Local Officials Scramble to Survive Latest Md. Budget Cut;Talk Turns to Layoffs in Prince George's, Taxes in Montgomery
Prince George's County Executive Parris N. Glendening said yesterday that recent reductions in state aid are likely to force him to break his pledge against further layoffs of government employees.</br></br>"The action of the state has produced conditions so severe that promises made just a matter of a couple of months ago are now difficult, if not impossible, to honor," Glendening said.</br></br>Glendening, who already has laid off 200 employees and eliminated almost 800 positions to help balance the county's $980 million budget, added that he is considering other options, including expanding a furlough program to include employees who previously were exempt, asking employees to postpone cost-of-living raises again and laying off employees who work for programs that could be eliminated or severely scaled back.</br></br>Two weeks ago, in announcing his plan to furlough half the county's work force for two weeks to help trim $27.5 million from the county budget, Glendening (D) had promised to avoid further layoffs. He declined yesterday to say how many workers may lose their jobs in a new round of layoffs, but said that employees are likely to bear the brunt of additional cuts in his budget.</br></br>Glendening's remarks about possible future layoffs came less than a week after the General Assembly cut aid to localities across the state, including an additional $10 million each from Prince George's and Montgomery counties.