OCEAN CITY, MD – Speaking at the Maryland Association of Counties Conference in Ocean City Saturday, Governor Wes Moore addressed financial anxieties around the state’s declining revenue and record spending levels.
Moore characterized the budget challenges as a hold-over from previous administrations while telling attendees to brace for a moment of economic belt-tightening.
“Our economic engine does not support our ambition, of the last 20 state budgets in Maryland, 17 have needed cuts to stay balanced,” Moore said.
Moore described Maryland as being outpaced in economic and receipt growth by neighboring states, and warned of hard financial decisions ahead as federal aid dollars and stock market performance can no longer be relied on to plug up holes in the budget.
“Our budgets have gotten bigger over time, but our economy has not kept pace, when I took office, our economy was nearly the same size as it was four years ago, over the
same time period, the economy of Pennsylvania grew by $22 billion,” he said.
He tells us they want to continue to invest in industries in Maryland that could see more long-term returns for the state, citing examples of biotech manufacturing in Massachusetts and EV Battery manufacturing in Kentucky as models for the state to emulate.
However, he tells us all new spending with be facing extreme scrutiny.
“We need to ramp up restraint as we approach the new year, this will be a season of discipline, and our choices must reflect that,” he said adding “It will take the discipline of the governor, whereas I want to say “yes”, you are going to hear some “no’s”.”
Moore stopped short of listing where those cuts would be made, but counties from across the state are pointing to the Maryland Blueprint as a major source of economic anxiety for the state.
The measure offers multiple pillars of reform for the state’s education, including universal pre-k for four-year-olds and a starting salary of $60,000 for teachers by July of 2026.
Lt. Governor Aruna Miller affirmed their commitment to the program Saturday but said they will need to go back to the legislature to address additional funding challenges.
“We have to work with the legislature on the challenges that lay ahead, we’ve already put in $8.7 billion into the budget this past fiscal year, and we set aside $900 million for future years for the blueprint,” she said.
Moore told the audience at the conference that he believes the state can be moved forward despite the deficit, focusing on his cabinet and being more data-driven with state resources.
He announced his administration will be creating the Maryland Economic Council, “to ensure we don’t just move with speed, but also move with strategy, tracking big trends and learning from our competitors to come out on top,” Moore said.
