Charles County Board of Commissioners Meeting – July 7, 2026

The Charles County Board of Commissioners convened on July 7, 2026, for proclamations, routine approvals, and a detailed work session on Proposed Bill 2026-04, which would authorize collective bargaining for county employees. Commissioner Stewart was absent for the opening roll call but attended later; Commissioner Collins was absent during part of the later session.

Proclamations

• The Board proclaimed July 2026 as National Parks and Recreation Month (Proclamation 2026-55). Speakers thanked the Board and said parks and recreation improve quality of life.
• The Board proclaimed July 17–27, 2026, as Maryland by Local Week (Proclamation 2026-56). The proclamation cited 371 farms, more than 47,000 acres of farmland, and over $20 million in agricultural revenue in Charles County. A speaker said agriculture is Maryland's largest commercial industry and that local spending has an estimated 3–4 times economic multiplier. Agriculture interns expressed support for Southern Maryland agriculture.

Commissioner Comments and Administrative Items

• Commissioner Collins praised the Thomas Stone Historic Site's Maryland 250th anniversary event, the Rich Hill historic site opening, and Congressman Hoyer's Black history essay contest, and thanked the sheriff's office and fire departments for July 4th safety.
• Commissioner Coates recognized Deputy County Attorney Liz Theobold on her appointment as a Charles County District Court judge.
• The Board approved the June 24, 2026, meeting minutes and was reminded the next regular sessions will be July 21–22, 2026.

Consent Calendar and Approvals

• Approved FY2026 budget transfers: BTR 376 ($110,000 for water/sewer electricity overruns), BTR 481 ($441,410 for AE inspection and construction costs for the Matterwoman wastewater treatment plant flow equalization basin project), BTR 762 ($78,000 for Indian Head Rail Trail administrative costs), and BTR 978 ($196,700 for behavioral health clinic and community health outreach worker program costs, transferred from ARPA funds held by Economic Development).
• Approved FY2027 budget amendments carrying over funds: BA #7 ($150,000 for the urban tree canopy assessment in the watershed protection fund) and BA #9 ($65,210 for a landfill fund vehicle approved in FY2026 but not yet delivered).
• Approved the negotiated three-year memorandum of understanding between the County, Sheriff's Office, and Charles County Correctional Officers Association for FY2027–FY2029. It moves corrections officers from merit pay to a step scale, provides a 1.5% COLA on the July 24, 2026 paycheck, an anniversary step, and parity with non-bargaining employee raises and bonuses. Commissioner Bowling questioned how the non-bargaining comparison would work if county employees later unionized; staff said that would be a reopener. Staff noted late grammar-only changes would be incorporated before signature.
• Approved delegating authority to the Chief Information Officer to complete Microsoft Azure Government validation/enrollment under the county's existing Microsoft agreement; no new spending was authorized.
• Approved a grant-funded, state-required court security position for the Sheriff's Office. The grant covers the position for one year; after that, the county would fund it. Commissioners called it an unfunded mandate stemming from House Bill 492 and expressed concern about future state fiscal pressure.

Work Session: Proposed Bill 2026-04 on County Employee Collective Bargaining

• Outside counsel Paul Tell and DPW Director Martin Harris reviewed the county's original bill and AFSME's proposed amendments. Harris described steps DPW has taken to improve employee engagement, pay, and safety, including a DPW employee committee, doubled boot allowances and on-call pay, paid CDL training, a 9-hour rest period after after-hours emergencies, and a safety survey showing 96% of employees rated workplaces safe or very safe. Harris stated he took no position on the bill but wanted to show employees have been heard.
• Board members discussed concerns that AFSME's changes would remove management rights to set schedules and work rules. The Board restored language preserving county authority to set and modify schedules and to hold employees over during emergencies; compensation for such work remains bargainable. They also agreed to replace stricken work-rule language with the county's right to establish reasonable work rules and to add an emergency clause allowing the county to take whatever lawful action is necessary to carry out its mission during emergencies.
• The Board changed the proposed exclusive-representative information-sharing language so the county would provide the union only information required under the Maryland Public Information Act.
• Board members reached consensus on one countywide bargaining unit containing two classifications (service, labor, and trades; office, professional, and technical), rather than two separate bargaining units.
• For union certification, the Board restored the county's option to request a secret-ballot election when cards are signed by more than 50% of eligible employees, and required at least 51% of eligible employees to cast ballots, with a majority of votes cast needed to certify the union. The deadline for the county to request a ballot was changed to 20 business days.
• The Board debated binding versus non-binding impasse arbitration. Staff and counsel warned binding arbitration could harm the county's bond rating and fiscal flexibility. With four commissioners present, three favored non-binding and one favored binding arbitration, so the Board kept non-binding, advisory arbitration. Commissioner Bowling said he agreed for now but planned to push in August for binding arbitration covering IAFF, FOP, and the new county employee unit.
• The Board accepted standard unfair labor practice provisions but amended them to mirror the Maryland Public Information Act information requirement.
• The Board added a sunset provision: if no union is certified within two years of the legislation's effective date, the enabling authority would expire, with the possibility of extension by a future board.

Key Outcomes

• All six budget transfer/amendment items were approved; the sheriff's MOU, Microsoft Azure delegation, and court security position were also approved.
• No formal vote was taken on Bill 2026-04 during the work session. Staff will draft the amended red-line language, and the Board will continue with a public hearing and work session on July 21–22, 2026.
• Morning briefings on food truck policy, hunting opportunities, speed cameras, and the oath-of-office venue were rescheduled.