Maryland has a rainy-day fund, so why not use it? Community members and state and local leaders made that appeal Wednesday to help failing businesses, people behind on rents and families short on food.
At a virtual event sponsored by the Montgomery County Council, President Tom Hucker and several others, including business owners and first responders, appealed for state help.
鈥淥ur rotating bills do not stop,鈥� said Lakeisha Battle, of Southern Peach BBQ and Soul Food in Suitland. 鈥淚 have depleted my complete savings just to save 50% of my employees from being jobless and homeless.鈥�
Going to work every day fighting the coronavirus and staving off the pandemic devastation facing the community is 鈥渞elentless,鈥� according to Brian Holtslander, a firefighter and paramedic in Anne Arundel County. 鈥淥ur firefighters and paramedics are exhausted and our PPE is stretched thin,” he said.
Aje Hill, CEO and president of , in Frederick, said that over the past 48 weeks, his organization has paired with food banks and ordinary people 鈥渄oing extraordinary things to feed some 50,000 people in our community.鈥�
Describing the heartbreak of having to lay off workers, Eddie Wingrat, owner of Flowers & Fancies in Owings Mills, appealed for Gov. Larry Hogan to release the Rainy Day Fund noting, 鈥淚t鈥檚 pouring; it is truly pouring.鈥�
鈥淭hese are not statistics, this is real life stuff,鈥� Wingrat said. 鈥淭hese are human beings.鈥�
So, what should be prioritized? Hucker said rental assistance, homelessness prevention, food insecurity and support for small businesses would top his list.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not just the humane thing to do, it鈥檚 the fiscally conservative, fiscally responsible thing to do to keep a business afloat and to keep workers employed,鈥� Hucker said. 鈥淣obody is going to replace that business and rehire those workers in this kind of environment. It makes much more sense and it鈥檚 more economically sound to just keep them going.鈥�
Describing 鈥渦nmet needs as far as the eye can see,鈥� Hucker said one in four businesses surveyed said they鈥檙e likely to go out of business in the next six months; and in Montgomery County alone, there are 100,000 families facing food insecurity without a steady supply of food.
Some 240,000 Marylanders are $300 million behind in their rent and facing eviction, which becomes a fiscal problem if they become homeless, costing the state and counties even more money over the long term.
鈥淲e鈥檙e already seeing a huge uptick in our homelessness, and I know that鈥檚 the case in Charles County and Anne Arundel County 鈥� it鈥檚 going on everywhere,鈥� Hucker said.
The state has the money to spare to help, according to Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot, who said that he has identified a total of $2.5 billion in reserves that could be spent from the Rainy Day Fund and the FY 2020 General Fund positive balance from last June 30.
鈥淭hose are two chunks of unallocated, available money right now,鈥� Franchot said, adding that as the state鈥檚 paymaster, he could get checks out right away to those who qualify.
鈥淲e know who many of these individuals are, and the money is sitting there gathering mold so why don鈥檛 we put it to good use,鈥� Franchot said.
The virtual meeting was said to be a first event in what will be a continuing campaign to persuade Hogan to release rainy day funds for COVID-19 relief.
There鈥檚 a petition people were encouraged to sign at the website.
- Sign up for 91欧美激情 alerts
- Latest coronavirus test results in DC, Maryland and Virginia
- Coronavirus vaccine FAQ: What you need to know
- Dining bans in Prince George鈥檚 County, Baltimore City upheld
- DC-area music venues could see much-needed funding if relief bill becomes law
- Montgomery County receives first round of COVID-19 vaccine
Looking for more information? D.C., Maryland and Virginia are each releasing more data every day. Visit their official sites here: | |
