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Leggett seeking higher gas tax to fund transportation projects
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Related Topics: ROCKVILLE, Md.
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Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett gives a thumbs-up while receiving applause after his first State of the County Address at the Montgomery County Executive Office Building in Rockville on Monday.
Transportation was a dominant theme in County Executive Ike Leggett’s first annual State of the County speech.
Leggett told residents and county leaders that expanded transportation infrastructure is “critically important to preserving our quality of life and in attracting and retaining businesses in the county.”
He said he wanted more transit options including the Purple Line, the Corridor Cities Transitway, expanded Ride-On service, road widenings and intersection improvements.
“To accomplish these first two parts, we must have adequate and sustainable sources of revenue,” Leggett said. “The state Legislature’s increase in the Transportation Trust Fund to $440 million is all well and good, but this simply maintains existing facilities and does not add any new projects.”
The county is bracing for a projected $401 million budget gap in fiscal year 2009, and last week a Montgomery Council panel recommended creating a local gas tax or vehicle registration fee to fund infrastructure needs.
“That’s going to be our challenge in the next 6 to 9 months: establishing things that are priorities that are commensurate with the amount of money that we’re actually going to have to spend,” County Council Vice President Mike Knapp said.
Knapp said he believes either a state gas tax increase or a local gas tax will be necessary to fund new projects but that he did not think the Council would back a local gas tax if the state increased its gas tax.
“If the state is going to generate enough money to actually pay for the major transportation projects great, then I think we let the state do that,” Knapp said. “If they’re not going to do that, then we may have to impose a smaller gas tax locally, but I don’t think you do them both.”
Bill Witham, chairman of the County’s Republican Party, said raising the state gas tax would “fly like a lead balloon.”
“Between mortgage issues, tax increases just passed by the state legislature, the high cost of gasoline and the high cost a state gas tax increase would put on businesses in Montgomery County, it would be a huge burden on the taxpayers to increase the gas tax in any way,” Witham said.
kmiller@dcexaminer.com
Comments from Examiner Readers
11:55 AM MST on Tue., Aug. 12, 2008 re: "40 percent of MontCo public safety retirees receive disability payments, report shows"
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Examiner Reader Steve said:
I guess workers in public employees unions don't get enough sweetheart deals from MoCo government. Apparently the all-Democratic council fears, or really likes the performance, of union officials and members. Union members persuade via boos and jeers at public hearings. Get a backbone guys and gals.
4 agree | 5 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Montgomery County must count obesity and Viagra use as a retirement disability.
4 agree | 2 disagree
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Robin Ficker Broker Robin Realty said:
Do 40% of retirees in your business retire on disabiity?
3 agree | 2 disagree
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Robin Ficker Broker Robin Realty said:
While Leggett know of this massive retirement disability fraud he proposed the largest property tax increase in 20 years. Next year he will proposed the largest property tax increase in 21 years. The county and doctors involved here are complicit. Doubtlessly some of these people were claiming early social security benefits while saying income was disability. The feds should look at this because the elected officials in Montgomery County have shown they are not concerned with governmenbt waste. Why is it that an unelected inspector general finds this and not the elected officials? The Council took the months of December and August as vacation instead of looking for waste like this. 3% of Fairfax retirees and 4% of Howard retirees take disability while 40% of Montgomery retirees do. Obviously there is rampant criminal fraud here.
9 agree | 4 disagree
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Robin Ficker Broker Robin Realty said:
I would think that speed cameras which have given well over 100,000 tickets in Montgomery County would have made free thousands of police man hours.
8 agree | 5 disagree
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Robin Ficker, Broker Robin Realty said:
If the county wants to serve the citizens they can abandon their plans for a great big property tax hike. The county budget was $3 billion in FY04 and is approaching $4.5 billion now while the population has increased less than 5% during this time. Why should the budget increase ten times as fast as the population during a time of low inflation?
42 agree | 36 disagree
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Robin Ficker, Broker Robin Realty said:
This is the kind of crony project that has usually sailed through in Montgomery County. The problem for the Leggett-Knapp tax increase team is that they want to seize our Pelosi rebate checks and give us a great big property tax increase to build projects like this. And we have had water bill, electricity bill and Metro fare increases and the largest tax increase in Maryland history.
46 agree | 45 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
The taxpayers funding the purchase of land from the *war company* GE smells rotten. Leggett tax schemes aren't coming from the citizens, so who is driving the county executive's agenda?
49 agree | 50 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Please save money. Don't do it. leggett administration spend too much money on worthless projects. Also, he gave too much raise for county employees. 7% raise is much, much higher than federal government employees. Cut property tax, and reduce unnessary projects for county residents.
64 agree | 51 disagree
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Keith Annesley said:
I suspect all the hot air coming from Robin Ficker is the true source of our global warming problem. Robin, how much longer does the suspension of your license to practice law have to run? Suspended for negligence!
52 agree | 56 disagree
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Robin Ficker, Broker Robin Realty said:
The Dow is due to drop 500 points today. How can Leggett continue with a tax and spend government?
35 agree | 51 disagree
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Robin Ficker, Broker Robin Realty said:
We shall soon see how well county residents are listened to. The county's own recent "push" poll said that only 7% of residents wanted taxes raised raised. Watch Mr. Leggett and Mr. Knapp lead an effort to exceed the charter property tax limit. They will show the 93% of residents who don't want taxes increased a thing or two. SAVE OUR HOMES!
71 agree | 63 disagree
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Robin Ficker, Broker Robin Realty said:
We need to save the homes of Montgomery Countians. We cannot afford to exceed the county property tax revenue limit. Leggett's first year was centered around his call for tax increases. The 20% increase in the state sales tax, the 18% increase in the corporate tax, the 20% increase in the car tax and a huge increase in the state income tax, more than 50% of which will be paid by the 16% of Marylanders who live in Montgomery County. Now Leggett is pushing for a 15 cent a gallon increae in the gasoline tax and a property tax increase by violating the charter property tax revenue limit. He has no shame, decency, or spine to cut spending. He asks for 2% cut recommendations in a budget that increased 8.5%. That is still a 6.5% increase, twice the rate of inflation, not a 2% cut. While the county budget increased from $2 billion in FY 98 to $4.2 billion last year, where has the $2.2 billion gone? Gridlock, crime, and SAT scores are worse!We'll buy our gas in P.G., Va., and Fre
87 agree | 66 disagree
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