LA PLATA — Charles County’s five commissioners spent $29,061.45 of the $54,000 set aside for their business expenses in fiscal 2026, and the county’s internal auditors found nothing wrong with any of it.
Senior Internal Auditor Johnny Coleman and Junior Internal Auditor Michael Felpin presented the annual review to the board Oct. 27. The audit checked every FY26 charge and its paperwork against the county’s commissioner expense policy and reported no findings: purchases were allowable, no account went over budget, transfers were properly authorized, and each expense had the required documentation and approvals.
The money is a small slice of the county budget, but it is the one the commissioners spend directly, on conferences, travel and community projects in their districts. The clean result comes months after the board created an Office of the Inspector General to police waste and fraud, and it prompted two commissioners to suggest the next board get a bigger allowance.
Where the money went
Each commissioner had $10,800 for the year in three accounts: $4,600 for conferences and meetings, $2,200 for mileage and $4,000 for special projects. Policy allows commissioners to spend the full amount on allowable expenses but does not require it.
| Category | Available | Spent | Used |
|---|---|---|---|
| Special projects | $23,500 | $18,422.37 | 78% |
| Conferences and meetings | $19,500 | $10,422.24 | 53% |
| Mileage | $11,000 | $216.84 | 2% |
| Total | $54,000 | $29,061.45 | 53.8% |
Special projects, the account commissioners use to support community groups and events, was the most used. Mileage barely moved: commissioners charged $216.84 against $11,000. One commissioner, District 1, moved $3,500 from conferences and meetings into special projects, which the policy allows between a commissioner’s own accounts.
Individual use ranged from 34% to 74.5% of each $10,800 allocation:
- District 1, Gilbert “BJ” Bowling III: $8,046.43, or 74.5%, split fairly evenly between conferences and special projects
- District 2, Thomasina Coates: $6,230.89, or 57.7%, mostly special projects
- Commissioner President Reuben Collins II: $5,763.77, or 53.4%, mostly conferences and meetings
- District 4, Ralph Patterson II: $5,346, or 49.5%, mostly conferences and meetings
- District 3, Amanda Stewart: $3,673.63, or 34%, mostly special projects
About $25,000 went unspent. Leftover FY26 balances do not carry over to fiscal 2027, and the FY27 allocation stays at $10,800 per commissioner. The auditors stressed that the 53.8% usage rate was an observation, not a finding, since the policy does not require commissioners to spend their full allocation.
A push for more
Collins thanked the auditors and staff and credited changes made after an earlier audit, crediting commissioners’ office administrator Tamika Wood with leading improvements to the office’s internal financial processes and Chief of Staff Crystal Hunt with tracking the expenses. He said the board had dealt with what he described as, to a degree, a crisis by putting new spending procedures in place.
He then argued that the county’s conservative approach had earned commissioners more room. Collins said future commissioners should consider a larger amount in their individual accounts so they can do more in the community, while noting he did not want a return to the days when nonprofits pitched commissioners directly for money in the meeting room.
A second commissioner, who said they were leaving the board, agreed and said the next board’s members will face the challenge of serving their districts and should have more funding to do it. Another commissioner recalled pushing a policy change during an earlier term that let commissioners move money between their own accounts, pointing to the roughly $2,000 in unused mileage money each commissioner had last year that could instead support community organizations and events.
Board members suggested Collins or Coates could bring an agenda request to raise the allocation before the current board’s final meetings. No vote was taken Oct. 27, and any increase would require board action. The commissioners’ next scheduled meeting is Nov. 17.
