The Prince George’s County Council voted to approve roughly $6 billion in spending for the coming fiscal year Wednesday night .
The fiscal package was initially slated for a vote by lunchtime, but it was delayed several times. The vote began at around 7 p.m.
Every council member present backed the measures. Some members, who had been there for much of the day, left the hearing as delays piled up, including At-large Council member Wala Blegay and District 2 Council member Wanika Fisher.
The members “had to leave” and both absences were excused, Council Chair Krystal Oriadha said.
The approved budget is 2% larger than that for the 2026 fiscal year.
Prince George’s County officials had expected expenses to overrun the cash the county took in by roughly $170 million. But a bigger-than-expected haul from income and property taxes allowed the council to pass a financial plan without major cuts.
The neater-than-expected balance sheet could be a prelude to a much tougher situation next year, as the full weight of federal cuts begin to reflect in the county budget, officials said.
Council staff had labored over the final details until 2 a.m. Wednesday morning, then returned to work six hours later, Oriadha said. Those staffers included administrator David H. Murray, associate administrator Karen T. Zavakos and legislative impact director Arian Albear.
“It’s been a long day and you guys have been here all day, and I appreciate you,” Oriadha said.
WTOP’s John Domen contributed to this report.
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