St. Mary's County commissioner proposes extra public forum after budget work sessions

A St. Mary's County commissioner proposed adding another public forum on the county budget after the commission's May work sessions so residents can comment on a final proposal rather than an unfinished draft.

The commissioner, speaking at a meeting that included closing announcements about community events, said the county has "unallocated funds" and "unmet needs" and that the current draft is "probably ... the least finished the budget has ever been at this point in time." The commissioner said: "One of the things that I've heard consistently from people on all sides of the political spectrum is they wanna be able to provide input to us on what a final budget looks like, not on what this unfinished budget looks like."

The speaker described the evening's budget public hearings as a series of hearings and said staff will try to livestream the meetings even though the hearings will be held at Leonardtown High School, where livestreaming has been "a struggle" when the commission meets away from its usual location. "We're hopeful. But if it doesn't happen, it'll still be replayed and you'll be able to view it," the commissioner said.

The commissioner proposed delaying the next public forum by about a week to give residents an opportunity to comment after two scheduled May budget work sessions, calling the change a way to "ensure that we are having transparency and fairness." No formal motion, vote, or timetable for adding the extra forum was recorded in the transcript.

Remarks in the transcript distinguished between discussion and formal action: the comments reported a plan to hold work sessions in May and suggested an additional public forum, but provided no formal directive to staff and no vote on schedule changes. The commissioner closed by saying the county will continue working on the budget and that commissioners "will have budget work sessions following this in May."