Cuts in education funding in Prince George's County, local bus service reductions, and increased water and sewer rates were some of the issues residents raised at a packed town hall meeting June 22 at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, in Beltsville.
The meeting was organized by Prince George's County Council member Mary Lehman, who represents District 1, which includes Laurel; and Prince George's County Executive Rushern Baker III attended as a speaker.
Numerous residents complained about the 8.5 percent rate increase they will pay for water and sewer services this year. The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, which manages drinking water and wastewater treatment services for Prince George's and Montgomery counties, has raised its rates annually since 2005.
"Our water bills keep going up to the point where I know families that pay more than $400 a month for water," said Laurel resident Sue LaCourse, who came to the meeting armed with charts and statistics. "We're also paying according to family size. If you have a large family, you pay more, and that's not fair."
But Baker and Lehman reminded the residents that between 1999 and 2004, there were no sewer- or water-rate increases approved by officials in the counties served by WSSC.
"Over the years, Prince George's and Montgomery County couldn't agree on increase amounts and infrastructure issues caught up with us," said Baker. "So, we're between a rock and a hard place with WSSC."
Although Lehman said she sympathizes with her constituents and has to pay the higher rates as well, she was not able to give them assurances that the rate increases would be rolled back in future years. They are scheduled to increase by another 8.5 percent next year.
"It was irresponsible to have zero rate increases for years. We have pipeline problems and breaks now that we have to pay for," Lehman said. "Sixty miles of water and sewer lines need to be replaced in the county, and we're having to make up for years of no increases."
Where funding cuts to education programs in the county are concerned, Lehman and Baker were able to announce some victories. Although, there were numerous defeats that resulted from the $1.6 billion budget, the county's Board of Education members passed the day before the town hall meeting.
"We heard you loud and clear on how much students valued Camp Schmidt and found funds to keep it open," Lehman said, referring to the center in Brandywine where students use their classroom skills in an outdoor learning environment.
The County Council approved $4.5 million in funds to save Camp Schmidt, the county's Reading Recovery and specialty school bus programs, as well as to add additional staffing at the Howard B. Owens Science Center, in Lanham.
"We lost $30 million in education funding at the start, but we were able to bring money back in the county," Baker said. "We saved the specialty buses and rather than lay offs, we gave incentives to teachers to retire early."
But according to the Board of Education, even with the early retirements, as many as 300 teachers may still be laid off, and 700 teaching positions overall are expected to be cut. Other casualties in education caused by a reduced budget include eliminating 100 library positions, decreasing athletic directors' employment hours, reducing pre-kindergarten classes from full to half days, charging high school athletes a $50 fee to participate on varsity teams and increasing all class sizes by one student.
On the good news side, Lehman said the county's capital improvement program budget for fiscal year 2013 includes $250,000 for the Dinosaur Park, in Laurel, and a new library for the city is still on track. Lehman also told those in attendance that she was successful in securing funding for six new county code enforcement inspectors.
"I recommended 20 code enforcers and wish they could work beyond 7 (a.m.) to 4 in the evenings. But I'm persistent about code enforcement because it's so important, and I will try to restart a police unit to assist with code enforcement," Lehman said.
That will happen, according to Baker, who said, "We'll have police working with DER (Department of Environmental Resources), and they'll be able to go out at night and deal with night clubs or restaurants with issues."
Lehman and Baker presented a united front on many issues but not when the discussion turned to the possibility of Washington Adventist Hospital relocating to a site near White Oak. Lehman supports the possible move, but Baker said, "The impact that would have on Laurel Regional Hospital and Dimensions (which runs the county's hospital system) caused me not to support the move."
In terms of complaints about some local Connect-A-Ride bus routes being cut or slated for the chopping block, Baker said he will ask the state for funds but did not commit any county dollars for the struggling bus service. Prince George's is the only county that Connect-A-Ride serves that does not provide money to support its operations.
To support some of the suggestions for services that residents raised, Baker and Lehman told the crowd that officials are looking for new ways to generate revenue, such as Lehman's efforts to get a 5 cent plastic-bag tax passed next year.
"We need to grow our tax base," Baker said. "We need to diversify the way we bring in money to the county because we can't continue to rely on property taxes because we're taxed out."