Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the County Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
St. Mary's County commissioner says federal, state budget uncertainty is delaying county budget work
Summary
A St. Mary's County commissioner told colleagues that the county cannot finalize its budget until uncertainties at the federal and state levels — including the possible failure of a federal continuing resolution — are resolved, and urged public attention to an upcoming budget work session.
A St. Mary's County commissioner said Thursday that uncertainty over a federal continuing resolution and the state budget is preventing the county from completing its own budget, leaving county officials unable to commit to funding or programs.
The commissioner told the Board of County Commissioners that the county depends on state and federal decisions to know how much funding will be available. "We can't do our job until the state gets theirs done. The state can't do theirs until the federal government gets gets theirs done," the commissioner said. The commissioner added, "I do not think there's a very good chance that a CR will pass on Friday like it should. I know, 1, 1 congressman and 1 senator, both who are Republicans who said that they absolutely will not pass this, sign on the CR, and we'll have to just wait and see, how it shakes out."
The commissioner said the uncertainty leaves the county telling constituents it cannot yet commit to programs or spending. "We're gonna have to start making decisions with what we actually had and what we can do," the commissioner said, and invited the public to follow the county's budget work session to see how staff and commissioners address those constraints.
Commission staff provided voluminous briefing materials for the meeting; the commissioner pointed to the size of the packet as evidence of the work involved, saying, "this right here is today's packet. And the budget work packet for today is almost as thick...of reading and stuff that had to that goes on that takes up a lot of our time." The remarks were made during introductory comments and the lead-in to a scheduled budget work session.
No formal budget vote or funding decision was recorded in the transcript excerpt. The commissioner characterized the situation as contingent on federal and state actions and said the board would continue its work in the scheduled budget session.
The personal remarks opening the item included comments about the commissioner's family and local events but did not affect the board's budget discussion.
The board is scheduled to continue deliberations in a budget work session later the same day; the transcript excerpt does not specify precise next steps, funding amounts, or program-level decisions.
