Last FY27 Public Budget Hearing In Calvert Focuses On Schools, Public Safety & Capital Improvements

PRINCE FREDERICK, Md. — Calvert County held its last scheduled public hearing on the FY27 budget on Tuesday, May 12, and honed in on several priorities for the upcoming year.

The fiscal year begins in July of each year, which means the county has to align grants and other funding opportunities with its budget year. Calvert’s Chief Financial Officer, Malena Brookshire, once again presented at this meeting, this time reviewing the major points of the updated budget.

The General Fund Budget for FY 2027, which begins July 1, 2026, was presented as balanced, with total revenues and expenditures of $420 million. Brookshire pointed out the differences between the current draft budget and the past draft — major changes include additional Board of Education (BOE) funding, compensation adjustments, Health Department support, contracted-service updates, and offsetting reductions or corrections.

Additionally, this budget has a clearer and more accurate revenue picture due to revised State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) and credit data, spring receipts, and updated service-fee assumptions.

Calvert County Public Schools (CCPS) Superintendent Dr. Marcus Newsome was in attendance and presented the final school budget for FY27, as submitted by the BOE.

Sheriff Ricky Cox also spoke, thanking Calvert’s Board of County Commissioners for listening to his department’s needs and securing funding for the last of the school resource officers (SROs). Cox and the Board of Education sought to have an SRO at every middle and high school in Calvert County. If passed, the FY27 budget should accomplish this goal.

Residents raised concerns about the ways in which increased costs will get passed onto residents, whether through taxes or through costs for public and private services, citing concerns about overdevelopment and excess spending.

Copies of the budget are available online or can be viewed in print at Calvert’s public libraries. The public comment period is open until 4:30 p.m. on Friday, May 29.

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