County Recommends Budget
Split 3-2 Commissioner Vote
Multiple meetings and lengthy discussions throughout the FY2026 budget process have concluded with the County Commissioners approving a recommended budget for public feedback. Commissioners Hewitt, Guy, and Ostrow voted in favor, while Colvin and Alderson voted against the budget. One thing the group agreed on, however, was that additional changes would be made pending the State’s final budget. Significant cost shifts from the State to the county level meant the Commissioners had to set aside $5.1M while the General Assembly finalizes the State’s budget.
Throughout the process, Commissioner Hewitt seemed to drive the budget bus by advocating for his priorities:
no extra funding for the Board of Education; schools were funded at $134.36M despite their request for an additional $5.4M. Pending the State budget, the county may have to cover an additional $3.1M in teacher retirement pension funding.
setting up a first responders benefit program, to grant volunteers up to $3K stipend or property tax credit, cost $1.6M;
raises of up to 7% to county employees, sworn officers in the Sheriff’s Department, and Corrections employees, cost $7.99M;
no new positions for county departments or partner agencies that require additional funding;
Raising projected revenue growth from 3.8% to 4.8%, freeing up an additional $3.1M to use in next year’s budget
The bottom line budget total was $348.87M, an increase of $18.75M or 4.3% over FY25. Total fund balance is $43.1M, or 19.74% of total revenue. County policy is to reserve at least 15% of the total revenue as fund balance. Because there was more, the Commissioners decided to use 11.48M of fund balance for budget expenses, offsetting the $14M revenue shortfall they faced. Fund balance was used for:
$1.06M for non-profit grants
$1.6M for the Volunteer Incentive Program
$3.85M to offset Enterprise Fund losses (covering self-funding programs operated by the county, like Rec & Park Summerstock
$2.5M for new police & fire radio equipment
$2.17M for new vehicles (16 out of 19 for Sheriff’s Office)
Other notable data points from the budget:
Property Tax rate remains at $0.8478, and because of property value increases an increase of 3.2% in revenue brings the tax’s total income to 137.9M
Income Tax rate remains at 3.2%, after the Commissioners raised it from 3.1% last year to provide additional funding to the Board of Education. The new rate was effective January 1, 2025, and is expected to net an additional $7.47M in revenue, with total tax income at $155M.
The recommended growth rate is 5.1%, higher than Commissioner Hewitt’s proposed 4.8%. That added around $5M in projected revenue so the Commissioners could stretch the budget a bit further.
State/Federal grants total 12.6M, with Federal being $3.7M providing $827K for Aging/Human Services, $220K for the EMS Dept, $1.3M for Public Works & Transportation, and $1.36M for the Sheriff’s Office.
Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) for improvements to transportation, local parks, county buildings, and more are forecasted through FY31. Here are the numbers:
FY26 CIPs total $74.5M, funded by $43.7M in bonds, $22.8M in State funding, and $6.6M from Federal funding
CIPs for FY27-31 total $412.77M, with $291.6M financed through future bond sales
The Excise Tax, paid by commercial and residential developers, is expected to produce $1.5M per year to fund schools, roads, parks, and public safety needs.
Over the next 6 years, CIP expenses are broken out by category:
$86.1M for Highways
$52.5M for Land Conservation
$145.4M for Public Facilities
$40M for Rec & Parks
$162.5M for Public Schools
Commissioner Colvin said the budget wasn’t fair to some partner agencies, alluding to a lack of additional funding for the Board of Education. He proposed delaying part of the county employee and sworn Sheriff’s officers salary increases until January 1, 2027, freeing up funds for other uses and removing some “angst going into the public hearing.” Specifically, Colvin said they could provide more money to the St. Mary’s County Library and Health Department, make public transportation for senior citizens more available, provide additional personnel to the State’s Attorney’s Office, and use the remainder for the Board of Education. Commissioner Alderson agreed with partially delaying county employee increases until January.
Meanwhile, Commissioner Ostrow said while he agreed with some of Colvin’s suggestions, he wasn’t ready to make a decision until after the public forum in April. Colvin noted “it’s important for county employees to know their increases are tentative and can change.” Hewitt disagreed because the raises are currently funded, and held out hope for additional money if State pushdown costs aren’t as heavy.
The budget public forum is on April 22, 6PM, at Leonardtown High School.
