Included on page one of the is a provision explicitly prohibiting Prince George鈥檚 County from continuing to transfer money from the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission鈥檚 budget.
It鈥檚 happened multiple times since last September, with more than $27 million moved by the county council into other areas of the budget.
To some, it was questionable enough that a member of the county鈥檚 delegation told 海角社区app it should be taken as a sign that state lawmakers are watching.
The state also told the county planning board to stop doling out grants, amid concerns about transparency. Shortly after the budget was signed, Del. Nicole Williams, who chairs the Prince George鈥檚 County delegation, explained the rationale behind the move.
鈥淚t’s not illegal for them to do it. I think we just feel as though it should take place during the regular budget process and not outside of that, just like we would do here on the state level,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淪o I think it’s just a measure in good governance and transparency.鈥�
The Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission is funded by property taxes that come from county residents, and the money used is supposed to fund the agency鈥檚 operations and programming. County council member Sydney Harrison has voted against the transfers, and said he鈥檚 had concerns about the process behind them. He鈥檚 glad state lawmakers put that provision in the budget.
鈥淚 did not feel comfortable voting for something like this, and if we were to attempt to do this, that we should send proper notification to our state partners in the legislature outlining everything of how this money shall be used, and getting approval from our state delegation if it’s OK to do this,鈥� Harrison said.
County Council Chair Krystal Oriadha defended the transfers, saying nothing happened behind closed doors and that the transfers were in line with the commission’s mission.
鈥淲e were requested and asked to move the funds by Park and Planning, and we honored that request to move the funds,鈥� she said.
Harrison disputed that.
鈥淲hen this came up, I never heard from the park and recreations director, nor did I hear from the chairman of Maryland National Capital Park and Planning,鈥� he said.
鈥淪o here we are. The council is doing budget transfers, and there’s no testimony from the leadership of Maryland National Capital Park and Planning. So I thought that was very odd,鈥� he added. 鈥淭hen I knew that, because it’s governed by state law, I thought that there would have to be proper notification, written letters from the council suggesting and requesting these funds and what they shall be used for.鈥�
He said that never happened either.
Oriadha said the money has gone to help fund mission-aligned projects in the southern end of the county 鈥� areas she feels have traditionally been overlooked for services.
鈥淢y community and a lot of communities in the southern part of the county have gotten zero dollars. Zero. Right? Not one dollar for decades,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd the reality is that it I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t advocate for my community to get their fair share, and I’m unapologetic about that. These organizations do amazing work.”
But without the letter outlining where the money was spent, and council leadership excluding him from those discussions, Harrison said he doesn鈥檛 know where the money has gone or how it was used.
鈥淢y position has always been that this is supposed to be used for the mission and the purpose and the premise of Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission, and because it’s not outlined or with written notification to our state delegation, it creates ambiguity and it creates uncertainty,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o I cannot necessarily understand how and where they were used.鈥�
Regardless, Oriadha said the new law won鈥檛 have much impact on things in the county and how the council allocates funding.
鈥淲e’re still going to focus on making sure that the most underserved communities get the resources that they need, and we’ll still have the ability to do it,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o it doesn’t functionally really change anything that we do.鈥�
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