The Charles County Commissioners passed their county budget this week, incorporating multiple proposals into a final product that grants employee increases for county and school employees.
From coverage on SoMdNews.com:
“We do the best we can,” [Commission President Candace Quinn] Kelly said after the budget’s adoption. “I wish we could always do more, but I think this is a good starting point, and it certainly is heartwarming to finally get our law enforcement officers up to speed and our staff with a quick raise, and we appreciate the board of education’s efforts to try to do their best with this funding for the teachers.”
The county received a budget proposal from its school board that sought a 15% funding increase, requiring more than $23 million in new funds. The article details that “The Charles County Board of Education will receive an additional $4 million — half of it toward a step increase for county teachers and the other half for nonrecurring costs.”
The funding plan required increases in both the property and income tax rates in the county:
To pay for the added items, the final budget includes a property tax rate of $1.141 per $100 of assessed value, an 8.4-cent and 7.9 percent increase on the current $1.057 rate.
…
The final budget includes a small increase to the local income tax rate, from 2.9 percent to 3.03 percent.
