The St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office received nearly $70,000 in federally forfeited funds during fiscal year 2026 and restructured three existing staff positions, according to actions approved by the Commissioners of St. Mary’s County at their Aug. 25 meeting.
Commissioners approved the Sheriff’s Office’s Equitable Sharing Agreement and Certification for FY2026, a required annual filing for agencies that receive a share of assets forfeited through federal law enforcement investigations. The Sheriff’s Office received $69,742.56 in federally forfeited funds during the fiscal year and reported no expenditures from the account, bringing its total balance to $103,419.96 — meaning the fund held roughly $33,677 at the start of the fiscal year.
Equitable sharing funds come through U.S. Department of Justice and Department of the Treasury programs that let local agencies keep a share of assets forfeited in cases where they assisted federal investigators. The programs carry strict federal rules on how the money can be spent — generally requiring it to supplement, rather than replace, an agency’s regular budget — and require agencies to file an annual certification regardless of whether they received or spent any funds that year.
Commissioners also approved a Sheriff’s Office request to reorganize three existing positions. Under the change, one vacant Law and Corrections Recruiter position will become a Multimedia Production Specialist position, one temporary part-time Videographer position will be eliminated, and one temporary part-time Janitor II position will be converted to a full-time equivalent role. County officials described the changes as intended to better align staffing resources with the department’s operational needs.
Neither the meeting record nor the county’s summary specified the reasoning behind converting the vacant recruiter role specifically into a multimedia position. The change comes against a national backdrop of law enforcement staffing strain: a 2024 survey by the International Association of Chiefs of Police found more than 70% of agencies nationwide reported recruiting had grown more difficult over the previous five years, with responding agencies operating at an average of about 91% of their authorized staffing levels.
Both items were part of the commissioners’ broader County Administrator Time agenda, which also included budget amendments for the Board of Education, an FY2027 School Resource Officer grant, and a child support enforcement grant for the Sheriff’s Office.
