Prince George’s County residents sought answers from Maryland’s comptroller on affordability and rising energy costs during a meeting Thursday evening at the Laurel-Beltsville Senior Activity Center.
Comptroller Brooke Lierman took questions from roughly 50 residents who attended the District 1 Community Conversation event hosted by Prince George’s County Council member Tom Dernoga (Dist.1). The event focused on updating residents on the legislative impacts on the state level and the comptroller’s State of the Economy Report.
Mark Tomassoni of Laurel wanted to know why energy costs continue to climb across the state.
“Costs are going up and up and up,” he said. “What are you doing to [address the cost]?”
Lierman agreed with residents that energy costs have become a major challenge throughout Maryland and are contributing to affordability issues for households. She said much of the increase is tied to the state’s aging infrastructure and Maryland’s inability to generate enough electricity to power itself.
Lierman pointed to the Maryland Utility RELIEF Act, recently passed by the General Assembly, which would reduce household energy bills by about $150 annually and increase oversight of utility companies.
“[Energy costs are] a huge challenge,” she said. “It’s unacceptably high at this point.”
Still, Lierman explained to residents that the Maryland Comptroller’s Office primarily serves as the state’s financial and tax administrative agency and does not create the state budget or dictate spending priorities.
But questions from attendees continued, ranging from property taxes and casino revenues to the state’s fiscal health.
“How competitive is Maryland in terms of bringing in business?” asked Sheila Carpenter of West Laurel.
Lierman told the audience the state remains fiscally stable, but faces increasing pressure from reductions in federal spending, federal layoffs and the depletion of surplus funds generated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Adding that Prince George’s County is particularly vulnerable to fiscal challenges caused by federal policy changes.
“Prince George’s County has a higher percent of its revenue come from federal wages, direct federal wages than any other county [in the state],” she said
Lierman added that Maryland will continue navigating a structural deficit as revenues fail to keep pace with inflation and rising costs. She said lawmakers will face difficult choices involving spending cuts, funding priorities and potential revenue increases tied to taxes.
“Revenues are going up, but they’re not going up at the same clip as our expenses,” she said. “There are very hard decisions to be made.”