St. Mary’s Commissioners Approve $71,933 Grant To Support Overdose Prevention Efforts

LEONARDTOWN, Md. — The Commissioners of St. Mary’s County unanimously approved a $71,933 state grant Tuesday, July 21, to continue funding a full-time coordinator responsible for tracking drug investigations and overdoses while supporting prevention and community outreach efforts.

The fiscal 2027 Maryland Criminal Intelligence Network/Overdose and Drug Awareness Coordinator Grant was awarded through the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention and Policy.

Capt. Sarah Smith, commander of the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office Administrative Division, and Mary C. “Lotti” Bell, the agency’s chief fiscal administrative officer, presented the award request.

“Today, we’re here to request the grant award for the continuation of our overdose and drug awareness coordinator grant position with the Sheriff’s Office,” Smith told commissioners.

Grant Award Exceeds Initial Estimate

The Sheriff’s Office initially anticipated receiving $61,767 when preparing its fiscal 2027 budget. The final award totaled $71,933, approximately $10,000 more than expected.

“This year’s grant funding is expected to be $71,933, which is about $10,000 more than we originally expected in our FY27 budget,” Smith said.

A budget amendment approved with the award increases grant funding by $10,166, decreases the Sheriff’s Office contribution by $2,149 and realigns funding within the project to comply with the final award.

The total projected cost of the position for fiscal 2027 is $82,709. Approximately $10,776 in county funding will be needed to cover salary and fringe benefit expenses not covered by the grant. That funding was already included in the Sheriff’s Office’s approved fiscal 2027 budget.

When commissioners asked why the award was higher than anticipated, Smith said the state appears to be investing more money in programs focused on overdose prevention and drug awareness.

“I think the state’s putting a lot of money toward this program,” Smith said. “I think they’ve realized that positions like this increase public education and help us lower the overdose numbers through different community education and having more naloxone available to the public.”

One commissioner called the additional funding “great,” noting that many grant programs are receiving more funding requests than available resources.

Tracking Drug Activity And Overdoses

The grant continues a position that has received partial state funding since fiscal 2020 and was previously known as the heroin coordinator.

The coordinator enters information about drug investigations, seizures, arrests, overdoses and other drug-related activity into regional and federal intelligence systems. Fatal and nonfatal overdose cases are also entered into the Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program, commonly known as ODMAP.

The coordinator analyzes local drug trends, examines overdose investigations for possible prosecution and shares information about high-risk individuals with public health agencies for outreach.

The position also serves as a liaison between the Sheriff’s Office and neighboring law enforcement agencies, the St. Mary’s County Health Department, MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital, St. Mary’s County Public Schools and local mental health providers.

Those partnerships support information sharing, educational programs, community outreach and the development of intervention strategies.

Funding Continues Through June 2027

The grant will fund the position from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027. The state award covers a portion of the coordinator’s salary and up to 30% of eligible fringe benefit costs.

Commissioners previously authorized the Sheriff’s Office to apply for the funding May 5. The county received notice of the award June 22.

The commissioners voted without opposition to approve the project and authorize the commissioner president and Sheriff Steven A. Hall to execute the related grant documents.

Watch the full grant approval below at 18:26:

---