Charles County Commissioners adopted a fiscal 2013 budget earlier this week totaling $325 million, a 5.7% increase over fiscal 2012. As reported by SoMdNews.com:

The board’s decision to include raises for Charles County sheriff’s deputies, public school teachers and county government employees in the fiscal 2013 general fund budget was a major factor for an increase of $17.4 million, to $325.1 million, over last year’s budget.

To close a resulting budget deficit of $10.3 million for the new fiscal year, which begins July 1, the commissioners raised the property tax rate by 5.45 cents, an increase of 5.1 percent. The new rate is $1.1210 per $100 of assessed value. Each 1-cent property tax increase raises the taxes paid by the owner of a home worth $200,000 by about $25 a year, according to county government projections.