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Real estate slump reducing funds for farm preservation
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Related Topics: BALTIMORE
BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Harford County’s agricultural-preservation program could be endangered by the declining real estate market because taxes on home sales cover most of the program’s costs, county officials say.
Harford suffered a 50 percent decrease in home sales in January compared with the same month last year, so the 1/2-percent transfer tax on home sales is bringing in less revenue to buy development rights from farmers, said County Councilman Chad Shrodes of north Harford.
“Many people are focused on the decline in prices, but from a county revenue perspective, the more important factor is the slowing of transaction volume,” economist Anirban Basu said.
As more homes sit on the market, counties make less from transfer taxes, he said.
Harford suffered the largest month-over-month decrease in sales volume in the Baltimore region in January, Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc. reported.
And revenues from the transfer tax have come in 20 percent to 40 percent lower than expected over the last few years, said Council President Billy Boniface.
“Things were good in the years when the market had a lot of ups,” Shrodes said. “We were bringing more money in than we could spend on preservation for a while. Next year, we may not be able to preserve as much as we have been.”
With the addition of 23 properties to the county preservation program, Boniface said, Harford will have just enough money to keep paying those who have already entered the program.
Expanding it, Boniface said, would require new revenue or new methods of preservation. One way is the transfer of development rights from farmland owners to those who have parcels in already developed areas.
This preserves agricultural land, as farmers give up their rights to develop, and allows denser projects in areas close to existing roads and public utilities.
Shrodes said the slowing real estate market has helped preserve farmland by lowering the demand for farmers to convert their land into housing developments. When combined with increases in the amount the county is willing to pay for development rights, the market is making preservation a more profitable option, he said.
Along with the efforts to transfer development rights, Shrodes said, the county could preserve more land through state programs and allow parts of farms to be divided into smaller, denser pieces while preserving the rest of the land.
“We need to put a few new tools in the box,” Boniface said.
msantoni@baltimoreexaminer.com
Comments from Examiner Readers
6:04 PM MST on Mon., Jul. 7, 2008 re: "Maryland farmers squeezed by soaring fuel, fertilizer costs"
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10:08 AM MST on Fri., May. 9, 2008
re: "Program would shift farmers’ excess water to municipalities"
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2:02 PM MST on Mon., Jan. 21, 2008
re: "Harford has state’s only robotic milking machine"
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9:03 AM MST on Tue., Jul. 10, 2007
re: "Drought killing corn crop early this year, affecting livestock"
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12:17 PM MST on Fri., Jun. 15, 2007
re: "Harford has state’s only robotic milking machine"
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11:53 AM MST on Fri., Jun. 15, 2007
re: "Harford has state’s only robotic milking machine"
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9:11 AM MST on Fri., Jun. 15, 2007
re: "Harford has state’s only robotic milking machine"
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12:49 PM MST on Tue., May. 22, 2007
re: "New legislation to help preserve farms and aid the environment"
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4:57 AM MST on Thu., May. 3, 2007
re: "Cost of milk leaves gas prices in the dust"
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Examiner Reader said:
Rising fuel costs. Chineses drilling 85 miles off our coast while we import. No new refinery within 30 years Do not worry Obama has a tax plan to make it all ok.
2 agree | 3 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
This is the unfortunate price we pay by thinking and acting that gasoline prices would never change. Wait until winter hits because if it's cold, our prices are going to jump again. It's time to invest in renewable energies, I'd be more than happy to see O'Mally push for these over the new Calvert Cliffs Power Plants. Maybe farmers should be cut a deal to go back to solar and wind power for home and allow more money to be spared for fuel costs.
3 agree | 2 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Then what happens when the farmer's neighbor's well runs dry?
5 agree | 5 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
why does the cow look green?
114 agree | 119 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
The cows are out of luck, now that we are using corn for fuel. What a plan. It sounds good during good growing seasons, but what do you do now? We need to stop screwing around with band aids to fix our fuel supply problems and get serious about resources that are proven to work. Nuclear power, new refineries and drilling.
238 agree | 270 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
I saw my grandfather hand milk cows in a barn with only an oil lantern for light. What's the world coming to!!!
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Examiner Reader said:
Isn't it a little demeaning to refer to beautiful dairy cows as "toddlers" and a magnificent robotic milker as a "toy". The technology blows my mind that a cow can be milked by a robot. Good for the Dallams! Kate makes the BEST ice cream in the world at Broom's Bloom Dairy Store.
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Examiner Reader said:
Very interesting article on the robot. However, cows surely get more than "a pellet" while being milked. One pellet would be about the size of a piece of dogfood and would hardly lure the cows to the robot. I hope the cows get a good portion of pellets dumped in front of them when they enter the robot.
271 agree | 267 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
That doesn't seem like a lot of milk production. are you missing a few zeros? Tim Feeser Carroll County Commissioners office
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Huh? said:
Doesn't the government subsidize milk? What an economic ripoff of citizens. Produce extra milk, waste lots of it then charge more for the little bit that is left.....amazing!
424 agree | 294 disagree
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