Charles County delegation prioritizes courthouse and county sidewalk program

The Charles County delegation voted unanimously to make the county courthouse its top funding priority and identified the county sidewalk program as an additional priority, Delegate Deborah Davis said while leading the meeting.

"I think we would all agree that the courthouse should be number one," Delegate Deborah Davis said as the delegation discussed 15 proposals sent from the Charles County commissioners. Delegates agreed to concentrate limited state funding support on the courthouse given concerns about court space and safety and to advance the county’s package with that priority attached.

Senator Jackson and other members explained the judiciary presents requests through statewide budget processes and local governments commonly partner with the state on court facility requests. Senator Jackson said the judiciary has a large package each year and local contributions are typically expected; he encouraged sending the county package to the appropriate budget committees for review.

Senator Ellis advocated for the county sidewalk program as an additional priority, noting the safety risk for students who walk to school and the existence of federal "Safe Routes to School" funds. "We need to find a mechanism where we can have the state and the counties committed to do these grants and get these funds with almost 0 impact on the state budget," Ellis said.

Delegate Davis noted an earlier local appropriation of about $1,000,000 previously set aside by Chairman Wilson toward courthouse work. Delegates moved and seconded a motion to make the courthouse the delegation’s funding priority; the motion passed with no opposition.

Delegation staff will forward priority language to legislative drafters and coordinate with county officials and the judiciary as the county package is submitted to committees. Members said they would review the remaining proposals and provide ranking guidance to staff for follow-up.