St. Mary’s County EDC focus group urges diversification, flags workforce and infrastructure gaps

St. Mary’s County Economic Development Commission members spent much of their Sept. 17 meeting reviewing consultant briefings and a focus‑group exercise aimed at shaping the county’s Strategic Economic Development Strategy (SEDS). Commissioners and consultants agreed the county needs to diversify its economy beyond federal contracting, address workforce and infrastructure gaps, and translate analysis into an actionable plan with targeted outreach.

Commissioners said briefings from the Regional Economic Studies Institute (RESI) and the University of Maryland confirmed that sequestration and federal spending cuts had real local effects, even as some indicators showed resilience. The group identified several priorities for the SEDS plan: diversify industry sectors, strengthen career pathways and training, inventory land and infrastructure, and examine public incentives and regulatory barriers at the state level.

Why it matters: St. Mary’s County’s economy has a high concentration of federal government and defense spending. Commissioners and consultants emphasized that a plan that only restates assets will not be sufficient; the county needs a detailed, implementation‑oriented strategy that identifies which sectors are most likely to succeed…