Sheriff Cameron told the St. Mary's County Alcohol Beverage Board on Nov. 9 that retirements and recruiting shortfalls have limited the sheriff's ability to assign a sworn officer to the county's alcohol enforcement coordinator position and proposed considering a civilian coordinator model used by Calvert County.

"The position of alcohol coordinator is not necessarily a contract position. It could be filled by someone sworn within the agency currently," Sheriff Cameron said. He told the board he had reviewed Calvert County's arrangement and discussed it with Colonel McDowell and that Calvert's inspector is a civilian employee of the sheriff's office who coordinates enforcement and has sworn officers accompany them when enforcement action is required.

Cameron said a civilian position could be either an employee of the sheriff's office or an employee of the board, and if attached to the sheriff's office it would be part of the Special Operations Division so that sworn personnel could respond when needed. "If they're part of our SOD division, they simply coordinate that and an officer goes out with them," he said. He also said he had not signed the existing memorandum of understanding (MOU) and "I don't anticipate signing it unless I feel that I can provide the services that are, spelled out in the MOU." The sheriff said the county commissioners would need to approve any new funded position and that recruitment for a civilian role could take several months; he estimated a hiring timeline of about six months in a best-case scenario.

Board members pressed whether a civilian could perform compliance checks, write reports or take enforcement steps. Legal and operational clarifications offered during the discussion included the sheriff's statement that a civilian investigator could do investigations and file reports, and when enforcement or arrests were necessary a sworn deputy would accompany or take the enforcement action. The sheriff noted legislative changes that allow the board to levy fines: "The legislation has changed. So 1502. Inspector actually has the board has the power to find the clerks and the businesses now. I don't have to write a citation if I go out and do an alcohol compliance check," a board member observed during the exchange.

The board asked staff to obtain Calvert County's contract and for legal counsel to review the MOU and any statutory constraints to determine whether the civilian model could work under St. Mary's County law. Sheriff Cameron confirmed the county's posted job range for a civilian coordinator was roughly $46,000–$53,000 while saying the board's internal budget figure for the position had been $137,000 (the larger figure includes merit/retirement and related costs). The sheriff said he would continue to recruit sworn or retired officers but offered the civilian option as a pragmatic alternative to fill the enforcement coordination gap.

Inspector Garland Thompson reported separately that in October he conducted 18 inspections, one directed inspection and multiple follow-ups and said overall compliance signage and practices have improved at many establishments.

The board did not take a formal vote on changing the MOU or on recruitment that day but directed staff and legal counsel to gather Calvert's contract and research statutory and MOU implications for further discussion at a future meeting.