St. Mary's County commissioners approve budget; motion to end Annapolis lobbying contract wins majority

St. Mary's County commissioners approved the county budget at the meeting, and the commissioners also approved a motion to end the county's agreement with its Annapolis lobbyist, a commissioner said.

The commissioner said they voted against one portion of the budget, arguing the timing of some changes was last-minute and left some commissioners unaware of details. "I voted against one portion of it mainly because I thought that the budget was... kinda at the last moment, things were coming out, and not all commissioners knew about what was going on," the commissioner said.

The same commissioner said they had made a motion, approved by a majority of the commissioners, to terminate the county's agreement with the lobbyist. "We have now" informed the lobbyist of the termination, the commissioner said, and added the county released "our previous lobbyist in Annapolis" after identifying what the commissioner described as a conflict of interest. The speaker named the lobbyist as "Mister Barriano."

The commissioner characterized the budget as intended to meet residents' needs but expressed concern about the process: "Nobody likes surprises, you know, on the last day. So, look, you win some, you lose some. At the end of the day, you move on."

The transcript did not specify which portion of the budget the commissioner opposed, the exact nature of the alleged conflict of interest involving the lobbyist, or the vote tally for the budget approval. The county's action to end the lobbying agreement was described as approved by a majority; no mover/second details or recorded roll-call votes were provided in the remarks.