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Commissioners adopt updated reserve policy and approve $434,213 budget realignment
Summary
The board approved a revised reserve policy setting a 15% minimum reserve level and a quarterly budget amendment that realigned roughly $1.0 million, moving $434,213 into the commissioner's emergency reserve; commissioners asked staff to break out overtime driven by snow events versus staffing shortages.
The St. Mary's County commissioners on April 28 approved an update to the county's reserve/fund-balance policy and a related budget amendment to realign personnel and salary accounts.
CFO Veneta Van Cleave told the board the reserve policy language needed housekeeping changes after prior direction to set a minimum reserve level at 15% of general revenues and to remove separate references to a bond-rating reserve and a rainy-day fund. Van Cleave said the update is largely maintenance and reflects direction the board gave during the May 2024 budget work session.
Commissioners asked whether the policy requires the CFO's recommendation before using fund balance; staff said the intended practice is that the CFO would bring forward a resolution and the commissioners would take formal action. Commissioner discussion referenced generally accepted accounting practice and historic reserve targets. One commissioner noted GAAP guidance and that different agencies recommend different reserve levels.
Following that discussion, the board voted to approve the reserve policy resolution as presented.
Finance then presented a quarterly budget amendment (third quarter through March 31, 2026) that realigned approximately $1,000,000 across county departments to reflect salary savings and other adjustments; transcript discussion referenced $1,000,000.574 in total realignments and specified $434,213 would be moved into the commissioner's emergency reserve. The presentation also noted $141,000 in overtime paid to emergency services (partially attributable to snow events) and that non-salary invoices from snow events were still arriving.
A commissioner moved to approve the budget amendment (decreasing salary and fringe accounts and increasing the commissioner's emergency reserve by $434,213) and to authorize the commissioner president to sign related documents. The motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. Commissioners asked staff to provide a follow-up breakdown separating snow-related overtime from staffing-related overtime.
The reserve-policy update and the budget realignment passed by unanimous voice votes recorded as 'Aye.'
