The St. Mary’s County Metropolitan Commission has promoted its deputy chief financial officer, Christina Tippett, to chief financial officer.
Tippett has more than 10 years of experience in finance and accounting. Her work has covered general ledger management, cost proposal development, forecasting and balance sheet analysis. She previously worked as an accounts payable supervisor, accountant and financial administrator, with a background in enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, internal controls and cross-functional collaboration.
She holds an associate degree in business administration and a bachelor’s degree in finance with a minor in accounting. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in accounting and financial management.
“We look forward to Christina’s strong leadership and expertise in financial forecasting, full cost accounting and internal controls that will ensure the Commission continues providing disciplined and performance-led services to our customers,” said MetCom Executive Director George Erichsen.
Tippett succeeds Shon Bethea, who was MetCom’s chief financial officer as of April, when he joined Erichsen and Chief Engineer Christy Hollander to present the utility’s fiscal 2027 capital budget and five-year capital plan to the St. Mary’s County Commissioners. MetCom did not say when Tippett’s appointment takes effect.
Big projects, ratepayer money
Tippett takes charge of MetCom’s finances during a heavy stretch of infrastructure spending. In April, the county commissioners backed up to $38.4 million in infrastructure bonds for MetCom, issued through the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development. The money will pay for upgrades to the Piney Point water station, rehabilitation of the Southampton water system, replacement of the Piney Point sewer force main, improvements to the Forest Run wastewater pump station, and grinder pump replacements.
MetCom is an independent, quasi-governmental body created by the Maryland General Assembly in 1957. It builds, operates and maintains public water and wastewater systems in St. Mary’s County. The commission serves about 16,000 homes and 850 businesses through more than 300 miles of water mains and 200 miles of sewer lines. It is funded entirely by its ratepayers and receives no county tax revenue.
A seven-member board appointed by the county commissioners governs MetCom, along with a non-voting member representing Naval Air Station Patuxent River. The board meets at 3 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of each month, and the meetings are open to the public. Erichsen has led the commission since February 2017.
Residents can find MetCom’s budgets, agendas and minutes on the public records portal it launched in August.
