Charles County’s proposed fiscal 2027 budget keeps local property and income tax rates unchanged for the 13th consecutive year, but the proposal still reflects the growing fiscal pressure counties continue to face from rising costs, expanding service demands, and additional State obligations.
The proposed General Fund budget totals roughly $641.8 million, a 7.9% increase over fiscal 2026.
The proposed budget reflects several significant cost drivers, including employee compensation, school funding obligations, public safety staffing, infrastructure demands, and State cost shifts. Fiscal 2027 includes roughly $6.1 million in additional State-driven costs, including pensions, private pre-K, and SDAT expenses.
Education remains the County’s single largest operating expense.
The proposed budget includes a $12.1 million increase for Charles County Public Schools and exceeds the State’s maintenance of effort requirement by roughly $14.7 million. Funding supports negotiated salary increases, healthcare costs, instructional supplies, special education services, and school bus replacements.
Public safety spending also continues to grow across the budget.
The proposal funds several new Sheriff’s Office positions, equipment replacement, technology upgrades, collective bargaining costs, a drone first-responder program, and other technologies. Emergency services funding includes six new EMT positions, a new ambulance, and continued support for the County’s Mobile Integrated Health Program.
The budget also includes several operational and technology upgrades across government, including software modernization efforts and expanded operational technology support.
At the same time, several enterprise funds would see fee increases under the proposal, including water and sewer rates, landfill tipping fees, environmental service fees, and watershed protection fees. The presentation tied those increases to infrastructure needs, regulatory compliance costs, staffing pressures, and equipment replacement.
The proposed Capital Improvement Program continues funding for school expansions, transportation projects, stormwater infrastructure, public safety facilities, and the Sports & Wellness Center.
Public feedback during the budget process focused heavily on traffic congestion, overcrowding, emergency response capacity, infrastructure strain, development pressures, and government spending. Residents also strongly opposed local tax increases while continuing to prioritize education, public safety, and core services.
The Charles County Commissioners will hold final budget deliberations and are scheduled to adopt the fiscal 2027 budget this week.
