LEONARDTOWN — When a major emergency pulls deputies, firefighters and medics into one place for hours, the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office runs the scene from a 20-year-old trailer pulled by a 2008 truck. That is about to change.
The Commissioners of St. Mary’s County on Oct. 20 accepted an $800,000 award from the U.S. Department of Justice to buy a self-contained mobile command vehicle, and agreed to let the sheriff spend up to $200,000 in seized-asset money to finish and equip it. The grant requires no local match, so county taxpayers will not pick up a share of the base cost.
The new unit replaces a 2006 trailer towed by a 2008 Ford truck. A sheriff’s office presenter told commissioners the old setup’s limited space, outdated technology and rising maintenance needs made replacement necessary.
Where the money comes from
The award comes through the Justice Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, under its fiscal 2026 Technology and Equipment Program, which funds law enforcement technology and equipment projects.
The request has been in the works for more than two years. Commissioners wrote a letter of support in 2024, the presenter said, and U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer asked House appropriators in a May 9, 2024, letter to fund the design and purchase of a mobile command center for the sheriff’s office. The sheriff’s office said U.S. Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks also backed the project, and a representative of Van Hollen’s office attended the Oct. 20 meeting.
In July, commissioners had cleared the sheriff’s office to submit a pre-application for a $900,000 award for the same vehicle. The final award came in $100,000 lower.
The math
- Estimated cost of the replacement vehicle: about $870,000
- Federal grant: $800,000, no local match required
- Locally forfeited funds approved: up to $200,000
The forfeited money, which comes from assets seized in criminal cases rather than from the general fund, will cover the gap between the grant and the vehicle’s price, plus furniture, technology and equipment needed to make it fully operational. Because the grant was not part of the sheriff’s approved fiscal 2027 budget, commissioners also approved a budget amendment to create spending authority for it.
Commissioners approved the award, the forfeited-fund spending, signing authority for the commissioner president and sheriff, and the budget amendment in four separate voice votes. All five commissioners were present.
From trailer to driver’s seat
During the discussion, a commissioner described the change this way: the current unit is a trailer pulled behind a truck, while the new one will be closer to a motor home that deputies drive to a scene and drive away. The sheriff’s office representative agreed.
The sheriff’s office said the vehicle will serve as a modern, self-contained command and communications platform for critical incidents, large-scale emergencies and other public safety operations, and will improve coordination with allied law enforcement agencies, emergency medical services and other partners when several agencies respond together.
One design choice drew questions. The vehicle will not include a restroom. The sheriff’s representative said the space and money a restroom would take are better used for command operations, and that 24-hour businesses such as gas stations are usually available during long incidents.
Mobile command posts have become common requests through the same federal program. Wake County, N.C., for example, received about $1 million in fiscal 2026 for a sheriff’s mobile command unit, according to the Citizens Against Government Waste earmark database.
What happens next
With acceptance documents authorized, the sheriff’s office can move to buy and outfit the vehicle. Presenters did not say on Oct. 20 when the new unit is expected to be in service or what will happen to the 2006 trailer.
The grant was one of several public safety funding items on the commissioners’ Oct. 20 agenda. At the same meeting, the board directed opioid settlement money to addiction treatment staffing at the county jail, as the Chronicle reported earlier this week.
