Commissioners of St. Mary’s County
Leonardtown, MD — The Commissioners of St. Mary’s County are expected to approve a recommended $218 million budget at their March 29 meeting. The proposal for the fiscal year that begins July 1 will go to a public hearing April 19 at 6:30 p.m. at Chopticon High School. The commissioners hammered out the final details at a March 22 budget workshop
The commissioners started the day at the March 22 work session with an excess of $791,996 but the bulk of that quickly evaporated with the decision to give county employees a one-(pay)step increase (cost, $600,000).
The budget holds the property tax rate at $.857 per assessed $100. To achieve the Constant Yield, which is the amount needed to generate the same revenue as the current year, the rate would have to be reduced to $.8468. That would lead to a revenue reduction of $646,521, according to County Finance Director Jeanett Cudmore.
During the March 22 budget work session, the commissioners agreed to give the public schools almost $3 million from a $6 million capital fund reserve account set aside for contingencies for any future BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure Commission) activities that could affect Pax River. The monies will be used for textbooks and technology upgrades.
Commissioner Mike Hewitt [R – 2nd District] argued that the entire fund should be closed and the monies moved to the general reserve account. Commissioner John O’Connor [R – 3rd District} agreed but that was voted down by a 3-2 vote with strong support for the BRAC fund from Commissioner Todd Morgan {R – 4th District], its original author several years ago.
The school board will get from the county under the recommended budget the state-mandated Maintenance of Effort, or about $2 million more, $5 million less than was requested.
The sheriff will get less than a million more than the current budget. Monies for replacement vehicles ($427,000) were removed from the budget while the commissioners decide whether leasing would be a better way to go than purchasing. A preliminary report said purchasing was cheaper, but Commissioner O’Connor has been strongly advocating putting the leasing out to bid.
The commissioners also voted to reduce by 10 percent the $1.3 million allocation to non-profit agencies that was recommended in a review of requests by county departments.
The recommended budget includes two tax increases–the fire and rescue taxes to cover increased costs of the Length of Service Awards Program for members of the volunteer fire and rescue squads, and an increase in the solid waste fee to cover a deficit in that department’s operations. The two fee increases are expected to average a total of $46 per year per taxpayer.
The recommended budget is only the first step. After the public hearing the commissioners will hold several work sessions to consider testimony at the hearing before finalizing the budget before June 1. The reductions in the school system and sheriff’s department budgets, as well as the cut for non-profit organizations, can assure a large number of speakers at the hearing who are opposed to those cuts.
Contact Dick Myers at dick.myers@thebaynet.com