St. Mary's County commissioners rebalance FY2020 budget; nonprofits, sheriff and CIP adjusted

St. Mary's County Board of Commissioners staff presented a rebalanced fiscal 2020 budget at a budget work session and said the spending plan is balanced pending final signatures and formal adoption.

County budget staff said the rebalanced total, which incorporates last week’s changes and appeals, is $250,882,351 including fund balance. Staff told commissioners they removed a proposed property tax increase (leaving the current rate at 0.8478), set the income tax rate projection at 3.1 percent, used fund balance as a one-time source for nonprofit grants and realigned capital project funding to make the numbers balance.

Why it matters: the revisions shift roughly $8.5 million in adjustments from appeals and policy decisions into the FY2020 numbers and change how recurring and nonrecurring items will be funded. That affects county operations, nonprofit programs and near-term debt capacity and informs later decisions on taxes and long-term projects.

County budget staff summarized the principal changes and the trade-offs. Staff said they reduced the proposed property-tax increase and lowered the income-tax growth assumption to 3.1 percent, which reduced revenues by $7.9 million and $1.6 million respectively, and used fund balance to fund some nonprofit requests as a nonrecurring source. “We are balanced at $250,882,351,” budget staff said.

On nonprofits, staff noted a written withdrawal by Walden Sierra (received May 10), which removed a $199,396 request and lowered nonprofit totals; staff said funding for UCAC was added back with an increase of $4,000. The net nonprofit total after the Walden Sierra adjustment is $840,585 and staff said those awards would be funded from fund balance.

Public safety and county staffing were adjusted: the board restored six correctional officer positions (midyear hires) and five station clerks as midyear hires, added back requested ranks for the sheriff’s corrections allocation, and reduced the sheriff’s overall budget by $463,000 as part of a three‑year phase-in plan for self-funding changes. Staff said these and other personnel adjustments reduced positions in some areas and increased midyear hires in others.

Capital improvements: staff described a set of CIP source‑of‑fund realignments that reduced bond funding in some years while increasing private‑partnering and reallocating PAGO and bond proceeds so projects stay at their planned scope. The presentation showed a proposed increase to multipurpose synthetic turf fields (adding fields in Chaptico, Chancellor’s Run and Lancaster) funded in part by private partners and a corresponding reduction in bonded dollars for the larger sports complex to keep total project costs steady.

Mr. Shepherd, who spoke on programming for turf fields, told commissioners the multipurpose approach would be budget neutral, speed delivery and still provide tournament capacity. Mr. Dietrich, the county engineer, warned that some site work and permitting could still be needed before bond funds for the sports complex were spent and said certain access or utility work could begin in 2021 if the board decides to move forward.

Enterprise funds: staff said several enterprise funds showed shortfalls in the 2020 numbers. Recreation and parks enterprise expenses were about $4.0 million versus revenues of roughly $3.9 million; Wicomico Shores Golf Enterprise Fund and solid-waste funds also showed deficits that staff said would be monitored and addressed through rates, fund equity and continued oversight. The solid-waste line reflects a proposed 2 percent annual rate increase included in an ordinance change examined last week.

Other items accounted for in the paper packet included a $1 million projected savings by reconfiguring an enterprise software upgrade across years, an updated community center sizing and private‑partnering assumption, and an updated operating-impact sheet showing higher operating cost pressure in 2021 (notably for the ADC/jail project and other midyear hires). Staff said the county’s available fund balance for use in the package is about $1.3 million after the proposed changes.

Commissioners did not finalize a signed budget at the session. Instead, staff said they would bring back the adjusted package next week for commissioners’ signatures. “We will bring back the changes next week for your signatures,” staff said at the close of the meeting.

Ending: Commissioners asked for follow-up detail on fleet inventory and a breakdown of vehicle assignments after a question about a chemist position vehicle; staff agreed to provide that information in a future packet. The board plans to consider the final sign‑off at a subsequent meeting.