{"data":{"id":"us-md/md.-code-local-government-12-406","jurisdiction":"us-md","citation":"Md. Code, Local Government § 12–406","heading":"","body":"(a) (1) The County Commissioners of Charles County may:\n(i) purchase or lease personal property under a multiyear\ncontract that requires the county commissioners to make installment or rental\npayments during 2 or more fiscal years;\n(ii) pay interest as part of any installment or rental payments\nin accordance with the terms of the contract; and\n(iii) pledge and assign the personal property purchased or\nleased to secure the obligation.\n(2) (i) The county commissioners may enter into a contract\ndescribed under paragraph (1) of this subsection only if:\n1. the county commissioners have appropriated money\nsufficient to pay the amount due under the contract during the first fiscal year in\nwhich the contract is effective;\n2. subject to subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, the\ncontract authorizes the county commissioners to terminate the contract if money\nsufficient to pay the amount due under the contract for any fiscal year is not\nappropriated;\n3. the contract provides that, except if the county\ncommissioners default in payment under the contract, an obligation for payment\nunder the contract is limited to money appropriated for contract payment for that\nfiscal year; and\n4. the contract provides that, if the county\ncommissioners default in payment under the contract, the obligation for payment is\nlimited to:\nA. money appropriated for contract payments for that\nfiscal year;\nB. any money realized from the personal property\npurchased or leased under the contract; and\nC. any other money legally available for contract\npayment.\n(ii) The contract may provide that a contract termination is\nineffective if the county commissioners purchase or lease personal property similar\nor functionally related to the property purchased or leased under the contract within\na specified period of time.\n(b) (1) (i) The County Commissioners of Charles County may:\n1. transfer without public sale an interest in surplus\ncounty property to another government unit in the county under terms and conditions\nand for consideration, if any, as determined by the county commissioners; and\n2. execute and acknowledge any instruments\nnecessary to transfer the property.\n(ii) The county commissioners shall obtain three independent\nappraisals before selling surplus school board real property under this paragraph.\n(2) Notwithstanding any other provision in this section, the county\ncommissioners may transfer by public or private sale, any interest in surplus real\nproperty under terms determined by the county commissioners if the transfer of the\nproperty would contribute to economic development in the county.\n(c) (1) To establish affordable housing for families of limited income as\ndefined in § 4–901 of the Housing and Community Development Article or to address\neducation, human services, housing, cultural, recreational, or community needs, the\nCounty Commissioners of Charles County may:\n(i) by resolution, transfer surplus real property in the county\nto a private nonprofit corporation in the county or to the Housing Commission of\nCharles County, with or without consideration; or\n(ii) sell or, if the State does not have a financial interest in the\nproperty, donate surplus school property that is transferred to the county by the\nschool board, to a government unit or a private nonprofit corporation.\n(2) Before transferring surplus property under this subsection, the\ncounty commissioners shall:\n(i) hold a public hearing;\n(ii) at the hearing, solicit and accept comments concerning the\ntransfer; and\n(iii) at the hearing, consider issues related to the transfer that\ninclude:\n1. compatibility of the proposed use with the\nneighborhood;\n2. financial issues, including the ability of the proposed\ntransferee to construct, renovate, maintain, and operate a facility on the property;\n3. the historical significance of the property; and\n4. unique characteristics of any structure on the\nproperty.\n(3) The notice of the public hearing shall:\n(i) be published at least once each week for 2 successive\nweeks, with the last notice advertised at least 7 days before the date of the hearing\nin a newspaper of general circulation in the county; and\n(ii) include an appraisal of the property obtained by the county\ncommissioners.\n(4) The county commissioners shall adopt regulations to implement\nthis subsection.\n(d) (1) The County Commissioners of Charles County may:\n(i) acquire by purchase, lease, condemnation, gift, or devise\nreal property, or any interest in property, to establish county roads;\n(ii) return real property to the original owner of the property\nor the owner’s successor in interest when the property is no longer needed for road\npurposes;\n(iii) sell at a public or private sale any property established as\na county road when the property is no longer needed for road purposes; and\n(iv) exchange real property established as a county road when\nthe property is no longer needed for road purposes for other real property needed to\nestablish county roads.\n(2) The county commissioners shall advertise the sale or exchange of\nproperty under this section at least 20 days before the date of the sale or exchange.\n(e) (1) If the County Commissioners of Charles County determine at a\npublic sale of surplus county property that the highest bid is not reasonable, the\ncounty commissioners may reject all bids on the property.\n(2) If the county commissioners reject all bids under this subsection,\nthe county commissioners:\n(i) shall record the highest bid in the minutes; and\n(ii) may privately negotiate and sell the surplus property for a\nhigher price if:\n1. the settlement of the property sale is within 1 year\nfrom the day of the initial public sale; and\n2. the county commissioners announce the privately\nnegotiated agreement at the first meeting after reaching the agreement.\n(3) The county commissioners shall adopt regulations to implement\nthis subsection.","path":["Article - Local Government"],"source_url":"https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=glg\u0026section=12-406","current_through":"2026-01-01","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T19:59:58Z","sha256":"70aa54048d679c9b386825f08a971f4428c6297cb2a4d1d71013ceb6ad0065ee","source_id":"us-md","stale":false,"prev":"us-md/md.-code-local-government-12-405","next":"us-md/md.-code-local-government-12-407"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}