Commissioners hear FY26 budget update, approve $1.5M in ARPA reallocations

Charles County officials briefed the Board of County Commissioners on April 28 on the third-quarter review of the FY26 general fund, ARPA spending and the FY27 work session recap.

Jake Dyer, director of fiscal administrative services, told commissioners the county's adopted budget is $604,400,000; the year-end revenue estimate is $606,500,000; and year-end expenditures are projected at about $603,600,000, producing a projected surplus of roughly $2,900,000. "That leaves us just on, just above a $2,900,000 projected surplus for this year," Dyer said.

Dyer and Chief of Budget Sam Chiriaco explained that an over-distribution from the Maryland Comptroller's office in November and February temporarily increased county receipts in FY26 and will be considered in FY27 projections; staff said those reconciliation adjustments reduce future distributions but provided near-term revenue support.

Budget analyst Kelly Shear reviewed American Rescue Plan Act spending through March 31: the county received $31,700,000 in ARPA funds and has obligated about $25,000,000, leaving roughly $7.7 million available. Shear proposed reallocating $1,500,000 freed by timing savings in stormwater projects to several existing ARPA initiatives and local programs.

Commissioner Collins introduced the motion to reallocate $1,500,000 of ARPA funds as follows: $508,000 to the Charitable Trust nonprofit grant program; $200,000 to Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland for community refrigerators and food pantry programs; $512,000 to the Surface Transportation Road Overlay Program; $130,000 to the Health Department community outreach program; and $150,000 to continue supporting the emergency services expansion program. The motion was moved, seconded and approved by voice vote.

Staff also summarized FY27 budget documents: a proposed general fund of $641,800,000, a five-year capital improvement plan of $533,800,000, and enterprise fund proposals. Notable fee proposals included a 9.4% proposed increase to water and sewer user fees (staff cited an average quarterly water bill changing from $2.46 to $2.69) and a proposed landfill per-ton fee increase from $108 to $118 to cover operations and equipment. Staff also reviewed a 45-page fees-and-charges packet with new and revised line items to be included in the public hearing packet.

The board received a list of proposed new positions across funds (total proposed growth of 53 FTEs across all funds) and a new-and-replacement vehicle and equipment list totaling an estimated $9,583,200 with a mix of direct purchase and financed items noted.

Before adjourning the morning session, the board voted to move into a closed session to discuss a lease agreement, an update on agency building location, a potential litigation settlement, and a potential land transfer, citing the Annotated Code of Maryland for the closed-session authority.

The board will take the budget and fee proposals to public hearings and will consider commissioner dd/delete requests prior to the scheduled May 12 budget adoption.