Step 10: Solve Budget Shortfalls Without Higher Taxes
The state and county could be facing years of austere, very tight budgets affecting all of the county’s priorities - education, public safety, transportation, health care and environment.
During this recession, where unemployment and foreclosures are high in the county and region, I think it is key to avoid tax increases, and to not add more people to the unemployment lines.
Some additional savings can be achieved through CountyStat, and a more data-driven approach to government.If the budget crisis persists, however, all agencies, departments and entities will have to review any duplication in government services:
Prince George’s County has roughly 820,000 residents, and approximately:
- $2.6 billion operating budget
- $416 million capital budget
- 27 budgeted agencies/functions
- 52 Boards & Commissions
- 27 cities
- 25 police departments
- 208 public schools
- 6 Hospitals
- 5 federally qualified health centers
- 2 other community clinics36
- 150+ bus routes
From fiscal years 1994 to 2004, awarded37:
- $362 million in construction contracts
- $168.4 million in Purchase Orders for Professional services
- $171 million in Purchase Orders for Non-Professional services
- $86.7 million in Purchase Orders for General
Procurement/Contracting Activity in those same categories:
- $187 million in fiscal year (FY) 2005
- $191 million in FY 2006
- $202 million in FY 2007
- $224.2 million in FY 2008
Key questions as the budget crisis persists…
How do all county entities work together to provide key services and minimize duplication of services and management?
How do all county agencies and entities contract for/procure services to obtain the best value and price for roughly the same service/product across every agency, department and entity in the county?
Are there more opportunities for collaboration across agencies and entities to achieve savings?
Prince George's County FY 2010 Budget Overview
Build Capacity Among Community Non-profits, Civic Organizations…
As the Maryland Association of Non-profits concluded in 2007, the best way to “expand the pie” of available financial and other resources that are available to serve the residents of the county is to strengthen the non-profit sector in Prince George’s County.38 The non-profit sector in Prince George’s County must be in a better position to compete for outside dollars – private, foundation as well as public grant dollars – to serve the varied needs of county residents.Nonprofit Revenue Per Capita in Prince George’s: $8,124
Nonprofit Revenue Per Capita in Montgomery County: $25,973
Nonprofit Revenue Per Capita in D.C: $187,273
View the 2007 Research Report on Maryland Non-Profits [PDF]
A Robust Nonprofit Sector in Prince George’s…
These were some of the findings of the Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations in 2007:
- Prince George's County nonprofits raise less than 13 percent of their income from private foundations, the lowest in suburban Maryland.
- Prince George's County's nonprofit sector includes 3,094 nonprofits, including only 561 organizations with annual revenue over $25,000.
- The number of nonprofits per 10,000 residents is 7.5 compared to the state average of 13.0.
- Eighty percent of Prince George's County's nonprofits are below $25,000 in annual revenue, compared to the state average of 67%. The number of organizations with $1m or more in revenue is small (114) and has not grown in the past 5 years.
- The growth rate in the number of nonprofits over $25,000 in revenue is only 9%, far lower than the state average of 16%.
- Significant inequities exist in the provision of programs for children in poverty compared to all neighboring jurisdictions.
- Prince George's County's secular nonprofits gain their funding from a range of sources, with 70% of overall funding coming from fees for services. Private sources account for 16% of revenue, followed by government at 14%.
- Prince George's County government provides $1.7m per year in grants to local nonprofits, a per capita rate of $2. Surrounding jurisdictions provide grants to local nonprofits at a rate of $9-$10 per capita.
- Prince George's County's secular nonprofits have the second-lowest level of support from private donations in the region at 14%.
- Prince George's County has an active faith-based community with more than 700 churches and other religious institutions. Prince George's is home to 12 mega churches, out of only 32 in Maryland and 1,200 in the United States. Both large and small faith-based organizations are very involved in providing social services.
The capacity building and networking organizations serving the county are nascent and need to be developed.
36 Assessing Health and Health Care in Prince George’s County, Rand Corporation (2009)
37 Response To Disparity Study, Minority Business Development Division, Office of Central Services, Prince George’s County
38 Making Connections: The Nonprofit Sector in Prince George’s County, The Prince George’s Community Foundation, http://www.partnershippgc.org/about/history.jsp
39 Research conducted by Johns Hopkins sociology Professor Karl Alexander and his colleagues shows that low-income youth suffer significantly from a loss of academic skills over the summertime. And the losses pile up, contributing to an achievement gap that can make the difference between whether students set out on a path for college or decide to drop out of high school.
