ANNAPOLIS, Md. — County Executive Steuart Pittman's State of the County address starts out talking about the strength of the county and its people economically, mentioning the average household income is over $100,000.
Then, Pittman warns of an upcoming issue with wealth inequality.
"Our economy's wealth is no longer being distributed in a way that lowers poverty and stabilizes the middle class," said Pittman in the nearly 20-minute video released online.
One of the ways Pittman's administration is attacking inequality in the upcoming year is a housing bill dubbed the Essential Worker Housing Access Act.
"That will require, if it passes, developers on new developments to make 15% of those units to be affordable for our workforce and that will be a big step in the right direction," said Pittman.
Across the state, there is concern about budgets in each county.
With COVID money from the federal government drying up, some counties may have to make tough decisions.
Pittman believes Anne Arundel County is in a better position than most.
"Our county is in a better position fiscally than most counties in the state because of the work we've done so that we're going to be able to transition off of the government federal money and continue a lot of these health and human service programs," said Pittman.
In addressing gun violence, the county executive says they've been handing out gun safety locks at libraries.
"We're also putting suicide prevention literature in gun stores and educating the public on how to use the red flag laws. And have violence interrupters engaged in communities where shootings happen the most," said Pittman.
Pittman ended the address by pushing for people to get involved in their communities to help make Anne Arundel County a better place.
