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Petition seeks vote to make property tax hikes tougher
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WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Montgomery County voters could have the chance to make it harder for county officials to increase property taxes under a proposed ballot measure.
That is if those very same officials approve the measure.
More than 10,000 Montgomery County residents signed a petition backing a referendum on requiring a unanimous vote by the County Council to increase property tax rates above the rate of inflation. But before the measure goes on the 2008 General Election ballot, the council must give its approval.
As it stands, the Montgomery government charter requires seven of its nine council members to approve any initiative that would raise the county’s property tax above the rate of inflation. The proposed initiative is the result of an effort by anti-tax crusader and former County Executive candidate Robin Ficker.
The county board of elections sent notice to County Executive Ike Leggett and Council President Marilyn Praisner Nov. 13, saying all signatures gathered by Ficker and his supporters appeared valid.
Ficker said the initiative is an attempt to deter the Council from raising property taxes in the coming fiscal year. Council members have suggested they will need to come up with solutions to offset a tightening state budget, though no proposals to raise property taxes have been made.
“Obviously, these folks, the officeholders, have a propensity to try to raise taxes,” Ficker, a former state delegate whose opposition to lawmakers’ attempts to raise taxes is well-known in the county, said Monday.
If approved, the initiative would not have any effect until fiscal 2010. That budget year begins in July 2009.
The county “held the line” on not raising property taxes last year, Leggett’s spokesman, Patrick Lacefield, said Monday.
“But we weren’t making any promises on what we were going to be able to do coming in July,” Lacefield said. “He’s neither ruled in or ruled out a property tax increase, we just need to see.”
Council Member Phil Andrews called Ficker’s ballot initiative “unreasonable.”
“I think it gives too much power to one person. It allows one council member to block a decision by others,” Andrews said. “I think seven gives adequate protection.”
But Ficker said the initiative is needed to hold council members accountable for their votes.
“It will affect their decision making because they don’t want this to pass, you see,” Ficker said.
cmabeus@dcexaminer.com
Comments from Examiner Readers
10:17 AM MST on Wed., May. 14, 2008 re: "Leggett says property tax cuts only help businesses, wealthy"
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5:28 AM MST on Tue., May. 13, 2008
re: "Most council members favor cut to property tax"
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12:18 PM MST on Tue., Apr. 15, 2008
re: "Council may kill Montgomery property tax hike"
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10:23 AM MST on Tue., Apr. 1, 2008
re: "Anti-tax signs disappear before increase proposed"
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1:02 AM MST on Tue., Apr. 1, 2008
re: "Montgomery balks at tax increase for millionaires"
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6:30 PM MST on Sat., Mar. 22, 2008
re: "Anti-tax signs disappear before increase proposed"
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5:50 PM MST on Sat., Mar. 22, 2008
re: "Anti-tax signs disappear before increase proposed"
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10:19 AM MST on Fri., Mar. 21, 2008
re: "Anti-tax signs disappear before increase proposed"
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5:54 AM MST on Tue., Jan. 22, 2008
re: "Legislation would give charter counties OK to raise property taxes above limit"
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7:56 PM MST on Fri., Dec. 7, 2007
re: "Montgomery home sellers must disclose future tax"
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7:07 PM MST on Tue., Nov. 20, 2007
re: "Petition seeks vote to make property tax hikes tougher"
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7:04 PM MST on Tue., Nov. 20, 2007
re: "Petition seeks vote to make property tax hikes tougher"
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Robin Ficker, Broker Robin Realty said:
Don't use the words, "property tax cut," in Montgomery County. Leggett has proposed the largest property tax increase in 20 years. Sticking to the charter limit will allow a 3.6% increase in property tax revenues. That should be enough. We shall see if Council members Tratchenberg and Andrews were serious when they spoke of sticking to the charter property tax limit. If they vote to exceed the limit, it will make passage of our November ballot question making it more difficult to exceed the charter property tax limit more likely.
3 agree | 2 disagree
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Gazette Reader (and Examiner, too) said:
The council committee tax plan will result in a MUCH larger tax increase for the average homeowner (where their home is worth under about $500,000) then the Leggett plan. Older people and those who live in smaller condos and townhomes will bear the greater brunt of the increase than the people who live in million dollar homes. That fact that is exposed by this article, and their is no hiding from it.
2 agree | 3 disagree
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Robin Ficker, Broker Robin Realty said:
The council is waiting for the results of the special election in District 4 to see what to do. Mark Fennel is running for County Council and Property Tax Relief. He opposes Leggett's biggest proposed property tax increase in 20 years, has pledged to vote against exceeding the charter property tax limit and supports our November ballot question which makes it more difficult to exceed the charter property tax limit. C
3 agree | 2 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Last summer, Help Save Maryland filed a Freedom of Information” request with Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett and County Council President Mike Knapp. Our request covered 5 years worth of official documents concerning Montgomery County and all taxpayer funding for the illegal alien support group CASA of Maryland – Day Laborer Centers, Training, Education, Outreach, Health Care, Legal Services and more, all County funded activities advertised on CASA’s web site. Leggett responded and supplied Help Save Maryland with THREE pieces of paper; Knapp had ZERO. Judicial Watch, a conservative, non-partisan educational foundation, which promotes transparency, accountability and integrity in government, politics and law, came to the rescue. Judicial Watch re-filed the request and guess what, they received boxes of documents from multiple parts of the Montgomery County Government regarding CASA of Maryland.
3 agree | 3 disagree
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Robin Ficker Broker Robin Realty said:
Knapp and Leggett are trying to push through the biggest property tax increase in 20 years. When the state budget "deficit" in a budget that was 8.5% larger than last year was proposed, Leggett proposed raising taxes. He got what he wanted. Then he said he got too much of what he wanted. Now he is trying to raise the gas tax while gasoline is headed to $4 a gallon. Is he nuts?
2 agree | 2 disagree
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Mark D. Fennel, County Council Candidate said:
For goodness sakes, three of the signs taken on seperate occasions, by the Montgomery County Government, was displayed in the yard of Tommy Le, who lives along that stretch. He's a candidate for Montgomery County Board of Education, fine man, and political ally.
2 agree | 3 disagree
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Mark D. Fennel, County Council Candidate said:
When I caught the county employee, he said each house needed a permit to have a sign. He also said, the signs were to big for permits, and that he could fine me $500 per house for all 26 houses,($1,300). NONE OF THIS WAS TRUE. He asked to see my identification. I asked for them back from his truck, he said no. ACLU Help! As I drove off, he said, "And some of them were in the right of way." Some of them? Today, Montgomery County's spin is all of them were in the right of way. Tragically, they tossed many of them in Montgomery County's landfill. I told permitting services, that donations from senior citizens who are being driven out of their homes due to high property taxes helped to pay for those signs -- they shrugged. VOTE FENNEL FOR COUNTY COUNCIL AND PROPERTY TAX RELIEF APRIL 15 AND MAY 13
4 agree | 3 disagree
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Robin Ficker, Broker Robin Realty said:
All these signs were put up on the homes of homeowners with the permission of the homeowners. None was put in the right of way. We caught the county employee surreptitiously taking down the signs when he was doing it for the fifth time, after we had filed two police reports. Vote for Fennel for County Council and Property Tax Relief in the April 15 special election.
2 agree | 4 disagree
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Robin Ficker, Broker Robin Realty said:
We have a ballot question on the 2008 ballot in Montgomery County. It would make it more difficult to exceed the county property tax limit, not easier. This ballot question will pass.
31 agree | 52 disagree
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Tony Sharpe said:
I read your article about the Council's decision to have sellers estimate taxes. What a crock. Why don't they make it easy and keep the law simple and say that taxes cannot be increased more than 10% a year. Why does it matter if the property changes hands! This is just another example of the county being greeeeedy taking advantage of the purchasers of real estate. The county should get their hands out of the purchasers pockets. Taxes are way too high the way it is. This will only hamper the already hurting market. Thanks.
56 agree | 48 disagree
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Control spending said:
Monkey County needs to control spending, not try to take our homes.
77 agree | 67 disagree
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Taxed out said:
After all the O'Malley tax increases, I can't believe the council covets out home equity!
53 agree | 50 disagree
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