What would it take for Bethesda to secede from Montgomery County?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you willing to pay a lot in taxes for this? Think about all the county services you get -- 911, fire, police, school budget, etc.. Would they have to buy out all the county owned buildings like the schools?

Hate to break it to you, but Bethesda is pretty much supporting the rest of the county.

[Anonymous]

The people of Chevy Chase and Potomac are ever so greatful!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you willing to pay a lot in taxes for this? Think about all the county services you get -- 911, fire, police, school budget, etc.. Would they have to buy out all the county owned buildings like the schools?

Hate to break it to you, but Bethesda is pretty much supporting the rest of the county.

Because the rest of MoCo is "poor"? I didn't realize Potomac was "poor". Then let's see it try to support itself. I'd be happy to watch this unfold.

[Anonymous]

What a stupid idea. I live in Bethesda and absolutely want to contribute and be part of the county.

[Anonymous]

Run this past Bethesda Magazine.

[Anonymous]

It would be be much more simple for you to secede from Bethesda.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It would be be much more simple for you to secede from Bethesda.

lol +1

[Anonymous]

What? This isn't even a thing that could legally happen.


Even the incorporated municipalities (Rockville, takoma Park) are still part of Montgomery County, they just pay more taxes and have two governing bodies.

[Anonymous]

I think there is an argument that MoCo is just too damn big to be administered effectively. Unfortunately, no politician in their right mind would propose giving up part of his/her authority! Plus any attempt to subdivide the county inevitably smacks of elitism and even racism -- I don't believe that is what motivates most discussions along these lines, but think about it: how would it look for the richest, whitest parts of the county to try to secede?

[Anonymous]

It would take a couple of flying pigs.

[Anonymous]

Rockville did it and Rockvikle is a great place to live. You get great services .
Please lead the charge.

[Anonymous]

Does OP want Bethesda to be like Baltimore City? Why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Actually Bethesda can just incorporate, like Chevy Chase, Glen Echo, and Takoma Park. That puts a lot of planning in the hands of local government, while still leaving the larger areas (schools) to the county.

In the case of Westbard, the one thing that may help future projects (too late on Westbard) is some turnover in the County Council, who seem to be in bed with developers and also are involved in choosing who's on the Planning board. There will be a referendum on November's ballot to add term limits, which I think are sorely needed:

http://www.bethesdamagazine.com/Bethesda-Beat/Web-2016/GOP-Activist-Says-Term-Limit-Question-A-Virtual-Certainty-on-November-Ballot/

It's all development - more houses, more retail. No parks, no community centers, no sports fields. Just more tax payers, overcrowded schools, clogged roads and tax hikes. There no sense of duty to give the people something for the community for their money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What? This isn't even a thing that could legally happen.


Even the incorporated municipalities (Rockville, takoma Park) are still part of Montgomery County, they just pay more taxes and have two governing bodies.

You pay taxes commensurate with the county services you use in your locality. If for example a municipality created their own fire department, then the portion of county tax allocated to fire would be lower, but then your municipal tax would be higher to account for this. Knowing friends that live in Takoma Park, what I can say though is that in the end the taxes will be higher. However, the advantage is that you have more theoretical accountability.

My issue with right now is that the entire council from Leggett on down is in bed with developers with the added problem that none of them live down county/close-in. None of those people want development in their areas either therefore, they see it as their mission to push as much development as possible into Bethesda as a way to avoid development in their areas while rewarding their developer friends. How much are willing pay to prevent urbanization and developers destroying neighborhoods is an interesting question and probably one that should be brought to a vote.

The downside reality that if Bethesda ever became incorporated, the entire town would probably be beholden to the whims of the Bethesda Urban Partnership (the name gives their intentions away), who would probably be in a much stronger financial position to control the levers of government than they are now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually Bethesda can just incorporate, like Chevy Chase, Glen Echo, and Takoma Park. That puts a lot of planning in the hands of local government, while still leaving the larger areas (schools) to the county.

In the case of Westbard, the one thing that may help future projects (too late on Westbard) is some turnover in the County Council, who seem to be in bed with developers and also are involved in choosing who's on the Planning board. There will be a referendum on November's ballot to add term limits, which I think are sorely needed:

http://www.bethesdamagazine.com/Bethesda-Beat/Web-2016/GOP-Activist-Says-Term-Limit-Question-A-Virtual-Certainty-on-November-Ballot/

It's all development - more houses, more retail. No parks, no community centers, no sports fields. Just more tax payers, overcrowded schools, clogged roads and tax hikes. There no sense of duty to give the people something for the community for their money.

And that is thanks to the county continuing to extend the "enterprise zone" exemption to the county development impact tax, which is just a straight cash giveaway while doing nothing to support money for any of those things like it is supposed to.