St. Mary's County may move May 6 budget public hearing; Leonardtown High School session set for 6:30 p.m.

An unnamed St. Mary's County commissioner said during opening remarks that the county may move its May 6 public hearing on the budget to a later date, possibly May 13, to allow more time to finalize budget numbers and get broader agreement.

The commissioner said the board had not yet completed all decisions needed before the hearing and that he would consult with the county attorney about changing the date. He urged residents to attend the Leonardtown High School public hearing set for 6:30 p.m. and asked speakers to offer both feedback on the budget and possible solutions. "I'd like to hear two things. What you think about the budget, but then if you got a problem with it, then, how about giving the commissioner some of your solutions to the problem?" the speaker said.

The speaker described the upcoming hearing as among the most difficult they had faced and said he and another commissioner, Huey, consider themselves "veterans" of these hearings, noting this was their eleventh. He also referenced earlier remarks by "Eric" and by Commissioner Hewitt in the discussion about scheduling, but did not record a formal vote or final decision about changing the May 6 date during the remarks.

No motion to reschedule was made on the record in the provided transcript excerpt. The commissioner said he would "relook" the May 6 date with the county attorney and consider moving it to May 13 to allow more time to "bring this up and get everybody on board with the final budget numbers." The transcript does not specify who would make a formal motion or when a final date would be set.

The remarks closed with a reminder of local events and an invitation for public participation at the Leonardtown High School hearing.