Prince George's County Council Seeks Resident Input on FY 2027 Budget

Seats open at 5:30 tonight at Rollingcrest-Chillum Community Center, 6120 Sargent Road, giving Prince George's County residents their first formal opening to weigh in on a fiscal year 2027 budget that will determine police staffing levels, school funding, and whether the county can hold the line on taxes while demand for core services keeps growing.

Council Chair Krystal Oriadha organized the two-session listening tour to gather feedback on the County Executive's proposed FY-2027 budget ahead of committee deliberations and public hearings. "This is your opportunity to share feedback on priorities and needs that you would like to see in your communities," reads the Council's announcement. A second session follows Tuesday, March 31, also from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m., at Temple Hills Community Center, 5300 Temple Hill Road.

The budget cycle arrives as the county navigates continuing fiscal pressure: structural gaps between revenue and service demands have repeatedly forced tradeoffs on public safety, schools, and social services. Holding spending flat in any one category tends to draw from another, and the county has sought to avoid tax increases while absorbing those tradeoffs internally. The FY-2027 operating and capital budgets will force the same choices.

Three pressure points are likely to dominate both sessions. Public safety advocates are expected to press for patrol staffing and equipment funding after years of constrained hiring. Prince George's County Public Schools supporters will push for capital and operating allocations tied to infrastructure backlogs and program needs. Housing and social-service coalitions, particularly active in communities like Chillum and Temple Hills, are positioned to argue against cuts to support programs serving lower-income residents.

Testimony that names a specific line item, a school, a patrol beat, or a program with an identifiable constituency tends to carry more weight in council committee work than broad appeals. After both sessions close, council staff will compile feedback from the listening tour and from the online Budget Listening Tour survey, then use it in committee deliberations and possible amendments to the County Executive's proposed budget before final adoption.

Residents who cannot attend in person can complete the Budget Listening Tour survey through the County Council's website. Registration is encouraged for those planning to attend. The County Council's Budget Portal contains the full proposed FY-2027 operating and capital budget for advance review. Contact the Prince George's County Legislative Branch at the Wayne K. Curry Administration Building in Largo, phone 301-952-3700.