Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget Reorg Human Services topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
County creates Department of Human Services; community services funding moves out of Recreation and Parks
Summary
County commissioners created a Department of Human Services effective July 1, moving Community Services programs and related funding out of the Recreation and Parks Department; staff said the move will shift about $427,000 in general fund dollars and roughly $220,000 in grant funding.
St. Mary’s County commissioners have created a new Department of Human Services that will take community services programs — and their associated budgets — out of the Recreation and Parks Department, staff told the Recreation and Parks Board at its April 3 meeting.
The change will take effect July 1, staff said, and a transition team is already working on the organizational move. Phil (staff) briefed the board that the reorganization transfers about $427,000 in county general fund dollars and an additional roughly $220,000 in grant funding from Recreation and Parks into the new Department of Human Services.
Why it matters: staff said the transferred funds previously supported programs that had reported through Community Services, which was merged into Recreation and Parks under a prior Board of Commissioners. The new Department of Human Services will centralize those programs and provide a single point of review for agencies and nonprofits requesting county funding.
Public process and related items Staff told the board the recommended budget that incorporates the reorganization will go to a public hearing on Tuesday, April 22, at 6:30 p.m. at Leonardtown High School. The commissioners will hold work sessions in May to finalize the budget.
The board also raised an outstanding personnel request: the Recreation and Parks Board previously sent a letter asking the commissioners to reconsider funding a park maintenance worker (groundskeeper) that was not included in the recommended budget. Phil said the commissioners would consider that request as part of the public hearing and subsequent work sessions, but staff had not received a response as of the April 3 meeting.
Board members asked questions about the operational effect on Recreation and Parks and were told the transferred dollars had been applied to human services programming and would not reduce funding for parks operations directly.
