Department of Finance

The Office of the Chief Financial Officer - Administration/Budget Division is responsible for overall management of the Finance Department and serves as fiscal policy advisor to the Commissioners of St. Mary's County and the County Administrator. Responsibilities of this division, includes: budget formulation and management, cash flow, and debt management to include monitoring debt capacity for both the current and planned capital programs for conformance with debt affordability parameters set by the Commissioners of St. Mary's County, bond sales, and other special fiscal services, such as grants or capital projects monitoring, and the administration of the County's Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) and Length of Service Awards Program (LOSAP) trust. This division reviews all County Commissioner agenda items involving financial commitment and is also responsible for the financial aspects of a variety of agreements to which the County is a party.

The Accounting Division provides centralized accounting services for the County and is responsible for paying bills, receiving revenues, cash management, audit activities, payroll, fixed assets accounting, and reporting and other accounting functions. Responsibilities include: maintenance of general accounting and payroll/leave systems, revenue and disbursement systems, investment of County funds, annual financial audit activities and other external financial reporting. In addition, this division is responsible for processing refunds for the County's Energy Tax Program and processing invoices and collections for the Mosquito Control Program.

The Procurement Office provides centralized procurement of materials, supplies, services and construction contracting for all St. Mary's County Government Departments. Responsibilities include: processing numerous small purchases during the year as well as working with departments to develop appropriate specifications and preparation and release of solicitations, and the evaluation and negotiation of bids and contracts. In addition, the County participates in collaborative procurements with both Calvert and Charles counties as well as the St. Mary's County Board of Education, the St. Mary's County Library, and the St. Mary's County Metropolitan Commission.

The Department's responsibilities include evaluating and monitoring Debt Capacity for both the current and planned capital programs for conformance with debt affordability parameters set by the Commissioners of St. Mary's County. Periodically, our government issues long-term bonds to assist in financing our infrastructure. Prior to the bonds being issued, the County receives a credit rating which provides an agency's opinion as to the credit worthiness of the bond's issuer. There are three main Rating Agencies - Moody's, Fitch, and Standard & Poor's (S&P) which provide such opinions based on their assessment of an Issuer's ability to meet its overall financial obligations in-full and on-time. The Credit Ratings for St. Mary's County reflect a "very strong" credit worthiness with an "Aa1" rating from Moody's, an "AA+" rating from Fitch, and an "AA+" rating from Standard & Poor's (S&P).