Prince George’s County Executive Angela D. Alsobrooks (D) wants to freeze more than 800 county positions, cut agency budgets and draw down rainy-day funds to fix a projected $171 million budget shortfall for the 2025 fiscal year.
Washington
Alsobrooks proposes freezing 800 county positions in tough budget year
Alsobrooks, who is running for U.S. Senate, said difficult decisions had to be made for the $5.46 billion budget she unveiled Friday, which confronts dwindling federal aid and higher interest rates in addition to increased obligations.
“This year’s budget includes cuts to almost every county agency except for public safety and the Prince George’s County public school system,” she said. “Most departments will see a decrease in dollars year over year, and some programs and initiatives will face reductions.”
Prince George’s isn’t alone in grappling with a confluence of challenges from the pandemic recovery, dwindling federal aid and increased expenses. The state also is facing a round of belt-tightening, as lawmakers’ ambitions collide with lackluster economic growth. State House lawmakers on Friday released a $1.2 billion package of proposed taxes, tolls and fees to avoid cuts to programs, including a landmark education initiative that Alsobrooks has singled out as a major cost driver for Prince George’s.
“I’ve been talking with my counterparts across the state, and we’re all having the same difficult decisions and the same challenges,” Alsobrooks said.
The county is again dipping into its reserves to help make ends meet, but the request is less this year, at nearly $33 million, which Alsobrooks said is designed to protect the county’s Triple-A bond rating. Last year the county reached for $56 million. She also shifted spending to overcome a $60 million budget shortfall.
But those maneuvers weren’t enough to ward against increased costs and coronavirus reverberations, and the county’s long-term projections show more challenges. In January, the county’s Spending Affordability Committee predicted that structural challenges could leave Prince George’s with a deficit of up to $407 million within the next five fiscal years.
Similar to last year, nearly 62 percent of the county’s operating budget goes toward education, 20 percent goes to public safety, and the rest covers government services, such as college and library spending and infrastructure development.
Alsobrooks has resisted asking county residents to pay more; Prince George’s is seeking to lower the burden on property owners by luring more development, in hopes of diversifying its tax base.
She said she’s pressed for more flexibility from state lawmakers in how the county may spend select tax proceeds that have by law been largely earmarked for schools.
“I have specifically avoided raising taxes,” she said, casting her efforts in Annapolis this year as a way “not to further burden our residents and to make sure that they get the services that they have come to expect.”
Lawmakers have so far indicated support for bills she requested to allow Prince George’s to exercise discretion over money generated by the local telecommunications and energy taxes. The taxes brought in a combined $88.4 million in the 2022 fiscal year, county records show, with nearly all of that going to operating expenses for Prince George’s County Public Schools — the second-largest school system in Maryland.
That money previously had not counted toward Prince George’s required contributions under the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, a landmark state education plan aimed at ensuring that Maryland schoolchildren have equal access to quality education.
Ahead of Friday’s news conference, Alsobrooks said in a letter to the Prince George’s County delegation in argument for the legislation that her office had already made $100 million in reductions in anticipation of a shortfall.
To avoid affecting current county employees, Alsobrooks said she froze positions, a choice expected to have trickle-down impacts on residents.
“[That] means that we have fewer people doing more,” she said.
Alsobrooks built her budget proposal on the assumption that the county would be granted control of the local telecommunications and energy tax proceeds; the legislation is in the hands of the state Senate.
“We would have seen much more dramatic cuts if we had not been able to have that flexibility,” she said.
Despite the dour forecast for the county’s financial future, Alsobrooks said she made targeted investments in the safety and health of the county, by increasing the Prince George’s County Police Department’s budget 2 percent, or $7.6 million. The growth in the agency’s budget includes funding for 100 recruits. She also allotted nearly $280 million to the fire and emergency services department, which also would fund 100 recruits and a paramedic program.
The budget also includes about $104 million for health and human services, a priority for Alsobrooks, about $21 million of which goes to support mental health, addiction and substance abuse programs.
County Council Chair Jolene Ivey (D-District 5) said the council will work closely with the county executive’s office to pass the budget for the new fiscal year, which begins July 1.
“We’re going to spend the next couple of months really going through it line by line, and trying to make sure that we’re all in agreement on the best way forward for the county,” she said. “We’ve all had to really look at the budget and be more fiscally conservative because once you know what we have to deal with, we just can’t go spending money willy-nilly. You have to make sure that you’re being responsible.”
Incidents like the one in 2023 along the Baltimore Beltway — a crash that killed six highway workers — are the reason why officials gathered to stress the need for better work zone safety during National Work Zone Awareness Week.
This week, officials, workers and residents are calling for safer roads as they say there is still more work to be done when it comes to safety.
“It’s about understanding that each of us has a role to play in the safety and protection of one another,” William Pines from the Maryland State Highway Administration said.
With an active construction site as the backdrop — at the interchange between Pennsylvania Avenue and Suitland Parkway — roadway workers spoke up.
“We are not just workers, we are people — real people. We are parents, siblings, friends and neighbors. So when you see us out there, please pay attention to that.” Dawn Hopkins with Flagger Force Traffic Control Services said.
Hopkins says she’s had to sound an alarm to get her crew out of dangerous situations.
“Please slow down, stay alert…and watch out for us in the workzones,” Hopkins added.
While the number of crashes in Maryland work zones in 2025 remains concerning, it is lower than in 2024. In 2025, there were:
- 1,148 work zone crashes
- 9 work zone deaths
- 449 injuries
In 2024, there were:
- 1,302 work zone crashes,
- 12 work zone deaths, and
- 492 injuries
“While citations are down, we still had 19 citations that were issues where the automated system recorded drivers traveling in excess of 130 miles an hour in work zones,” Pines said.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has proclaimed April 22 as “Go Orange Day” in Maryland, urging everyone to wear orange in support of highway worker safety.
A moment of silence for road workers who have been killed will be observed at noon this Friday.
This regularly scheduled column is written by Eli Tucker, Arlington-based Realtor and Arlington resident. If you would like to work with Eli and his team in Northern Virginia and the greater D.C. Metro area, you can reach him directly at [email protected].
Question: How has the local real estate market performed so far this year?
Answer: After a year where market conditions softened in favor of buyers, the Northern VA real estate market became more favorable for sellers in the first quarter of 2026, while the Washington DC condo market continued to reel.
What is in this article:
- Northern VA, Arlington, and Washington DC Absorption Trends (demand)
- Northern VA, Arlington, and Washington DC Inventory Trends (supply)
- Washington DC List Price Trends (market values)
Northern VA & Arlington Inventory is Being Absorbed Faster
After four straight quarters of double-digit decreases in year-over-year absorption, the Northern VA and Arlington markets saw a ~8% increase in absorption rate.
What this means: Demand increased in Q1
Northern VA & Arlington New Listing Volume is Declining
After a promising trend of six straight quarters of year-over-year increases in the number of homes listed for sale in Northern VA, new listing activity fell by ~1% each of the previous two quarters.
What this means: Sellers have less competition, buyers have fewer choices
Washington DC Condo Absorption is Plummeting
The absorption rate for DC condos has declined year-over-year for 16 quarters straight and 23 out of the past 26 quarters.
What this means: It is difficult to find buyers for DC condos
Washington DC Condo Inventory Declined Slightly
Total inventory declined by 3.4% year-over-year, the first quarterly drop since Q4 2023. Still, there were great than 2x more condos for sale in DC in Q1 2026 than Q1 2020
What this means: Motivated sellers must compete aggressively with each other for buyers
Washington DC Condos Keep Getting Cheaper
The average price of a DC condo listed for sale is 9.4% less than it was in Q1 2025 and ~9% less than it was ten years ago.
What this means: Even lowering the price won’t guarantee a buyer
If you’d like to discuss buying, selling, investing, or renting, don’t hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected].
We have access to the most pre and off-market listings across the DMV of any brokerage and are happy to share what’s available with anybody who asks.
Below are some of our team’s pre/off-market listings, details and additional listings available by request:
- Westover – 4BR/2BA/2,000sqft – Detached Single Family (2000) – 23rd St N Arlington VA 22205
- Green Valley – 5BR/4.5BA/3,000sqft – Detached Single Family (2020) – 24th St S Arlington VA 22206
- Ballston – 4BR/3.5BA/2,400sqft – Townhouse (2008) – N George Mason Dr Arlington VA 22203
- Ballston – 4BR/3.5BA+office/4,000 sqft – Four Townhouses (2026/2027) – 11th St N Arlington VA 22201
- Rosslyn – 2BR/2BA/1,800sqft – Condo (2021) – 1781 N Pierce St Arlington VA 22209
- Rosslyn – 3BR/2.5BA/2,400sqft – Condo (1986) – 1530 Key Blvd Arlington VA 22209
- Williamsburg – 6BR/5.5BA/5,500 sqft – Detached Single Family (2026) – 27th St N Arlington VA 22207
- Yorktown – 6BR/6.5BA/6,000+ sqft – Detached Single Family (2026) – N Greencastle St Arlington VA 22207
Eli and his team believe that your real estate needs should be managed by advisors, not salespeople. Their mission is to guide, educate, and advocate for their clients through real advice, hands-on support, and personalized service.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), “on behalf of the Department of Education (ED),” on Monday released a Notice Inviting Grant Applications for the Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) program. Applications are due by May 29.
Last November, ED announced that it had entered into an interagency agreement with HHS to administer the CCAMPIS program. This is the first CCAMPIS competition conducted under this arrangement.
Approximately $73.5 million will go to institutions of higher education that awarded at least $250,000 in Pell grants to enrolled students in FY 2025. HHS will award about 148 grants, ranging from $150,000 to $1 million.
The terms of the grant competition are not significantly different than prior competitions. As before, there are two absolute grant priorities that every application must address – leveraging non-federal resources and utilizing a sliding-fee scale for low-income parents.
This year’s competition includes only one invitational priority that reflects the Trump administration’s general educational policy. The new priority, entitled “Expanding Education Choice in Early Learning Settings,” encourages applications that “expand access to education choice … including by empowering parents in choosing the early learning setting that best meets their family’s needs.” Flexible childcare programs that include drop-in care and care during nontraditional hours are also encouraged.
One other notable difference from prior competitions is an expanded “Terms and Conditions” section that not only requires compliance with applicable civil rights laws, but also refers to Trump administration Executive Orders and guidance on racial discrimination that clarify “the application of federal antidiscrimination laws to programs or initiatives that may involve discriminatory practices, including those labeled as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (“DEI”) programs.” This includes any “discriminatory equity ideology [as defined in Executive Order 14190] in violation of a federal antidiscrimination law.”
The exact scope of these terms is unclear because courts have not found many of the practices described in these Executive Orders and guidance documents to be violations of federal law.
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