Okay, we're gonna bring this meeting to order.
Okay. Welcome to the Queen
Annes County Commissioner's meeting.
This is a public meeting
that is being aired live on our local cable television
station, QAC TV seven.
These media broadcasts provide county citizens an
opportunity to watch and participate
with our scheduled public meetings.
In addition to our live audience this evening,
we are providing remote options for citizens to watch
and participate in county commissioner meetings.
Citizens may watch our meeting live on our website@qac.org
live, or on our public access governmental television
channel provided by Breeze Line Cable Services.
Citizens may also participate
by joining the live Zoom meeting by going
to qac.org/public comment
and citizens may also email comments
to public comment@qac.org.
All comments received will be read
during the present public comment period
on tonight's agenda.
We acknowledge everyone's participation
and by attending you acknowledge
that this session is both recorded and aired present.
Public comment will be taken
and is limited to three minutes per person.
If you do care to speak,
please sign up at the information table in the lobby.
Any comments longer than three minutes can be submitted in
writing for the commissioner's review and consideration.
We'll now stand and be led in the Pledge
of Allegiance by commission.
President Jim Moran,
I pledge all allegiance to the flag
of the United States of America
and to the republic for which it stands,
one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty
and justice for all.
Alright, welcome everybody.
So the purpose of tonight's session is
to present the county commissioner's proposed
FY Twenty's 27 budget for both operating and capital
and to receive public comment tonight.
So we will introduce our,
your county commissioners seated in the center there as
our president at large, commissioner Jim Moran.
To his left is Phil Duino, representing district three
to Phil's left is Commissioner Jack Wilson representing
district one, also our vice president.
Seated next to me is Patrick McLaughlin,
district two commissioner and next
to Patrick is Chris Corino, district four commissioner.
So I have a brief presentation that provides a upper level
overview of the FY 2027 budget.
So following our presentation we will be receiving public
comments and again we have the signup sheets in the lobby
and if you didn't sign up we will go around
and ask anybody that wants
to speak tonight if they have any comments as well.
So we will get right to it.
So again, I'm Todd Ma, the county administrator
and this is the county commissioner's proposed
FY 2027 budget.
So for next year the budget comes in at $231 million,
which is a 10.3% increase over the FY 26 budget.
Our income tax revenue is projected to grow by 13.8%
and property tax revenues projected to grow
by about 10% over the FY 25 actual
income streams.
For those two sources, we do have some new tax revenue from
short-term rental permitting and tax collection.
The tax collection program associated
with short-term rentals, that's an increase
of over a hundred thousand dollars in revenue for next year.
The two tax rates the commissioners control
and set first is income tax.
That is proposed to remain the same at 3.2%
and the property tax rate.
The commissioners have proposed a reduction in the property
tax rate for next year of 3 cents per $100 of assessed value
and the pie chart on the left there shows the income
and property tax sector is the majority
of our revenue streams at 86% of our total revenue.
Some budget highlights from the operations budget
leading off we have our Board
of Education public school system.
We funded them at 8.7 million above the FY 26 appropriation,
which is about $8.9 million above the required maintenance.
Maintenance of effort.
We've included funding for an additional emergency
medical systems crew.
This will be our seventh EMS unit
and that'll be assigned to the grasonville region
to continue to decrease the unit response time
for emergency services operations at $1.2 million per year.
We've also included 16 overall new positions in the budget,
including a bus driver for our county ride,
an additional jury commissioner for our circuit court,
a communications captain for the Department
of Emergency Services
and the eight positions for the seventh EMS unit,
which are also included in that tally.
For our staffing, we have included funding
for employee recruitment and retention.
That includes a 3% cost of living allowance
and pay for performance.
And for our capital program we've included $4.4 million
for capital projects out of the operations account.
That'll be a transfer from operating to capital.
Alright, these next couple of slides, I wanted
to just touch on our board of education funding.
As you know, we do receive state funds
for the public school systems as well
as the county appropriations.
So this chart basically shows the state allocations
beginning in FY 20 and the forecasts going forward.
The state funding for fiscal year 2027 is 45 million.
Unfortunately that's about three
and a half million dollars less than they
originally forecasted.
They'd be providing two Queen Ann County based on
the Kerwin funding plan.
That adds to the tally
of about $12 million less than the original funding forecast
for for the state share between FY 22 and FY 27.
On the county side of the funding equation,
the county is funding the public school systems at
$91.4 million for FY 27.
Again, that's $8.9 million
above the required maintenance of effort.
That value does not include teacher pensions
and any private daycare costs that the state has
very graciously shifted to the counties for our pickup.
So we've picked those up and just to give you an idea,
over the past several years we're averaging about $7 million
of above the required maintenance of effort
for our public school systems.
This chart demonstrates that the where the state funding is
and where the county funding is.
The chart on the left, the blue line is the state
allocations that we've received for the public schools.
The red dash line just above that is
where their forecast was.
So you can see they are a little shy of
where the need to be.
The green line above that is the county funding allocations.
You can see it's well above the dashed line below that which
demonstrates that the county has been funding the board
of education at a much higher level
above the required maintenance of effort levels.
On the right hand side of the chart,
we have the student population,
and this is, we're not unique in this.
A lot of the counties in the state are seeing
a declining enrollment.
You can see the the peak there in about 2019 at
7,536 students.
That was just prior to COVID.
Since that time the enrollment has been declining, you know,
every every single year.
And now in 2026 we're at 7,115 students.
So even with our declining enrollment, we are increasing our
spending for our public school systems.
Okay, this slide generally shows the all
of the budgeted revenues that we receive in addition to
property taxes and income taxes.
So we have over the past several years been
somewhat conservative from our
for our revenue projections out
of concerns at the federal level for tariffs,
potential federal layoffs and other uncertainties.
However, we do continue to see income tax growth in excess
of the state estimates
and for next year we are forecasting an estimate
of 105.5 million in total revenue from income tax.
A few lines down from that our public utility tax is
expected to decline slightly
as utility assets are continuing
to decrease due to depreciation.
A few lines down we have the recordation
and transfer tax lines.
They are both increasing
and that's primarily due to continued strong new home sales
and increased home values.
Here in Queen Annes County,
our inter intergovernmental revenues are also increasing due
to increased and higher 9 1 1 fee collections
and grants for police aid.
And under miscellaneous our interest income is expected
to decline as the federal government continues
to slowly lower interest rates.
So overall $230.9 million
for the FY 27 budget revenue.
All right, this is where the tax dollars go.
This is just a graphic that shows that 66 cents
of every general fund tax dollar is allocated
to education and public safety.
You know the first block there on the left,
education comes in at 43 cents followed
by public safety at 23 cents.
Next is the general government allocation at 9 cents Public
works 7 cents parks recreation, natural resources at 3 cents
and everything else, all the other
outside agencies 15 cents.
So the takeaway here obviously is two thirds
of our county budget goes to education and public safety.
This slide just provides a demonstration of
where the real property tax rates are across the state
of Maryland and Baltimore City.
This shows the tax rates, the real property tax rates
for all jurisdictions in Maryland.
We're the yellow bar all the way to the right hand side.
We are projected to be the lowest
property tax rate in the state
after the FY 27 decrease
of 3 cents per hundred dollars of assessed value.
Tax rates obviously go up from there.
Most of the counties are over a dollar
and Baltimore city all the way to the left hand side.
Well over $2 per a hundred dollars of assessed value.
So just to give you a perspective where we are statewide.
Alright, this next series
of slides shows the proposed budget expenditures for all
of our county departments, outside agencies
and our miscellaneous accounts.
And first I'll say that our departmental
increases are expected to rise about five to 7% generally
due to staff salaries, health insurance
and benefit increases.
We'll highlight a few additional sections here
that are going above that slightly.
First, under county administration our legal services are
increasing due to continuation
of some anticipated litigation that we're engaged in.
Now our budget
and finance office is up due
to the additional accounting support for our town of Ville
water and sewer operations that we recently acquired as part
of our water
and sewer division, along with increases for post post
expenses and tax bills and tax delinquency bills.
Our human resources now includes a new peer-to-peer
counseling program for our public safety employees
and volunteer firefighters.
So that increase is included there
and our public housing shows a higher increase
to cover the hiring of an additional employee
for maintenance services at our public housing stock.
Alright, this next slide shows our Department
of Public Works and Parks and Recreation.
So we have a larger increase
for animal services under public works
that includes additional kennel equipment,
emergency lighting and safety features
for our animal services shelter.
And under parks and recreation you'll see the airport
and golf course both with significant decreases that's due
to the reduced general fund support needed
to balance their budgets.
And we recently had closed on an airport loan for
for the runway and we're receiving much greater revenues
from the golfing fees at our Blue Heron Golf course.
So some good news there.
Here we have our outside agencies on this tally
we have the Board of Education at the top there they've
increased by 10.6% as mentioned to cover increase in costs
mandated by the blueprint
for Maryland's education future which we are compliant with
our state's attorney's office shows a larger increase
to cover new case management software for their agency.
The circuit court will be getting an additional jury
commissioner as mentioned earlier next year to help
with their increasing caseload
and our board of elections has an increase, higher increase
to cover the leasing of additional poll book equipment
for the election program.
Lastly, I'll mention that the Soil Conservation Service
is lower next year due to a reduction in their workforce
by one and a half full-time equivalents.
Alright, This slide shows other miscellaneous
expenditure accounts for debt other and transfer.
Our debt for the board of education is higher next year
to cover debt service for the new administration building
and two roof projects at matte elementary
and matte middle schools that are now complete
under the other category.
Our intergovernmental expenses have increased due
to continued increases for the state assessment office,
which was another cost shift from
the state over to the county.
That's a Maryland agency that we now pay for also increases
to town rebates via the tax offset program
and an increase in the state pension administration fees.
Our general insurance is up also due to increasing premiums
and the addition of the public housing authority facilities
under the county's overall umbrella
and under the transfer sections as I mentioned earlier,
we have a capital fund increase to for the pego support
to the capital projects account for FY 27.
And lastly, our ag transfers shows a decrease due
to a reduction in the anticipated funding support
that would be necessary for next year.
Okay, so what's changed from FY 26 to FY 27?
This is just a simple tally that shows the FY 26
allocations, the budget
and then the total change in revenue.
On the left hand side you can see income tax leads the way
followed by property taxes
and then at 21.5 million overall new revenues for FY 27
and the corresponding expense on the expenditure side.
On the right hand side of the chart the board
of education at 8.9 million followed by the transfer
to capital at 3.8 million
and then the public safety group in the center there
of the chart, $2.3 million for the expenditure tallies.
Okay now we can move into the capital project section
of the budget.
Once again leading off with our board
of education we've included funding for design
of the new Centerville Middle School here in Centerville.
Obviously HVAC replacements at Kenard
and Centerville Elementary,
a roof replacement at Kenard Elementary, a repaving
of all the surfaces at the Kent Island High School,
some bus replacements, furniture replacements,
and some other minor capital projects at 16.4 million.
And I also mentioned that we have $7 million in state
revenues that are included in this 16.4.
So we do leverage those state funds that they support
with our local dollars as well.
On the larger capital projects for Chesapeake College,
we have funding for the Queen Ann's Technical Building.
That's a multi-year project funded
by the five Midshore counties
that we have $2.9 million there
and that project is currently under design.
We hope to be in a position to maybe
have a groundbreaking ceremony about this time next year.
Emergency services we have funding
for the Motorola console upgrade new ambulances for the
for the seventh Crew Radio subscriber replacements,
our new public safety network replacements
and additional protective gear, PPE
and other projects For emergency services
for the regional hospital,
we've allocated $5 million over four years
for FYI 27 we're allocating the 1.25 million
for our new regional hospital for the University
of Merrill Medical Systems under construction now.
If you haven't been by there, it's a really,
obviously it's come up out of the ground nicely
so we're anxious for that.
Continuing with capital we have for the housing authority,
we have major repairs planned for the maintenance
of Fisher Manor, Riverside States, Grayville Terrace, Terra
and Grove FoxTown,
and our scattered site housing stock at 1.4 million
of our volunteer fire companies, 835,000 for funding
for purchases of a new apparatus and facility.
Construction Animal services we have funding for the design
of a new animal services shelter
and adoption center at 300,000 for our Rose division.
We have funding for a new pedestrian bridge over US 50
on Kent Island to connect the South Island trail
and the cross island trail
that is largely grant funded at 85% at 3.1 million
for our parks department.
We have funding for the continuation
of the South Island Trail extension,
various capital equipment replacements, athletic field work,
major maintenance and other lighting projects.
Two lighting projects, one at White Marsh Marsh Park
and one at Bats Neck Park at $2.9 million.
For our recreations group we have funding
for land acquisition and design
and contract development
for a new recreation center in the Kent
Narrows Kent Island region.
Under General Services and Engineering, we have funding
and renovation funding for renovations
of the historic courthouse
and other renovations to other county facilities at,
on just about $6 million for information technology.
We have funding for continuation of IT infrastructure
and other technology projects
to enhance our cybersecurity efforts at
500,000 Back to roads.
We've included obviously funding
for systems preservation including asphalt overlays
and capital equipment
and bridges, 5 million Kent Island sewer extensions,
phases three and four, 4.8 million.
This is for the last two phases of that sewer line extension
for Queen and Colony Kent Moore, Chesapeake State,
sunny all Kent Bats neck
and maneka state at 4.8 million
up in Sellersville we have a $3 million grant in funding
to complete the wastewater treatment plant e
and r upgrade improvements for
that particular wastewater system.
And our next sewer extension project,
we have 500,000 in planning money for extension
of public sewer to the modeling farms
and Dominion area, which is south
on Maryland Route 5 52 in Chester.
Okay, this slide just shows the variety
of capital budget funding sources
that we have in the capital plan.
As I mentioned earlier, we have $4.4 million.
We're going across the chart from the left to right,
$4.4 million in PEGO funding,
just about $8 million in grant funding.
$30.8 million in bond funds,
$13.2 million in capital fund balance.
We have some loans, 5.2 million that's for the
sewer line extensions that are paid back
with special benefit assessments from the users.
And then we have another other funding source category from
developer Exactions
and other special benefit assessments we collect
for road improvement projects at $1.9 million
for our capital plan overall
for FY 27 63 $0.5 million.
Alright, so that's the bulk of the presentation.
There is a lot more information that we have on our website.
There is the web link, you can get into all the details
of all the agencies
and all the line items of the budget
if you choose to look at that.
We also have a nifty handout that our finance team prepared
that shows all the information
that I have in this presentation along
with additional pie charts
and some other information about our
special revenue accounts.
If you want to dig into that, be happy
to answer any questions
after the meeting with any of
that information that is available.
So please if you haven't picked one of those,
upgrade one on the way out
and take it with you for for your reference.
Okay, so I think we, that concludes the presentation.
We can now begin with the public comment period.
So when your name is called, please come up
to the microphone and let us know who you are
and where you live and we'll listen to your testimony.
So Jim, you got the list?
Yes I do. First person on the list is Gregory Gilbert.
Greg? Yes.
Gregory Gilbert. I live 1 0 3 South Liberty Street here.
I've been in resident for 26 years
but I'm speaking today as the president of the board
of trustees of the Queen Annes County Library.
I wanna take this moment to thank you
for your continued support of the library, our services
and staff that we provide to the community.
We especially appreciate the funding
for the new outreach position,
which will help us strengthen connections across the county
and expand access to residents who may not be
otherwise visit our branches.
We also want to thank you for including funding
for the new North County branch.
This project is an important investment
to expand library access
and we are working to gather community input
to ensure new branch reflects the needs
and interests of the local residents.
Finally, if additional funding is available, we ask you
to consider supporting an additional full-time makerspace
position at the Ken Island branch.
Makerspace use has increased by 90% in less than a year,
highlighting the strong demand for these services
and continue providing valuable opportunities
for creativity, technology, education
and workforce development.
Okay, thank you. Thank you.
Thank you. Cliff Coppersmith. The one and the only.
The one and only. There
You go.
Mr. President and members
of the Queen Anne's County Commission on behalf
of the students, faculty and staff at Chesapeake College.
By the way, my name's Cliff Coppersmith,
I live at 1 45 McKinney Lane.
I also happen to be the president of Chesapeake College.
I want to express my sincere gratitude for your approval
of our fiscal year 2027 budget.
Your steadfast support is vital as we continue
to provide high quality accessible education workforce
training to the residents of Queen Annes County
and for our other service counties.
As I reflect on the past eight years of my administration,
I'm incredibly proud of what we've achieved together.
Our partnership has been the cornerstone
of a transformative era for the college
and through our collective work we have significantly
expanded our reach and
and our impact in workforce innovation.
We've successfully launched enhanced critical programs
and skilled trades and including marine
advanced manufacturing, welding
and metal fabrication construction trades
and our long running health professions portfolio.
Ensuring that our curriculum evolves alongside the
needs of our local economy.
We're modernizing our infrastructure with your support.
We've modernized our facilities including the recent edition
of a state-of-the-art skilled trades lab
and a mobile mobile welding laboratory
that brings training directly to the community,
including its recent deployment to Cambridge
and other locations in our region.
We're also grateful for the regional support
which you have led and successfully obtaining the funding
for the Queen Annes Technology Center.
We are working closely with our CTE directors
and Queen Annes and our other service counties to support,
augment and enhance the workforce program.
We joint support as both K through 12 systems
and as a college the Queen Anne tech building project will
provide a generational resource
for skilled trades instruction for the next 30 years.
And we are executing the design phase
of the pro project even as we speak with construction.
To begin next year, we're expanding access
with our collaboration and strength in dual enrollment
and career articulation agreements, clearing pathways
for Queen Anne County students
to transition seamlessly from high school
to higher education and meaningful careers
and in regional leadership.
Together we've reinforced Chesapeake's role
as a regional hub for innovation, sustainability
and economic growth contributing over $118 million in income
to the local economy annually.
This budget approval is more than a financial commitment,
is a renewal of our shared vision to empower every student
and enrich the vitality of the eastern shore.
Thank you for your continued leadership
and being such dedicated partners in this journey.
As we near the end of the academic year, I invite you all
to attend our May 20th commencement tomorrow
with the trustees reception held in the Dorchester
administration building boardroom,
Tobo County councilwoman Keisha hath will be delivering this
year's commencement address to the class of 2026.
We begin the day with the board
of trustees reception held in the Dorchester administration
building boardroom at 12 with the ceremony beginning at
2:00 PM We'd love to have you there
and again, thank you for your support of Chesapeake College.
Thank you. Thank you. Jennifer Schreiner office.
How you doing?
Good evening everyone. My name is Jennifer Schreckengost.
I'm as resident of Queenstown
but also am honored to serve as the assistant superintendent
of Queen Annes County Public Schools.
I wanna first thank you commissioners for many years
of funding beyond maintenance of effort that has allowed us
to carry on through some challenges that statute and
and legislation have provided our district.
We appreciate that but also wanna thank you
for being our partners because truly we are partners
together in ensuring a stable
and bright future for our children and for our county.
Under Dr. Keebler's leadership, we have been able
to have opportunities to do some,
some growth in our, in our district.
Number one, we have been able
to focus on school improvement.
We also acknowledge
that strong schools require strong leaders
and we have been able to provide leadership development
and professional learning for all staff to ensure
that they have the skills needed to do the work.
I think it's been very clear
that we have prioritized fiscal accountability
and clear communication regarding the way that we allocate
and spend funds identifying accurately what it requires
for us to maintain our current system
and what it might take for us
to enrich our current education system.
So when you consider the responsibilities of a school system
as a house, let's say my room is curriculum
and instruction, but I'd actually like
to consider it the teaching and learning arena
because an awful lot more happens there
than might take place in a small space.
It may seem that our only responsibility is to educate,
but it is far deeper than that.
We understand that no child can learn
until their basic needs are met.
So that is part of our responsibility.
We have to ensure that children arrive in our classrooms
available and ready to learn.
And we do that through funding of our own, through grants
and through partnerships with community resources.
We ensure children have food on the weekends.
We ensure if they need clothing, coats, shoes, toiletries,
that those are provided during holiday seasons.
We have partners who make sure they have gifts,
their medical needs are cared for, vision, dental, all
of those things happen in a community health center.
And we provide wraparound services to families so
that we can decrease stressors
and increase support in the home
once those basic needs are met.
We move on to social emotional learning
and we have a very explicit delivery method of ensuring
that social emotional health is taught in our classrooms.
In addition, it is integrated into every content.
We also have specialized units that focus on
important physical and mental health related concepts,
including signs of suicide.
We make sure every staff member is trained
to identify those signs as well as how
to respond and where to seek help.
And we partner with 10 outside mental health agencies
who come into our schools to provide support.
Yet we are still devastated when we realize
that we've missed something and our teachers
who are expected to teach children
to learn cannot do those things until
those other areas have been met.
Keep going. I have 10 more seconds please. Okay.
It is only after students basic needs are
met that we take your time.
We can begin. Thank you.
Effectively teaching
and learning, we expect teachers to know every child
and to know them so well that they know their strengths
and needs to be able to differentiate instruction every day
with exactly what is required.
Our teachers carry the weight of the world
and knowing the entire child is their responsibility
and every teacher takes that responsibility so seriously.
We also know that our students
for the past few years have not shown the
growth that we would expect.
We do not intend to make excuses or to reduce our efforts.
And please know, regardless of
what you decide about additional funding
for Queen Anne County Public Schools,
I have the utmost confidence that every one of our teachers
and staff will continue
to show up every day giving all they have
because they believe in the work
because they are fully invested in in our
children and our families.
And we hope to protect this public education
institution who we are.
Why we're here isn't going to change.
If you're able to give us additional funding, know
that it will go directly to support schools.
It will increase our human resources to lighten the load
and allow teachers to share these responsibilities
a bit more in an effort to best meet the needs.
Excuse me, meet the needs of every child.
Even when our challenges seem
insurmountable, we will continue.
And so I thank you for your financial support
but also your partnership.
I know we all want the same things.
I thank you for your commitment to the children
and the future of Queen Annes County
and for a little extra time.
Thank you. Thank you. Raymond Bat or up?
Good evening commissioners.
Raymond Aaron Centerville currently serve as the chair
for the volunteer fire in EMS departments in our county.
I wanna thank you for your continued support.
You do it year after year
as the board says it is a partnership with you and us.
Being in this for many, many decades I've seen
ridiculous amounts of increases,
but I've never seen the increases of what costs for us
to do business as we,
as we've seen in the last couple years.
The budget is probably a smidgen of
what it would cost if this were a full career department.
You folks have done studies, I know you have probably
30 million or more to do a minimal coverage
for Queen S County where I want to give our nine departments
and EMS the absolutely best kudos I can give 'em
because they provide one
of the best services I think you can get in the
state if not the nation.
We're dedicated, we're trained, we continue to train.
We want to thank you for the
continued support in the budget.
It helps us do our vo-tech program at Miry, which is out
by the public works building
and factor graduation I think is Thursday night at 5:00 PM
or 7:00 PM If you get to go to see these folks
that have learned during school to now become part
of a workforce that hopefully if they want to get it
as a job, but to continue with the partnership that we have,
we know it's tough.
We thank you for the increase.
We're still gonna keep coming for more and more
because you've heard the numbers of what apparatus costs.
We can't do it with baked sales,
we can't do it with cash bashes.
We're going to have to come to you probably
for a little bit more as time goes.
But for now we're good. We thank you.
And really that's all I wanted
to say with the exception of one more thing.
I would like you to know that we are very much in support
of the extra staffing for the, the, the paramedic unit
to go into Grayson area through DES needed.
Certainly listened to yesterday in about a three hour
period of time it was,
it was almost like we were a pretty good
sized metropolitan area.
So, and that's when you need
it, you know when it hits like that.
So thank you for putting that back in. Keeping it in.
We support D S's budget in that capacity. Thank you. Thank
You.
Carrie. Settle.
Hi everyone. Carrie Sutherland Queenstown
and also a board of education member
for Queen S County public
schools representing district three.
Without hearing Dr.
Reson, knowing what she was gonna talk about,
I can actually skip the first few paragraphs.
Thank you for your continued support and, and
but at the same time I wanna be honest about
where we are financially as a so school system.
The proposed funding does allow us
to maintain our current programs and operations
and we are extremely grateful for that.
But it just allows us to continue doing
what we're already doing.
We know the lack of funding. Sorry, I'm looking at you.
Jack isn't just a county issue.
School systems across Maryland are dealing
with rising costs, increasing mandates
and funding formulas
that don't always match the realities districts are facing.
The state absolutely has a role to play in this conversation
and will continue advocating there as well.
But tonight I wanna focus on a few areas
where additional local investment could make a real
difference for students and staff in Queen Anne County.
One thing that stood out to me
during the school's internal budget discussions was
how consistent the feedback was across the
entire school system.
Administrators, teachers, instructional leaders,
support staff, everyone all agreed
that reading intervention support was one
of the biggest needs we have right now.
When the people working with students every single day are
all identifying the same need,
I think we should listen closely.
Early literacy impacts everything else a student
does academically.
When students struggle to read in the early grades,
it affects every subject area moving forward.
And we're also continuing to see a growing need
for behavioral specialists support
SIS positions in our schools.
These positions are about much more than discipline.
They're about making sure students have the support they
need while also allowing teachers
to stay focused on teaching.
Right now teachers are often trying
to manage significant behavioral challenges while also
keeping instruction moving for the rest of the class.
When we had, when schools would have trained behavioral
support staff and structured in school programs, students
who need additional support have somewhere to go, someone
to work with them and an opportunity to reset
and return to class ready to learn
more support staff means more
instructional time for students.
And after listening to last night's budget discussions,
I also kept thinking about
how much mental health support was
emphasized and rightly so.
One thing I believe is important to recognize is
that additional academic support staff are a
part of that solution.
When we add reading specialists, math, interventionalists,
behavioral specialists
and support staff, we are not only improving academics,
we are creating more time
and space for meaningful student connection.
More staff means teachers have more time to teach, more time
to listen, more time to connect additional support.
Staff can help relieve some of that pressure
so teachers can spend Go ahead Karen.
More quality time with students,
build stronger relationships, recognize concerns earlier
and better support students.
Academic support and mental health support are
not separate conversations.
They work hand in hand
and investing in one strengthens the other.
You asked us last night to give you a plan
and I believe we have one.
The board approved Dr ER's proposed budget which didn't just
maintain our current program and staffing levels,
but it included restoring these much needed academic
and behavioral support positions.
I would simply ask that you consider whether there may be
any additional flexibility within the county budget
to support these positions
and help us move beyond just maintaining our system
and truly strengthen it.
And thank you again for everything.
Thank you. Thanks Tim Pleasant.
This is my first time here. I am a psychotherapist.
I'm new to the area. I've been here since August.
My husband is actually active duty. Where
Where you, where you live At?
I live in Centerville. Okay. Yeah.
So we're looking, me
and my colleague we're looking to put on workshops this
summer for the youth, for middle school and high schoolers.
We were approved with Queen Ends County public schools
to do Centerville Middle School.
So that is squared away for July 7th and eighth.
But we want to reach the community, the body
of students in Queen Annes County all across the counties.
Like the colleague just said,
mental health is extremely important.
Girls are not only cutting between their arms anymore,
they're cutting between their legs.
Boys are becoming more bulimic.
There is more suicide in the minority community as well
as the college Caucasian community.
A lot of under deserved women, young girls are going
to DC having abortions.
So within our private practice we
are licensed with the state of Maryland.
We are in good standing. We are a private practice
and we're looking to expand and offer these services.
So we're looking for partnerships.
We would like to expand more than Centerville Middle School,
but right now we have that squared away
for July 7th and eighth.
We do have some sponsors but we're looking to expand.
We're a private practice, we're starting up,
we have a lot to offer.
I'm training cycle analytical therapy, I'm licensed
and we really wanna serve the area.
Thank you for your time. Thank you. Thank
You.
Thank you
Amanda.
Good evening commissioners. My name is Amanda Donofrio.
I'm a Queen Ann County parent, resident
and member of the Q-A-C-P-S
Citizen Advisory Committee.
First I wanna recognize that the county has continued
to invest significantly in education funding
above maintenance of effort, capital planning
and long-term facility projects reflect
that education remains a county priority
and I appreciate that commitment.
My concern tonight is not whether Queen Annes County is
investing in education.
My concern is whether our investments are fully aligned
with the needs that most directly impact
students, educators, and families.
As the Queen Annes County continues to grow
through housing development, tourism business expansion,
our public infrastructure must keep pace
and schools are among the most important
infrastructure we have.
They're not simply buildings, they're the foundation
of workforce readiness, family stability, economic growth,
and long-term community health.
Maryland's blueprint has increased expectations in school
systems, literacy, growth, math, performance intervention,
mental health support
and career readiness, as well
as teacher retention and accountability.
Those are worthy goals,
but the goals require more than compliance.
They require stable staffing, strong support systems
and strategic investment.
Public reviews involving QA CPS
educators identified concerns around
instructional resource constraints,
reduced coaching support,
and the need for stronger consistency in academic support.
Those concerns matter because staffing
and intervention directly affect student outcomes.
We know support staff matter, reading specialists matter,
math intervention matters, student support services matter
and teacher retention matters
because when support systems are stretched thin,
the students feel it.
But this is not only about academics,
it's also about daily learning conditions.
Families continue to raise concerns about recurring
classroom heat and cooling issues, particularly at CES
where classroom conditions during periods
of high temperature have raised ongoing concerns about
comfort learning
and the overall environment
for both our students and our educators.
When children are trying to learn
in an overheated classrooms
and educators are trying to teach in those same conditions,
it's not a faculty issue.
It's a student centered issue.
And it reminds us that infrastructure is not only about
future product projects,
it is also about whether the learning environments we
already have are consistently safe,
effective, and supportive.
And at the same time,
our community has also seen difficult conversations
around facilities, staffing, uncertainty
and reten reductions in force.
These issues affect morale, they affect con
continuity and they affect trust
and they affect the district's ability to recruit
and retain strong educators and support staff.
We know that investment can make a difference,
which is why the sustained support matters.
And our current superintendent is working to strengthen that
and they need a little bit more
and I, I'm sorry to bring it to you
but I will also bring it to the state.
But I know your ears are listening more intently than theirs
are at the moment.
Thank you for your time. Thank
You. Thank you.
That's all that signed up.
Would anyone else like to speak Mr. Faus?
Good evening Commissioners.
Bill faus, Sellersville Life re lifetime resident
of SU Queens County County.
I was the previous chairman of the FIRE
and EMS commission for Queen Anne County.
Now I'm first vice president
of Maryland State Firefighters Association.
And I have two reasons to be here.
Number one, as far as the county fire
and EMS goes, thank you very much
for your continued support throughout all the years when I
was chair and now with Raymond
and all you, you really don't know how far that goes.
I travel the state now.
I'm not just in the county with nine departments.
I have 365 that I tried to get to
and it is reassuring
that Queen Es county is one of the best as far
as supporting their volunteers.
There are some counties out there
that get $60,000 per company
and that's it from the government.
And you try to buy a $1.1 million fire truck
or you try to fix your station up, you can't do it.
Whereas here we, we could use more money.
We, like Raymond said, the bake sales and all account.
But when you go from when I first started
as the FEC chair 15 years ago,
a firetruck cost $400,000.
The same firetruck right now costs 1.1 million a ladder,
truck tower, whatever you, you know, that's over $2 million
and it takes two to three years to get it.
So we had to pre-plan ahead of time.
So again, I want to thank you for your support
of all the fire companies in the county.
And on a personal note, I wanna thank you
for your continued support of me.
Me as I go through the chairs and I hate to say it
but I wish you could be for my installation,
but as Commissioner Wilson pointed out, that's the primary.
So it's June 23rd, so,
but I do get nominated on the 22nd.
So if somebody wants to come down
during the day, I'm more than welcome. Hey Bill,
On the 23rd where you're, you're being officially inducted
In Yes, As the
President.
As president of the Maryland State Farm.
Where's that taking place? Ocean City at the convention.
Send me some information on it.
Okay, I appreciate that. And the 22nd
Would be at Ocean City
Also 22nd at Ocean City in the morning.
And that's where, what time? I'd say 10 o'clock.
But that's where they get you to get some up to,
to nominate you and then call out all the seconds.
Then you march around the thing
with a ban and all that stuff.
But the election or the installation is Tuesday night.
We had a helicopter. Again, thank you gentlemen
for all your support and ladies
and gentlemen, I just wanna speak to you.
These guys do everything in the world they can
to support the fire departments and and the board education.
My mother was president of the board when I graduated, so
that's been a long time ago.
Almost as long as I've known Mr. Wilson.
But I just wanna thank everybody. Thank you. Thank you Bill.
Best of luck to you. Would anybody else like
to speak? Okay,
Why not Mr. Wilson?
Tonight we're talking about the county budget.
The county budget is the plan that the county has for the
next year, the future upcoming year.
But the county would be benefited by a consideration
of the time out beyond that particular framework.
This is not meant as a criticism
of the government proceedings as we've got 'em at this time,
but, but it would be constructive
and good for the county
to start looking at the the longer future.
I'm gonna give two examples of this.
One of them is, excuse me, with the
slow down of development on Kent Island.
As a result of the sewer development,
pressure is gonna move up into the county
and it's gonna particularly concentrate in the
towns Centerville.
This, our county seat here has been in financial disarray
and confusion for half a dozen years.
It's really time that the county invested some both money
and intellectual energy in getting
the situation of this town straightened out.
Because as that pressure comes up here,
it could involve the town in making some
really bad decisions.
I think what we do not want to have happen here is
for Centerville to turn into a sort of minor version of
of Middletown, Delaware,
which 25, 35 years ago the population
of Middletown was 3000.
It's now 28,000.
It's filled with crime, it's ugly, it's a,
it's just ruined the kind of feeling of the town.
And in paying for county infrastructure
or excuse me, in paying for the town infrastructure,
I think the county, it would benefit the entire benefit,
the entire wellbeing of the county to help with Centerville.
So that's one subject,
but a second one I think we ought to be looking at is the
upcoming impact of AI in this community.
AI is a big deal
and it's gonna be a bigger deal even than people now
anticipate the, the impact it'll have
and it's gonna strike the county in a
variety of different ways.
Particularly it will hit things, those points of the county
operation having to do with communication like libraries,
schools, the dispatch system.
All of these things are gonna be changed in the next 10
years because of ai.
I point out with schools for instance, I think right now
building a school which is currently
modeled on 28 room classrooms, 28 person classrooms,
it's very likely to be changing in the next 10 years
to a much different modular framework.
So that I would keep, I would keep the flexibility
of those plans well in mind before I settled on a, on a plan
because AI's gonna change it,
it's gonna change a lot of things.
It's gonna change the way libraries work
and all those kind of outlooks that are in our future.
The county should be looking ahead
and not not get itself committed into a 40
year long development that it's only gonna be practical
for seven years or something.
'cause these things are gonna be very rapidly changing.
I don't look at the displacement of labor in the system
as damaging.
It's not gonna be a displacement.
Last night there was a long discussion about
child development
and the problems of counseling and mental health.
I think AI's gonna provide a tremendous, I didn't want
to get in that discussion, ran out of dimension last night.
But AI is gonna provide an enormous capacity
to displace certain activities in school and education
and allow humans to
create a much better environment for mental health.
And in itself it may create mental health
and in itself it's gonna be an enormous agent
for training people.
It's also gonna be able to monitor activities in ways
that we never would have the labor and capacity to do now.
But that's gonna be different so that
the future we're talking about is not depressing.
It's not, things are getting worse correctly handled.
They're gonna get better because of this
and this county should quickly come
to understand how it can use it. Thanks.
Thank you. Anybody else?
Alright, we're gonna go ahead and close this
and we'll do some commissioner comments.
Who wants, how about you Chris, you start first.
Yeah, backwards. I got a com.
We had a, at the hearing yesterday, an individual
who came and spoke very well about
a tax cut that he believed
that they were doing in Talbot County.
And I didn't have the numbers in front of me,
but it didn't strike me as accurate
because it was a pretty significant
cut to the property taxes.
And he was suggesting that we should do
that here in Queen Anne County, which we would love
to do if you could figure out a way to make everything else
work at that co.
But the number he gave us wrong,
so I think he said they were at 67 cents
for the property tax rate.
They're above 80, which is what we have in our chart.
I think what he was doing
innocently enough is he was looking at a 2023 rate
and unfortunately things have gotten a lot more expensive
since then from everything from the, the cost to heat
and cool school buildings and county buildings to the cost
to fix and build Thingss Corwin.
So that was an inaccurate number that was shared last night.
So anybody who watched that and was curious as
to why we're not following Talbot,
we are still lower than Talbot County in property tax rates.
I just wanted to point that out
to make sure we got the right information out there.
Thank you Phil.
Yeah, so last night this is the,
the wonderful thing about having these
and the opportunity to have 'em three separate nights in a
row across the county to make sure everybody has an
opportunity to attend.
But it was certainly an interesting
conversation topic that formed last night
regarding mental health
and the effect that it has on our children.
And, and Carrie Sutherland's comments about
how it's important that our kids are healthy mentally
and physically so that they can learn.
So it didn't fall on deaf ears thought about it a lot
over the last 24 hours.
So I just want to just mention that, that,
that we appreciate everybody's efforts
to bring that to our attention.
Thank you Patrick,
Jennifer and, and Carrie you had mentioned BHA
or behavioral health folks and counselors.
How many are you talking about? How many are you short?
How many counselors are you short in our schools?
Definitely a question for Probably, sorry Dr.
I'm sorry for someone else that I,
I wouldn't say we are short,
but we could certainly benefit from more.
What, what, what does that mean?
That means that if they had a math specialist
and a reading specialist for every single
school, they don't anymore.
They probably have a math
and reading specialist that has the responsibility
of two schools instead of one.
So they're having to do twice the work.
So when you have situations like that sometimes
needs fall between the cracks.
You know, we have, our math numbers have
have been the lowest they've been in a long time and
and obviously that is a direct event caused
by the fact that we've had to reduce the number of special
teachers that can work with the kids in smaller groups on a
one-on-one basis for math and reading.
Let's face it, you can't learn if you can't read.
So I was talking about basically that's,
I was talking about behavioral health, but that's okay.
I appreciate that. Anyhow,
I'm gonna mention what Jack Wilson has said
for three years that I've been sitting, sitting here.
The first off, we're gonna listen and we're gonna talk.
The biggest the most listened to folks
in Annapolis is the teacher's union.
And we've asked for the three years that I've been here,
if the teachers, you, if the teachers would go
to Annapolis, right?
And ask for the funding that
the state promised to the counties.
Folks are very powerful in Annapolis
and we're gonna, we're asking you to do it again
to support us so we can support you.
And we don't seem to,
and I know it's not you, you may not be in the union,
but we like the union, we love the teachers.
We're just asking for help so we can help each other.
I just like to say I really like the people in Centerville.
I think they got good management.
Well done. Thank you Jack,
You wanna go first tonight?
So you get to talk or do you want We have dialogue out all I
I, I have a lot to unpack and I'm always the bad guy
'cause I always gotta look at education
because quite frankly the
'cause I sat on curl when it's been a
passion since I sat on it.
So I've studied it.
I've looked at inside and out and,
and I, what I want to do is, is kind
of back into a few things so that the general public
that don't understand some of the things
that are in it can understand it and it's real simple.
First I want to talk to the state
budget going into next year.
Right now the projected budget with revenues and
and expenses going next year has got about a $2.2 billion
deficit before they drop the gavel.
Mainly from Carwin
because the state's piggy bank, for those
that don't know the trust fund is empty.
Next year is the first year that the state will have
to go into the general fund to fund education
for the first time in four years.
Because when they did the gambling revenue
and we put it in a lockbox, they've been taking outta
that lockbox to fund their portion of wyn.
Meanwhile, the counties have had to come up with other means
of funding the difference for curwin.
So next year that piggy bank's empty
and there's not enough couch cushions, you can turn over
and find nickels under there.
That's gonna make up that 2.2 billion.
The other big impact is the,
and I said it last night, is a Medicaid expansion
for the state is another huge hit that they're facing.
So they have that let's, let's call it, that's their deficit
before they try to figure out some magic to fix that.
Part of the way they've been fixing it in the last couple
years, and you've probably heard it, is they have pushed
expenses down to the county.
One of the biggest ones. And I
and I, I was talking to somebody last night
and it didn't dawn on me that I meant
to say something about it probably six months ago when it
really came to my head of what happened, how many here
are just upset at what their assessments
for their houses were when they've come in in the last
two or three years, right?
It was the easiest budget gap closure
that the state could do without anybody
realizing they were doing it.
If I take your state assessment up on your property taxes,
30%, you don't see it till after it's paid.
But that closed a lot of that budget gap
that they were trying to get down.
Meanwhile, down at the county level, we're all absorbing
that through property taxes
and wondering how did my house go up $200,000 in one year?
It's ridiculous. Can't happen. Right?
I wouldn't be surprised if it happens again next year.
Quite frankly. Here we are looking at
another big budget deficit.
They also put all of the cost
to assess said houses down to the counties to pay for.
Guess how much say we have in SDA? Zero.
We pay for a service that we have zero control over
and zero say in.
Does that make sense to anybody?
Doesn't to anybody up here for sure.
And obviously and
and the board of Ed, most people know
that the teacher pensions started back in 2012,
I think was the first money that got put down
to the counties and then recently
more and more has been put down.
And one of the things about that
that they don't talk about when they say what that is
and how it's getting more expensive is we've increased all
the teacher's salaries, right?
To get 'em up to a level of
$60,000 for a first year teacher.
And in their wisdom in Annapolis, they didn't realize,
oh there may be more money we have to put into pensions
because now we raised all those salaries up
that never even dawned on 'em.
So there was really no way to fix that.
So that too got pushed down
to the counties in the last two budget cycles.
So we've absorbed, I think north
of two just here in Queen Anne's two point some million
dollars in additional operational
that wasn't on the books two years ago.
The reality is next year we're probably gonna absorb more.
My guess is if I was gonna go to Vegas
and bet I would say the health departments are gonna become
a fully funded county department here in the next year,
which kind of dovetails into the whole mental health.
Where's a lot of our mental health done
out of the health department.
So it's gonna become a county issue.
I think we saw last night, it's already an issue.
Alright, so let's fast forward,
let's get into the current one.
One statistic we hear about, I just heard about it, one
of the recent forms was Queen ENS County's at 23rd
or 23rd in per pupil spending in the state of Maryland.
All right, that number's a bit skewed on the surface.
First off, we are the eighth ranked county in the state
for local funding share.
We are the 19th ranked county in the state
for state share backed to us.
So that's how you get to 23 real quick.
And at the end of the day, what that does,
when you look at the number is I think I believe we're
16,000 per student, roughly.
Give or take that $12 million,
that's always up on the chart there.
Put that back in divided by 7,155 students.
That's a lot more money. So we would rise up out of that.
So that's how important
that state share is when you're just looking at numbers
and trying to use them as a justification of, oh,
queen Annes County, you're horrible
because you're not putting enough in per pupil.
I don't believe that. I don't believe.
'cause we have great teachers. We have great results.
So kudos to everybody that's involved in it.
And the other thing I wanna say that kind
of dovetails into the mental health,
which was also something
that happened last year, kind of under the radar.
Those in the, in the, in the board world
and in the schools remember it,
and it was called, it was when the state pulled back the
collaborative time for teachers, right?
Which was by designing Kerwin to give teachers extra time
for planning to deal with students outside of, you know,
the, the 25 kids in the classroom.
It was to create more one-on-one situations.
The state pulled that back.
That requirement I believe helped me, Dr.
It was probably 28, 29 now,
I guess is when they're phasing that back in.
But we have been paying into it the whole
time at the county level.
But the state pulled back their funding for it
so they didn't have to pay for it, right?
So it was really only a savings for them.
But unfortunately those teachers
aren't getting hired right now.
So we're not seeing that portion of the blueprint, which
by all accounts, when they explained it,
that was gonna be a critical function for the blueprint
to work to where the teachers were gonna have more time
to be one-on-one, which gets to your math
and reading specialists.
Those teachers were gonna have more face-to-face
with individuals, which was gonna help raise all boats.
Right? Again, something else
that was pulled back at the end of the day.
And lastly, we're, we're gonna be 5 million
behind next year, again,
before we even craft a budget from, for the board
of ed, from the state.
And to, to Patrick's point, he took my thunder.
'cause it is always my mantra, but we do we need,
we need to, no, it's fine.
We need the Maryland State Education Association.
We need teachers at large.
Don't go over there with apples, go over
with pitchforks and, and tell these,
Let's retract that.
You know what I mean? And,
and the getting the legislators
face, this is an election year.
Not a lot was gonna happen, but next year we've gotta fix it
and hopefully there's a commitment to fix it.
If, if the money's there, we can get the results,
but we can't keep coming back and telling the counties over
and over again, you guys gotta foot this alone
because we're all in it together, state counties and,
and talking to everybody else at, at our level, council
and commissioners across the state,
they're struggling with the same problems.
We're, we're actually in a lot better shape than most
counties are, to be honest with you.
So that's all I got for it.
If I could just add to that, on the per pupil spending
that the state gives to the county commissioners
for you is about $7,600 per pupil.
What the state gives to Caroline County is twice that.
So they get about 15,000 per pupil.
So to get to the commissioner's point of 15 or 16
or 17,000 per student, all of us are paying
that extra 10 grand, nine grand per per child, where,
you know, five miles from here,
they're getting twice the amount of support from the state.
So we, we gotta keep that in mind that the,
the commissioners are spending more per pupil than just
about any other county on the, on the Eastern shore.
Jim, can I talk about the middle school real quick?
'cause I ran those numbers. So Centerville Middle School,
so this is great news for us.
Something happened this, this year, queen End County,
and you may have already heard this Queen End County got
lumped in with several other counties.
Kent County did an incredible job of lobbying the state IAC,
which is the, the capital, the
where the capital money comes from
for all the Board of Ed projects.
They lobbied 'em because they thought
that the funding formula for capital projects was
unfair to several counties.
We got lumped in. So we went from a 50 50 share to a 75 25.
So on this one project,
and I'm just using Centerville Middle,
it's projected at $75 million construction cost, right?
The state takes on the 75% of that, which leaves us
with a balance of 18,750,000 roughly, to build that school.
This commission went to Annapolis this year
with a local bill that said we want to use our impact fees
that have been sitting in the accounts since the last time
we built a school in Queen Annes County,
which I believe was Su Lakeville middle back in oh 4, 0 5.
So 20 years that money's been building up.
The good news is, I believe we have $16 million in
that account that we are now gonna be allowed to do
and build Centerville because we went to Annapolis
and said, we wanna be able to use this money
for not just a replacement, but,
or I'm sorry, not a brand new building
and a new on a new piece of land,
but a replacement building on an existing property.
Because before you couldn't do that.
So out of the county coffers right now,
if everything works out right,
we're gonna build a $80 million middle school
for $2,250,000.
So kudos to all, all of us.
'cause that was, was a windfall for not only, I mean
that's huge for the school system,
but also the taxpayers at Queen Anne County.
So that's $35 million we're not gonna have
to bond to build a school.
So
You were right.
I was gonna say all that. So, oh, you
Were.
So now that's taken care of.
I just wanna say thank you for everybody for coming out and,
and with your questions and comments
and appreciate it greatly.
So on that note,
I make a motion to adjourn. Second. Second.
All those in favor a aye. Thank you.
Thank You everybody.