Governor Wes Moore gave the keynote address at the annual Maryland Association of Counties (MACo) conference in Ocean City. Touting the impressive accomplishments achieved in the first nine months of his administration – including raising the minimum wage, providing state employees with significant COLA and step increases, shepherding legislation to address the teacher shortage, and making significant investments to public transportation infrastructure – Moore noted his first term has set a foundation for economic growth moving forward not by a hackneyed “trickle down” system, but by building from the ground up and to “build new pathways to prosperity,” the Governor noted.
The entirety of Governor Moore’s speech may be found here.
On the closing day of the MACo conference, Governor Moore spoke to attendees about his response to a potential FY 2025 structural deficit. Moore closed with a call to do the tough work of collaboration with stakeholders to meet the challenge. “Let’s embark on this journey to not just pave over the cracks,” Moore said, “but to actually fix the foundation of what’s broken – and let’s do it together.”
The speech comes as some financial studies point to a potential $418 million budget deficit for the 2025 fiscal year. AFT-Maryland members must be vigilant during the next legislative session as legislators work to balance this budget, to fight against potential cuts, and to make sure all stakeholders – including the wealthy and out-of-state corporations – are doing their part to resolve a looming budget crisis.
2023-09-07