When Deputy County Attorney John Sterling Houser took his place to give his weekly legislative update, the commissioners were surprised.
“I only have three pages,” Commissioner Mike Hewitt (R) said, while Commissioner President Randy Guy (R) asked Houser if he had made a mistake, referring to the often bulky packets Sterling delivers on a near weekly basis during the Maryland General Assembly’s 90-day session.
Regardless, during another part of Tuesday’s meeting the board did receive a lengthy packet — 60 pages worth — courtesy of Chief Financial Officer Jeannett Cudmore, who brought the recommended fiscal 2025 budget before them during Tuesday’s meeting in Leonardtown.
The $329,039,996 budget includes $573,263 in the public hearing reserve, which will be allocated following a public hearing on April 23.
The current general fund includes the use of unassigned fund balance of $5.4 million.
Capital improvement projects for fiscal 2025 total $74.2 million, and projects in fiscal 2026-2030 total $369.6 million.
Commissioner Mike Hewitt (R) later voted against approving the recommended budget.
The budget is 3.4% higher than that for the current fiscal year.
Hewitt asked about the local board of education, which only received an increase of $100,000 in funding from the state.
“We talked about they’re going to receive $5 million [from the state] next year that they didn’t get this year,” Hewitt said. “What happens if they don’t get the $5 million? That comes out of us again, right?”
“Possibly,” Cudmore said.
The April 23 public hearing at 9:30 a.m. at Great Mills High School will cover six items: the approval of the fiscal 2025 recommended budget, the proposed income tax increase from 3% to 3.2%, county fee changes and the tax increase to 0.56% for the Leonardtown, Mechanicsville and Ridge volunteer fire departments.
There are more budget work sessions planned for May 7 and May 14, with the final budget and tax rates set to be approved May 21.
Bills on the moveHouser told the commissioners that “we are not in a lull” in the General Assembly session, but that bills that have crossed over from one legislative house to the other are now getting hearing dates.
“We’re not at the point where most of those hearings were held,” he said, “but we’re also not at a point where amendments, if any, are being offered.”
Regarding bills requested by the commissioners, an alcohol bill to create an annual beer and wine license for nonprofit community theaters passed the House and was set for a hearing in the Senate on March 28. A second alcohol bill to add a class of beer, wine and liquor tasting permits also passed the House and had a Senate hearing set for March 28.
“We’re not expecting difficulties or controversies there,” he said.
The commissioners requested a bill that would allow for the operation of unregistered golf carts on public highways, which was heard March 26.
“We still don’t know what to expect out of that one,” Houser said, “if this and the other [state-introduced] golf carts bills are frozen or if we’ve managed to achieve a thaw, whether at the state level or local level.”
Results of those bills were not known by press time.
Commissioner Eric Colvin (R) had requested a bill requiring a local governing body receive notice of a deficiency or corrective action reported to have occurred within a state-owned nursing home, but that was not introduced.
The 2024 Maryland General Assembly session ends April 8.
In other business, the commissioners approved a public meeting on April 23 for the application for Program Open Space conversion of the Great Mills Pool/Gymnastics Center property and OK’d the Metropolitan Commission to issue infrastructure bonds in an amount not to exceed $11.7 million.
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