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St. Mary's officials discuss raising revolving loan fund caps as fire apparatus costs climb
Summary
County administrators and the Emergency Services Board discussed potential legislative changes to increase the cap on the volunteer fire/rescue revolving loan fund, noting the fund's legislative cap, current balance and projected demand for expensive apparatus.
Deputy County Administrator Dave Yingling and St. Mary's County Chief Financial Officer Vanetta Van Cleef briefed the Emergency Services Board on the county's revolving loan fund for volunteer fire and rescue apparatus and on possible legislative changes to raise borrowing caps.
Yingling explained the revolving loan fund is statutory and has been used since 2006 to provide loans — financed by county bonds — to volunteer fire departments and volunteer EMS organizations for vehicle purchases and renovations. He said the statute was last amended in February 2006 to set the county's bonding authority for the program at $5,000,000.
Van Cleef gave a current-balance snapshot and a five‑year projection. She said the fund has about $3,000,000 available now and, based on planned requests, could fall to an estimated $824,000 by the end of FY2031. She identified an anticipated $1,750,000 loan request in FY27 among the near‑term demands on the fund.
Board members and fire leaders raised that heavy fire apparatus purchases have grown substantially in price. One board member observed, "10 years ago, an apparatus would cost you anywhere from $300,000 to $700,000 ... now a single fire engine is almost a million dollars and any special service truck ... upwards of $2,000,000." The board discussed whether the statutory $5,000,000 cap on bonding authority should be increased and whether an individual‑loan cap exists in statute or by practice.
Van Cleef said she was not aware of a statutory individual loan cap and would research whether any department-level limits are policy or practice. Yingling said any change to the cap would require the county to submit a package to its state legislative delegation; he said the item is tentatively a priority for the county's FY27 legislative package.
Board members urged long-term planning and savings by volunteer companies to avoid last-minute urgencies; one member described a successful departmental vehicle‑replacement savings plan used by a Lexington Park rescue squad.
Yingling said the county had postponed introducing a legislative change until next year to better align with the county's budgeting and delegation processes, and Van Cleef noted the county prefers not to issue bonds until funds are needed.
