Prince George's County committee hears FY27 budget briefing; Manno warns of state aid cuts and retirement cost shifts

Prince George's County's General Assembly Committee heard a detailed briefing on the governor's proposed FY27 state budget from Roger Manno, who said the package would leave many counties facing tough trade-offs.

Manno said Governor Moore introduced a roughly $71 billion budget on Jan. 21, and described a near-term structural shortfall of about $1.5 billion to $1.6 billion that could grow to roughly $4 billion by 2030. "This is where it gets ugly," Manno said, summarizing statewide fiscal pressures that will drive difficult choices in the legislative process.

The presentation highlighted winners and losers in the initial proposal. Manno said the governor increases the K–12 education formula while cutting disparity grants and some transportation allocations. He told the committee the changes amount to about an 11.3% decline in certain local aid streams to Prince George's County and estimated a $6 million to $8 million retirement cost shift from the state to the county.

Manno flagged highway-user revenues as a particularly consequential item for the county, estimating an initial cut of about $6.3 million under the governor's submission but noting that Senate Bill 288 (a county-priority bill being heard the same day) could restore roughly $24.5 million for the county in FY27 if enacted. "This is a huge bill for Prince George's County," Manno said of the highway-user revenues adjustment.

The briefing also covered the county's joint priority list: a $660 million request across capital and operating needs, of which Manno said the governor initially included about $205 million. Manno described the budget as a starting point and said there will be opportunities for technical amendments, supplemental requests and political negotiation as the legislature marks up the bill.

During Q&A, committee members pressed Manno on distributional equity and special-project allocations. Edward Burrows asked how to ensure southern parts of the county receive their share of appropriations; Manno said the most effective approach is coordination between the county executive and the council on a joint priority list. Councilmember Harrison raised concern about the retirement cost shift and long-term burden on county finances; Manno acknowledged the problem and urged the committee to prioritize key items such as the autism waiver and highway-user revenue adjustments during the session.

The presentation concluded with committee members requesting follow-up details on several line items and confirmation that Purple Line policing funding remains on the county's advocacy list for the coming budget cycle.