Counties Struggle to Absorb State Funding Cuts

County governments in Southern Maryland are searching for ways to absorb more than $13 million in state funding cuts.

Calvert and St. Mary's counties have no plans to furlough or fire employees, but Charles County has not taken anything off the table, officials said.

Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) announced last month that the state is cutting funding to local governments by $210 million as part of more than $450 million in cuts in the state's budget for fiscal 2010, which began July 1. The state is trying to fill a $700 million budget gap.

Charles officials were told that the county would lose more than $5.5 million from the state this year.

"I don't know whether that will be furloughs or reduction in force. I can't zero in on it," said Wayne Cooper (D-At Large), president of the county's Board of Commissioners. "It is based on how the other agencies work with us."

Cooper said that if all Charles agencies shared the burden, each would sustain a 3 percent cut. Commissioners were to discuss the matter this week.

In the three counties, $13 million is being cut from state contributions to the health and sheriff's departments, community colleges, and revenue from gas tax and vehicle registration fees, among other things.

Some of those agencies have already been "hit hard," Cooper said. "It makes you wonder about the decisions that have been made, especially in the health department, with a possible [swine flu] pandemic coming."

Wilson H. Parran (D-Huntingtown), president of Calvert's Board of Commissioners, said that his staff must find nearly $3.5 million in savings in all county departments to absorb the state's latest cuts. He said that he is watching income tax revenue to make sure the county's projections do not fall short.

"We are cut to the bone right now," Parran said. "If we get any additional cuts or the revenue projections for us at the local level show a significant drop, then everything is on the table," he said, including the school system, which accounts for nearly half of the county's budget.

Calvert commissioners recently delayed funding for a Solomons park to brace for more belt tightening.

In St. Mary's, officials have put a hiring freeze into effect to offset the more than $4.3 million in state cuts, said Francis J. Russell (D), president of the county's Board of Commissioners.

"The big concern I have is, we are only three months into the fiscal year. We would hope this would be enough cuts to carry the day, but we still have to get some more as time goes on if the economy doesn't rebound some," Russell said.

"We get another [state funding] distribution in November," he said. "I think we can manage our way through this one here without furloughs or layoffs. We don't know what we have to do as it gets worse."

St. Mary's has been trying to adjust its budget structure so that it will be better prepared for the future, Russell said.