Calvert County says FY2026 budget balanced without tax increase after $17.8M gap

Commissioner Hans opened the May 6 public hearing by describing a large budget shortfall that had been identified earlier in the process and the board’s approach to resolve it. "We had a pretty large hole in our budget about $15,000,000...and but now that session is over, I think we ended up with about 2.2 in passed on cost to us that we have to absorb in our budget," he said, and later assured residents that "there are no tax increases or, other pass along cost to our citizens that we're gonna impose tonight to balance this budget."

County finance staff described the technical steps taken to close the gap. Bruce Miller, the county finance director, said the staff-recommended budget began with a $15.4 million deficit and grew to $17.8 million after $2.2 million in state pass-through expenditures were shifted to the county; balancing required roughly $17.6 million in department operating cuts and a reduction in PAYGO funding. Beth Richmond, senior adviser for the Department of Finance and Budget, listed specific reconciliations including eliminating $2.4 million in vehicle requests, cutting about $700,000 in noncritical overtime and reducing conferences and training by roughly $660,000.

The board emphasized timing and next steps: the commissioner's budget is available on the county website and at county libraries, public comment on the commissioner's budget is open through 4:30 p.m. on June 9, and the vote to adopt the FY2026 budget will occur at the regular BOCC meeting on June 10. A motion to leave the record open through close of business June 9 carried by voice vote.