St. Mary’s County commissioners accept revenue updates, direct staff to balance budget and move some nonprofit funding to fund balance

St. Mary’s County Commissioners on the afternoon of the budget work session accepted updated revenue figures and a set of departmental appeals and directed staff to return next week with updated, balanced operating and enterprise budgets and a plan to realign capital funding.

The commissioners voted to accept the package of revenue changes “as proposed,” after staff presented updated state and assessment figures that increased county revenues. Chief Financial Officer Jeanette Cudmore told the board the package reflected new assessment numbers from the State Department of Assessments and Taxation and changes in state aid. Cudmore said the county had an additional $357,516 in revenue and that departmental appeal adjustments produced credits of $234,246; when combined these items increased funds available in the near term.

Why it matters: The session moves the county closer to a final FY2020 budget. Commissioners used the revenue changes and several operating tweaks to avoid or reduce proposed tax changes while keeping final approval on the calendar for later this month.

Most important decisions and direction

- The commission formally accepted the revenue changes presented by staff (motion and second on the floor; vote recorded as affirmative). CFO Jeanette Cudmore summarized the key increases as coming from updated assessments and state aid calculations. She said highway-user aid and state police aid had risen in the state 90‑day report and that the county’s assessable base changed after the March 31 SDAT update.

- The board reached consensus to move the county’s nonprofit funding allocations out of the operating budget and to propose using fund balance for nonprofit awards for the coming year. Commissioners said the shift would treat those awards as nonrecurring and free operating dollars for other uses in the short term; staff was asked to show the change in the updated budget documents.

- Commissioners directed staff to reduce the county’s emergency reserve that had been temporarily increased during revenue planning back to a $500,000 level and to record that change in the updated budget presentation.

- The board asked staff to prepare a revised capital improvement program (CIP) realignment and to bring a balanced CIP/debt-capacity picture back to the commission next week. Commissioners discussed a number of capital projects during the session — including a YMCA/community center proposal, regional sports-complex funding, road and airport work and jetties — and asked staff to show options that lower county-funded debt in the CIP while preserving priority projects where possible.

Discussion highlights and clarifications from staff and elected officials

- Cudmore told commissioners the county’s revenue package included $1,400,908 of increased state police aid and roughly $1,088,694 in additional highway-user revenue (figures taken from the state 90-day report). She explained that some previously irregular grant allocations are now recurring grants and must be reflected differently in the budget.

- Commissioners debated a number of department appeals. Staff noted some appeals reduced the county share and increased grant or other external funding lines, producing the $234,246 in appeals “credits” Cudmore cited.

- Several commissioners and staff discussed using pay-go (county cash) or fund balance to cover one‑time relocation or start‑up costs for proposed projects rather than placing every cost on the operating or long‑term debt schedules. That conversation informed the request that staff return with a CIP realignment and specific options for how pay‑go and fund balance would be used.

- The commissioners discussed the state of the county’s vehicle fleet and how vehicle assignment or pool use could reduce some proposed vehicle purchases; Public Works Director John Dietrich said the county may be able to repurpose vehicles that return from other agencies but cautioned that motor‑pool availability is currently limited.

Formal action and next steps

- Formal vote taken: Commissioners accepted the revenue changes as presented by staff. The recorder logged the motion, a second, and an affirmative vote on the motion during the session. (Transcript records the vote as commissioners saying “Aye”; roll-call names were not provided in the record.)

- Staff (CFO and budget team) was directed to prepare updated operating and enterprise budgets reflecting the agreed changes and to return next week with a fully balanced set of documents and a realigned CIP funding plan that achieves the board’s debt-capacity target.

What commissioners asked staff to show next week

1) A balanced operating and enterprise budget that reflects the accepted revenue updates, the departmental appeal credits and the decision to use fund balance for nonprofit awards. 2) A CIP realignment and debt-capacity analysis showing how to reduce county-funded debt to the board’s target (the county’s staff will propose reductions or timing shifts in county-funded CIP projects and/or increased use of pay-go where feasible). 3) Verified estimates and alternatives on vehicle purchases and cell‑phone costs discussed during the session (several elected officials asked staff to reprice cell‑phone and vehicle options and to explore motor‑pool assignments). 4) A verification of grant and state-aid items that currently appear as contingent on state actions (Cudmore noted some state amounts depend on final signings in Annapolis).

Quotes

“...what I’d like to do first is actually go through the entire package...and then at that point, if you’d like to make or offer some other suggestions, then we can go from there,” CFO Jeanette Cudmore said as she opened the staff presentation.

“We do buy them,” Public Works Director John Dietrich said when asked whether the county owns life‑saving medical devices used by emergency services; Dietrich and EMS staff later clarified purchasing and subscription responsibilities for those units.

“We’ll bring back an updated revenue and expense numbers next week based on these changes,” Cudmore told the board as the session concluded.

Ending

Commissioners closed the session with instructions for staff to return with updated, balanced operating and enterprise budgets and a CIP realignment for further action. No final property‑tax ordinance was adopted at the meeting; the board set a path to present a balanced set of documents at the next scheduled meeting before adopting tax rates and the final budget.