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Commissioners approve roughly $1.4 million in sheriff's office grants for jail behavioral health, RSAT and highway safety enforcement
Summary
The board approved multiple Sheriff's Office grant agreements Tuesday: about $1.19 million in health‑department MOAs for jail behavioral health services, a $189,091 RSAT award that requires a 25% county match, and $18,500 in Maryland Highway Safety grants covering overtime and fringe.
The Board of County Commissioners voted Tuesday to approve multiple grant agreements for the St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office that county staff said would fund jail behavioral‑health services, reentry programs and highway safety enforcement.
County staff described four fiscal year 2025 grant memorandums of agreement with the St. Mary's County Health Department to support jail mental health services, jail‑based medication‑assisted treatment, reentry services and related support programs. Staff said the four MOAs together total about $1,191,309; three related budget amendments in the packet establish the corresponding budget authority. Commissioners approved the agreements on a motion and second and a voice vote.
Commissioners questioned the source of an apparent $25,000 county match referenced in the grant materials; staff clarified the $25,000 is a county appropriation that sits in the health department's budget and is passed through for the jail services, and that the funds originally were included in the sheriff's budget before the grants moved administratively to the health department.
The board also approved a Governor's Office of Crime Prevention and Policy (RSAT) award and adjustment for FY2025. The county applied for $221,270 but was awarded $189,091 due to a shortened grant term; the award excludes the county match. The grant carries a required non‑federal match equal to 25% of project cost; staff said that match ($63,036) will be covered from salary savings already in the sheriff's FY2025 budget. The RSAT award covers a six‑month period that ends June 30; staff said they plan to reapply next year and are monitoring state legislation (Senate Bill 942) that could change funding rules going forward.
Separately the commissioners approved three Maryland Highway Safety Grant applications for FY26 totaling $18,500. Captain Russell told the board the Highway Safety grants are recurring and will fund overtime and related fringe to support distracted‑driving, impaired‑driving and speed‑enforcement initiatives, including saturation patrols and checkpoints; no county match is required.
All three grant items passed on voice votes. Commissioners said they supported the public‑safety aims but pressed staff on long‑term funding clarity for jail medication‑assisted treatment and the sustainability of grant‑funded programs should state funding change.
No member of the public spoke on these items at Tuesday's meeting. County staff and jail leadership said they would return with any required agreements and budget amendments for signature and execution.
