Talking Business With The Roundtable
Acting County Executive Tara Jackson Addresses The County’s Economic Stability With The Greater Prince George’s Business Roundtable
By Raoul Dennis // PHOTOGRAPHY BY AMIR STOUDAMIRE
At a time when county residents and local businesses are bracing for anticipated budget cutting to address the county’s shortfall, Acting County Executive Tara Jackson came before the members of the Greater Prince George’s Business Roundtable on March 12 with more challenging news.
“This year we are facing new challenges,” Jackson said. “At the federal level, you all know this is what everybody's talking about. Now, we can't help but talk about it. There are unprecedented actions that are being taken by the new administration, and it is creating those actions are creating mounting fiscal uncertainty, not only for our residents, but for our government as well. Not only our government, but the state government and this uncertainty has had an effect on jobs.”
Jackson reported that some 73,000 Prince Georgians are federal workers “and that's not counting all of the [government] contracting that we have in this county.”
But the acting county executive, who was expected to reveal her FY26 budget at her own press conference the very next day (March 13), noted that her administration took a strong and definitive posture in working out the best options for the county to maintain its priorities and work to sustain its AAA Bond rating on Wall Street.
“In 2011, our county was facing a multi-year decline in jobs, even as our region grew. We saw weak performance in high skilled Industries, and we lost out on the opportunities that were within our grasp,” Jackson recalled of earlied difficult times.
“Our community did not sit back and wait for the world to discover Prince George's County,’ she continued. “Instead, our economic development corporation created a strategic plan, and we set goals for our community, high quality jobs, a growing tech base, and improving the quality of life for everyone who lives here. And over the course of the last decade, we have gone from lagging regional growth and employment to becoming the job engine of Maryland. I'm so, so very proud of that.”
Looking across the room of business owners, county CEOs and executive level first responders, Jackson reviewed her administration’s focus with regard to the FY26 budget.
“We've tightened our belt and focused on our priorities. But this year, due to the uncertainty at the federal and state level, we will need to take action to protect the long-term fiscal health of our county,” Jackson said.
She continued: “So, I will release the FY 26 proposed plan [what is known as the Blueprint Plan]. I will send that to the council, and again, the primary goal of that budget is to protect the long-term fiscal health of this county And to maintain core services that residents depend on, like public safety. I cannot leave here without saying that economic Development does remain a cornerstone of the County government. And this budget still includes the necessary funding --- although not as much maybe as we would like.”
Greater Prince George’s County Business Roundtable’s President and CEO M.H. Jim Estepp said the county is fortunate to have Jackson’s leadership over this transitory period.
“On behalf of the Business Roundtable I'd like to thank Acting County Executive Tara Jackson for steering a steady course during this transition period and for her years of outstanding public service. The county appears to be headed in the right direction and primed for business and quality growth,” Estepp said.
Listen to the Acting County Executive’s full remarks in the audio bar below entitled “Acting CE Tara Jackson Discusses County Economy.”
