St. Mary's commissioners approve recovery‑court grant and a set of public‑safety, aging and transportation items

The Board of County Commissioners of St. Mary's County on Tuesday approved a package of grants and administrative actions spanning criminal justice, aging services, public safety and public works.

Key approvals included acceptance of a $243,662 grant (Project MD 1725) from the Office of Problem Solving Courts to support the county's adult recovery court, juvenile drug court and family recovery court programs; a $140,564 family services grant (MD 1720) for mediation and family law clinics; and a $24,360 Foster Care Court Improvement Project grant (MD 1709) to support services for children in dependency cases. Commissioners voted to authorize related budget amendments and subrecipient agreements, including funding for treatment and transportation services with local providers.

During presentations, program staff and judges described the recovery courts as intensive, team‑based efforts that combine frequent drug testing, alcohol monitoring and treatment with court supervision. Pete Cucinato, coordinator for the drug court programs, said the programs run a high volume of tests: “In the last fiscal year, between the both programs, adult and juvenile program, we ran over 86,100 individual drug tests,” and staff reported low positive rates for those tests and for continuous alcohol monitoring. Presenters described prison‑cost avoidance tied to program participation and urged continued local support for the programs.

The board also approved several sheriff's office grant awards: a $14,000 School Bus Safety Enforcement grant (MD 1723) to fund officer overtime and visibility efforts now in their 10th year; a $30,000 Heroin/Opioid Data Coordinator grant (MD 1722) to fund officer overtime for entering overdose and investigative data into the state's analysis portals; and a $23,800 offender‑registration reimbursement from the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (MD 1746).

Operational changes approved included converting a vacant child‑abuse detective FTE into a crime‑lab technician FTE (grade 7, step 1), effective Sept. 1, 2016, to address increased demand at the crime lab, and approving a 2 percent increase in hourly rates for nonpublic school bus contract drivers — a parity move with public‑school contractors estimated to cost about $14,000 within the current FY17 allocation.

The Department of Public Works and Transportation received a $12,000 Maryland Electronics Collection and Recycling Program award (project MB 1754) and was asked to return with a proposal on increasing collection frequency; commissioners noted the county's two household‑hazardous‑waste events and the cost of disposal when discussing collection options.

Aging and human service items approved included the FY2017 area plan for Title III programs and related grants totaling $450,642 (including county funding and donations) and acceptance of a three‑year RSVP volunteer program grant of $40,000 (project US 1710). Presenters highlighted volunteer contributions — more than 35,000 hours of service last year — and community nonprofit partners such as ACTS (A Community That Shares).

Finally, the board authorized the commissioner president to execute a certification to participate in the Maryland Department of Transportation allocation process for additional highway user revenues; county staff said the total distribution from the state was $25 million, with $4 million slated for county governments statewide and final local allocations to be announced after Aug. 30 submissions.

All motions on the listed grants and personnel conversions carried on voice votes; each approval included authorization for county officials to execute the related budget amendments and contract documents.