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Residents plead with Bowie council to spare concerts, seniors, scholarships and volunteer fire funding amid budget cuts
Summary
Multiple residents urged the council to restore funding for the Summer Sunset Concert Series, International Festival, the senior center staff position, scholarships, and a volunteer fire department grant, citing community cohesion and concrete figures about donations and program benefits.
Several Bowie residents used the public‑comment period to press the council to reverse or soften budget cuts that would affect community events, the senior center and student scholarships.
Mary Ellen Winland told the council the Summer Sunset Concert Series and International Festival are more than entertainment: she described them as intergenerational, low‑cost community gatherings that also support the city’s food pantry. Winland said her experience leading the food‑pantry collection at concerts showed donations rose sharply in recent years after increased volunteer collection efforts.
James Bigony, who identified himself as president of the Bowie Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad, asked the council to reconsider removing the department’s grant in the FY27 budget. He said the department’s 2025 mail drive cost about $18,700; the department raised nearly $60,000 in donations in FY25 and $63,000 year‑to‑date in FY26, and he warned that removing the grant could reduce donation revenue by roughly $60,000. Bigony also said the grant pays for insurance on apparatus and vehicles not covered by Prince George’s County and supports key response equipment.
Several speakers described the senior center as a community touchstone and said cuts that led to a long‑time staff member receiving a layoff notice (named in the record as Gloria Geddy) would harm seniors who depend on center services. Members of the education committee and other residents urged the council to reinstate scholarship funding for students with financial need; the education committee said internal receivables rules limit how much it can raise without a budget allocation and asked the council to consider a $10,000 reallocation from another arts allocation to permit modest scholarship awards.
Council members acknowledged the public comments and agreed to consider restoring the firefighter grant, scholarship funding, and an IT modernization allocation during a June 1 budget amendment vote. No immediate restorations were enacted during the meeting; council adopted the FY27 budget and related resolutions with those items left for potential restoration at the follow‑up session.
