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The city property tax rate is still insane
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I am going to the Senator auction in a few minutes. Check back in later for an article about that.
I want to talk about taxes. City residents received their tax bills at the beginning of the month. In the envelope with the bill there was an interesting pamphlet. The pamphlet said that the constant yield tax rate (the rate that would have generated the same amount of revenue for the city that was generated last year and which is the LEGAL tax rate) is $2.093 per $100 of assessed valuation. City residents were charged $2.268 per $100 of assessed valuation (over twice what Baltimore County pays)! We were ripped off. When we were not paying attention our leaders decided to expand our city government and send us the bill. The pamphlet also states that property tax revenue generates 25.6% of the city's budget! In other words property tax revenue generates over $603million for the city of Baltimore. Federal grants make up 10.8% of the budget and state grants make up 10.6% of the budget. "Charges for Services" make up 12.5% of the budget.
My Father and I were talking the other night and property taxes came up in conversation. My father purchased his house in Baltimore County in 1978 for around $75k. It sits on a lot that is over an acre. There is no crime or trash. It was a great place to grow up in. I bought my house in Reservoir Hill for $41k in 2003. In 2010 my yearly property tax bill will eclipse what my father pays. It will take less than 7 years for me to end up paying more than my father pays after living in a house for 32 years. This is a real life economic example of one of the reasons why young people are quickly driven from the city. Home ownership in Baltimore City becomes unaffordable at a much quicker rate than in Baltimore County. Until we solve this problem young people will continue to leave the city and sell their houses after five or so years of living here.
