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Budget work session: commissioners set OPEB PAYGO target, raise concerns about enterprise funds and nonprofit allocations
Summary
During the St. Mary's County budget work session commissioners set a PAYGO OPEB contribution target of $3 million for FY17, flagged several enterprise funds for near‑term revenue or fee action (solid waste, Wicomico Shores golf), and asked for follow‑up on nonprofit funding recommendations and grants match lines.
At the St. Mary's County budget work session commissioners reviewed the county’s revenue and expense summary, discussed retiree health (OPEB), nonprofit requests, enterprise fund balances and grants match lines, and provided direction on OPEB funding and other budget follow‑ups.
OPEB: Commissioners debated funding levels for the county’s retiree health liability. After discussion they directed staff to use a PAYGO OPEB contribution of $3,000,000 for FY17 (replacing a higher suggested contribution). Commissioners described a need to balance fund‑balance reserves and competing liabilities (for example LOSAP and other long‑term obligations) and asked staff to continue weekly refinements to close the FY17 gap.
Enterprise funds and nonprofits: Staff highlighted problem areas in several enterprise funds. The solid‑waste and recycling fund showed a projected negative fund equity in FY17 of roughly $222,000 if current revenue and expense assumptions hold, prompting staff and commissioners to discuss a likely user fee increase or other corrective measures. Recreation and parks enterprise funds were projected to remain modestly positive; Wicomico Shores golf course showed improvement from operational changes but remained an area commissioners asked staff to monitor and return to with seasonal year‑to‑date revenue/expenditure info. Commissioners asked staff to evaluate whether to pursue a management RFP for the golf course or defer and reassess after another season.
Grants and nonprofits: Staff pointed to the grants summary showing required county matches and a significant increase in “additional county funding” for grants compared with FY16. Staff said the grants table shows a required county match of about $1.028 million and the county is proposing roughly $1.5 million in additional county funding for grant‑related items in FY17; staff said they would double‑check those totals before the next session. Nonprofit funding requests were moved into departmental budgets (aging/human services, economic development, recreation and parks) and staff said departmental recommendations and scoring will be returned to the board at the next work session.
Other items: Commissioners discussed vehicle replacement and exempt financing totals and asked staff for a lease‑vs‑buy analysis (the sheriff’s office and county vehicle replacement requests were singled out for a comparison). The board also discussed LOSAP (fire/EMS length‑of‑service awards) as an underfunded liability; staff confirmed the county is underfunded and commissioners asked for options to accelerate funding over time. Commissioners observed that the budget gap before the day’s additions was approximately $9.8 million and noted that the FY17 health insurance increase and outstanding requests (sheriff, board of education, etc.) will increase budget pressure; several commissioners said sharper reductions and options will be required to reach a balanced FY17 budget.
Ending: Staff will return next week with the sheriff’s reconciliation, updated CareFirst premium numbers, the ACA hourly employee list and cost, vehicle lease/buy analysis, and revised enterprise fund proposals; the board scheduled further budget work sessions on March 15 and March 22 to complete decisions.
Why this matters: The OPEB decision, enterprise fund health, and nonprofit allocations influence short‑term tax pressure and medium‑term county fiscal resilience.
