Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker’s multi-million dollar development fund passed the County Council’s finance committee on Wednesday, the first step towards the council’s full approval of Baker’s signature proposal.
The bill, which had been shelved by the council in June, establishes a $50 million economic development incentive fund for distributing loans and grants to keep businesses from leaving the county and attract new developers to Prince George’s.
The latest draft approved by the committee includes several compromises for the council, which wanted more checks and balances to ensure the $50 million doesn’t become a slush fund for illegitimate use.
But the council won’t have final say over the distribution of loans, which Baker’s staff admitted would be how most of funds will be allocated.
The council would be given notice of loans and have an opportunity to comment, but the decision to grant loans would be left up to the county’s chief administrative officer.
Officials with the county executive’s office are working on the logistics of ensuring loans are repaid to the county, according to David Iannucci, a member of Baker’s economic development team.
“We don’t just want to compete against Montgomery County, we want an advantage,” Iannucci said. “We think the legislation will give us a leg up on our competitors and will give Prince George’s County the ‘wow’ factor that the county executive has been talking about.”
