plans to do in the future.
“Six years ago, I stated that Prince George’s County would become the economic engine of this region and state,” Baker said in a statement. “The reactions I generally received to that declaration was that I was being very optimistic and hopeful, or they were patronizing, assuming that I was naïve.”
While Baker talked about how Prince George’s County led the state in the third quarter over the past 12 month reporting period with 7,850 new jobs, or 22 percent of the State’s total job growth, he is voicing concerns about the impact the Trump cuts will have on the county.
“Since the election of Maryland’s Republican governor in 2014 and President Trump last fall, Prince George’s County has been adversely impacted by budget and policy decisions affecting the quality of services we provide to our residents,” Baker told the AFRO. “Our residents are facing a non-stop onslaught of new challenges from our Governor and President that we would have to disproportionately absorb.”
Even so, Baker said he is confident that Prince George’s County will persevere facing these Republican created cuts and service reductions at the state and federal levels.
“We are saddened that even as we have made great progress over the past five years, we continue to have to battle the politics of the day,” he said. “Our job is to continue creating jobs, increasing revenue and improving service for our residents.”
Seat Pleasant, Md. Mayor Eugene Grant echoed Baker’s sentiments, saying that for too long local governments have dependent on federal and state lawmakers for their future.
“What we have to do is create our own budget and re-prioritize our own priorities,” said Grant, who leads a city with 5,000 residents. “We have to look for strategic and public private partnerships.”