The St. Mary's County Commissioners and county staff joined business leaders at the 2009 State of the County Luncheon Tuesday afternoon. The SMC Chamber of Commerce hosted the event at the JT Daugherty Center.

The county made it's annual report available at the luncheon and online at http://www.co.saint-marys.md.us/docs/2009StateofCounty.pdf. The recently announced and anticipated budget cuts were the hot topic. BOCC President Jack Russell said it was time to 'tighten up the belt' and referred to the cuts as a pain that would get spread around.

Commissioner  Raley spoke directly about the financial crunch and stated, "The state of Maryland is in fiscal disarray. He said the impacts to the county would be 'difficult to absorb', but he and all commissioners stressed the importance of planning and investments in the community.

Commissioner Mattingly talked about the recent 'good times' and strong economy and said, "A lot of people thought that bubble would never burst." Commissioner Dement emphasised the importance of volunteerism.

 Russell pointed out the strengths of the county and said, "We have a great and resilient community."  Commissioner Jarboe explained, "We're strapped like the private sector is strapped." Jarboe also reminded the audience, "The rest of the country is going through times much worse than we're facing here."