Some residents back out of property tax lawsuit

One of those residents who withdrew said that he, along with 15 others, felt they could no longer fight city hall and win.

“We felt we could not win without a lawyer,” said John Feroli, who has been one of the more outspoken members of the group, calling the City Council’s June 12 decision to raise residential property tax from 55 cents per $100 of assessed value to 73.5 cents “outrageous.”

Feroli said that some in the group, which banded together to fight the tax increase in court shortly after it was passed, felt that if they were to win, the city would appeal, dragging out the legal battle.

“If that had happened, we certainly would have needed a lawyer ... and given the financial burden we are already under [from the tax increase], many of us would not be able to afford one.”

For the residents who remain part of the fight, “The lawsuit is still on,” according to resident Barbara Kreamer, one of the organizers of the group. Kreamer had little to say about 16 of her fellow petitioners backing out of the lawsuit. “Some people wanted to withdraw ... for various reasons.”

A court hearing on the legal battle is still scheduled for April 16.

Aberdeen Mayor S. Fred Simmons said Wednesday he knew the lawsuit “had zero chance of success,” but he also wished federal law would allow him to counter-sue the residents involved.

“We should be able to chase these people down to recover our attorney fees because it was a frivolous lawsuit,” he said, adding that the city has spent about $80,000 fighting the lawsuit.

“What these people don’t realize is that they added one cent to the tax rate,” he said.

“It was going to cost the city a lot of money to continue fighting us,” Feroli conceded, but he blamed Simmons for fighting the residents to begin with.

mplum@baltimoreexaminer.com