On Tuesday, May 20, Charles County Commissioners completed the Fiscal Year 2026 budget process by approving all budgets. During the meeting, commissioners approved:

• Fiscal Year 2026 General Fund
• Fiscal Year 2026 to Fiscal Year 2030 Capital Improvement Program
• Fiscal Year 2026 Enterprise Fund
• Fiscal Year 2026 Special Revenue Fund

Also during the morning session, Dr. Yolanda Wilson, President of the College of Southern Maryland, provided the State of the College address to commissioners. The annual update highlighted student successes, and provided an overview of the college’s efforts to increase education in five critical employment sectors: Information Technology, Cybersecurity, Trades, Healthcare, Education, and Sustainability.

Briefings

• Commissioners held a briefing on Proposed Bill 2025-05: Industrial Development Authority. The bill, if passed, would authorize commissioners to establish an Industrial Development Authority. Commissioners voted unanimously to introduce the bill and schedule a public hearing on Tuesday, July 8, 2025, at 6 p.m.

 

• Commissioners held a joint meeting with  Charles County Public Schools on the 2025 School Allocation Cycle. This annual meeting reviews the capacity at county schools and proposed school seat allocations for the next school year. The Commissioners Adopted the 2025 School Allocation Cycle as presented.

 

Board and Commissions Annual Update

Commissioners received updates from the following county boards and commissions:

• Sheriff’s Office Retirement Plan Committee
• Charles County Pension Plan
• Other Post Employment Benefit Committee
• Length of Service Award Program Committee
• Historic Preservation Commission

 

Public Hearings

On May 20, Commissioners held a public hearing on a Community Development Block Grant Application. The Application would provide $75,000 to purchase materials for transitional homes owned by the County and operated by local non-profits. Commissioners unanimously approved the application.

Commissioners also voted to keep the record open for 10 days Proposed Bill 2025-04: Revisions to Recordation Tax. The bill seeks to raise the recordation tax by $2 per $500 for home sales or recorded titles. The tax does not impact county-wide property or income taxes. The increase was proposed to raise additional funds to support Charles County Public Schools and Affordable Housing initiatives in the Fiscal Year 2026 Budget without impacting renters or non-transacting homeowners.

Approval Items

Commissioners approved:

• A board of education inter-category budget change request of $12 million to reflect changes in funding to areas such as contracted services for Special education, salaries and wages, delinquent student meal accounts, health insurance charges and other costs.
• A board of education inter-category budget change request of $3 million for spending forecasted to exceed budgeted category amounts. The offset is an increase to budgeted fund balance.
• A request for $500 in  post-event community support funding for the Charles County Commission for Women’s attendance at the Legislative Breakfast on March 3, 2025.
• A letter of support for full federal funding of the Community Development Block Grant Program.