Queen Anne's County proposes $209.1 million FY26 budget with no tax increase; education funding rises $8.3 million

County Administrator Todd Mahn presented a proposed FY26 operating budget of $209,100,000 and said the plan is balanced with no proposed change to county tax rates. Mahn delivered the presentation at a public FY26 budget informational meeting of the Queen Anne's County Board of County Commissioners and invited public input on the proposal.

Mahn said strong property and income tax revenue are driving the county's revenue growth and that the overall revenue projection represents an 8.8% increase over FY25. "I am very pleased to present tonight a balanced operations budget for the next fiscal year without any tax increases or decreases in levels of service," Mahn said.

The budget would increase county support for the Board of Education by $8,300,000 for FY26; Mahn said $7,600,000 of that amount is above the maintenance-of-effort requirement and $644,000 reflects state cost-shifts the county will pick up for teacher pensions. Mahn told commissioners the county has been covering state shortfalls in education funding and that Queen Anne's County will contribute to the Blueprint for Maryland's Future sooner than originally forecast.

Mahn described other operating highlights: the county is not proposing any new positions for FY26; it plans a competitive cost-of-living adjustment and will continue its employee performance program. The administrator said the county will budget $559,000 from operations toward the capital program and expects two departmental reorganizations to produce about $200,000 in annual operational savings: merging the animal control division in Emergency Services with Animal Services in Public Works and splitting the Department of Community Services into a Department of Housing and Family Services and a Department of Aging and Transportation.

The proposed capital program for FY26 totals $47,200,000 and includes $8,500,000 for Board of Education projects (roof replacements, HVAC and other building work at multiple schools), $455,000 for design of a Chesapeake College technology building, $4,400,000 for 911 center upgrades and other public safety equipment, $1,250,000 toward a $5,000,000 target to support a new regional hospital, $835,000 for volunteer fire company capital projects, $3,000,000 for planning a pedestrian bridge over U.S. 50 to connect trail segments on Kent Island, and a range of water and sewer enterprise projects totaling about $8,100,000 for South Kent Island sanitary work and other system improvements.

Mahn said the county expects to fund capital projects using a mix of sources (figures shown in the presentation): about 40% from capital fund balance, 25% from bonds, 9% grants, 17% loans, 8% other sources and 1% PAYGO. He also noted Queen Anne's County anticipates keeping one of the lowest property tax rates in Maryland, at $0.83 per $100 of assessed value, and that the county maintains a 5% homestead tax credit that limits annual increases for principal homeowners.

Mahn presented department-level changes: increases in budgeted support for public safety (including detention center and emergency services), public works, community services and Board of Education funding; legal services decreased with the hiring of a county attorney; information technology increases reflected higher software and cyber-security costs; and public housing costs rose because the county has absorbed the public housing authority and is ramping service levels. Debt service is up modestly to cover a new interest payment tied to a planned bond sale for capital projects.

Mahn closed by noting two additional informational meetings were scheduled (locations were announced during the presentation) and that commissioners will adopt the budget in a meeting scheduled for June. He invited members of the public to review the full budget documents posted on the county website and to submit comments during the public comment portion of the meeting.

Ending: The presentation moved to public comment, where several residents and agency leaders spoke in support of education funding, capital projects and county staff.