MoCo Question B would be a disaster

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Boo hoo.


Long time residents don't deserve squat. Everyone pays. OP is a long time resident trying to tax 'new comers' more because they ready got theirs. Too bad. Can't afford to move here any more then move. Same thing happens in NJ. Tax the haves. All of them.

What's wrong with Question A in the regard? I don't really understand what the OP was getting at by saying B would shift taxes away from new homeowners, but regardless, Question A seems to make more sense policy-wise.

No?

[Anonymous]

If we can’t justify a tax increase in a good economy- which MOCO certainly has -then when CAN we justify one?

Tax assessments and property taxes are ridiculously low in MOCO. They should be double or triple what they currently are, and until they are brought up to where they should be, we’re never going to have the kind of county services we should have.

So sick of hearing people who call themselves Progressive constantly complaining about paying taxes. Put your money where your lying mouths are and pony up your taxes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If we can’t justify a tax increase in a good economy- which MOCO certainly has -then when CAN we justify one?

Tax assessments and property taxes are ridiculously low in MOCO. They should be double or triple what they currently are, and until they are brought up to where they should be, we’re never going to have the kind of county services we should have.

So sick of hearing people who call themselves Progressive constantly complaining about paying taxes. Put your money where your lying mouths are and pony up your taxes

We have pretty good county services. I mostly just think we need the flexibility with taxes to maintain those good services.

And our property taxes are "low" (I'm sure many would disagree with the assertion that they're low, but I agree with you) because we have local income taxes. Our overall local tax burden isn't low.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there a good reason for me to vote *for* question A? I'm inclined to vote NO for both A and B. I don't see why it should require a unanimous vote. That's just going to cause the council to reject anything that might lead to more moderates on the council.

The status quo is that increasing property tax revenue requires a unanimous vote. Question A would change what can be increased from revenue to the rate. Limiting revenue growth to inflation doesn't make sense to me - I want better public services and I want public employees to be able to afford to live here when property values go up.

PP here.

What? I didn't realize that. There's a revenue cap now? How does that even work with assessments changing? Is the cap on a county-wide basis, or for a particular home?

Either way, that makes no sense. I'll definitely vote for A then.

Countywide. Every year, County staff calculate the rate that will comply with the cap, known as the "Charter Limit" - based on the total assessed value and inflation. New construction does not count under the cap, so that does allow for some extra revenue. But overall increases in property values do not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there a good reason for me to vote *for* question A? I'm inclined to vote NO for both A and B. I don't see why it should require a unanimous vote. That's just going to cause the council to reject anything that might lead to more moderates on the council.

The status quo is that increasing property tax revenue requires a unanimous vote. Question A would change what can be increased from revenue to the rate. Limiting revenue growth to inflation doesn't make sense to me - I want better public services and I want public employees to be able to afford to live here when property values go up.

PP here.

What? I didn't realize that. There's a revenue cap now? How does that even work with assessments changing? Is the cap on a county-wide basis, or for a particular home?

Either way, that makes no sense. I'll definitely vote for A then.

Countywide. Every year, County staff calculate the rate that will comply with the cap, known as the "Charter Limit" - based on the total assessed value and inflation. New construction does not count under the cap, so that does allow for some extra revenue. But overall increases in property values do not.

Here's the text from Section 305 of the County Charter: "By June 30 each year, the Council shall make tax levies deemed necessary to finance the budgets. Unless approved by an affirmative vote of all current Councilmembers, the Council shall not levy an ad valorem tax on real property to finance the budgets that will produce total revenue that exceeds the total revenue produced by the tax on real property in the preceding fiscal year plus a percentage of the previous year’s real property tax revenues that equals any increase in the Consumer Price Index as computed under this section. This limit does not apply to revenue from: (1) newly constructed property, (2) newly rezoned property, (3) property that, because of a change in state law, is assessed differently than it was assessed in the previous tax year, (4) property that has undergone a change in use, and (5) any development district tax used to fund capital improvement projects. (Election of 11-7-78; election of 11-6-84; election of 11-6-90; election of 11-3-92; election of 11-8-94; election of 11-3-98; election of 11-4-08; election of 11-6-18.)"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there a good reason for me to vote *for* question A? I'm inclined to vote NO for both A and B. I don't see why it should require a unanimous vote. That's just going to cause the council to reject anything that might lead to more moderates on the council.

The status quo is that increasing property tax revenue requires a unanimous vote. Question A would change what can be increased from revenue to the rate. Limiting revenue growth to inflation doesn't make sense to me - I want better public services and I want public employees to be able to afford to live here when property values go up.

PP here.

What? I didn't realize that. There's a revenue cap now? How does that even work with assessments changing? Is the cap on a county-wide basis, or for a particular home?

Either way, that makes no sense. I'll definitely vote for A then.

Countywide. Every year, County staff calculate the rate that will comply with the cap, known as the "Charter Limit" - based on the total assessed value and inflation. New construction does not count under the cap, so that does allow for some extra revenue. But overall increases in property values do not.

Wow. I really appreciate you clearing that up for me. It saved me from making a bad choice. I will absolutely be voting for A and against B.

[Anonymous]

I'm voting for B. The Council takes the easy way out by just raising taxes, instead of making difficult decisions when it comes to spending.

They spend on unnecesary costs like a racial equity and social justice office (plus associated staff)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/with-unanimous-vote-montgomery-passes-wide-ranging-racial-equity-bill/2019/11/19/7f0a9b0e-0a1d-11ea-8397-a955cd542d00_story.html
or
$1.5m on youth access to sports: https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/sports/county-will-spend-1-55m-to-increase-access-to-youth-sports/
or
trying to give money to legal aid groups for undocumented immigrants, then when the groups said they wouldn't accept it due to certain conditions (can't be used to defend violent offenders), the county allocated the money anyway in the hope some other group would sprout up and use the money:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/montgomery-considers-changing-tack-on-legal-aid-for-immigrants/2018/05/21/00bc43e8-5d02-11e8-a4a4-c070ef53f315_story.html

While nice, these are all luxuries. They can cut these before we cut first responder services.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If we can’t justify a tax increase in a good economy- which MOCO certainly has -then when CAN we justify one?

Tax assessments and property taxes are ridiculously low in MOCO. They should be double or triple what they currently are, and until they are brought up to where they should be, we’re never going to have the kind of county services we should have.

So sick of hearing people who call themselves Progressive constantly complaining about paying taxes. Put your money where your lying mouths are and pony up your taxes

Holy cow. You are loopy. You do realize that if property taxes went up even 50%, there would be a massive exodus of the people actually paying into the County's coffers, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm voting for B. The Council takes the easy way out by just raising taxes, instead of making difficult decisions when it comes to spending.

They spend on unnecesary costs like a racial equity and social justice office (plus associated staff)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/with-unanimous-vote-montgomery-passes-wide-ranging-racial-equity-bill/2019/11/19/7f0a9b0e-0a1d-11ea-8397-a955cd542d00_story.html
or
$1.5m on youth access to sports: https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/sports/county-will-spend-1-55m-to-increase-access-to-youth-sports/
or
trying to give money to legal aid groups for undocumented immigrants, then when the groups said they wouldn't accept it due to certain conditions (can't be used to defend violent offenders), the county allocated the money anyway in the hope some other group would sprout up and use the money:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/montgomery-considers-changing-tack-on-legal-aid-for-immigrants/2018/05/21/00bc43e8-5d02-11e8-a4a4-c070ef53f315_story.html

While nice, these are all luxuries. They can cut these before we cut first responder services.

yeah, but they're not going to cut those things (which are a fraction of the amount we spend on public safety).

elect different representatives if you don't like them.

losing AAA bond rating just means more of your tax dollars go towards paying interest on debt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If we can’t justify a tax increase in a good economy- which MOCO certainly has -then when CAN we justify one?

Tax assessments and property taxes are ridiculously low in MOCO. They should be double or triple what they currently are, and until they are brought up to where they should be, we’re never going to have the kind of county services we should have.

So sick of hearing people who call themselves Progressive constantly complaining about paying taxes. Put your money where your lying mouths are and pony up your taxes

Holy cow. You are loopy. You do realize that if property taxes went up even 50%, there would be a massive exodus of the people actually paying into the County's coffers, right?

Probably not, but a lot of Councilmembers would likely not get reelected.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm voting for B. The Council takes the easy way out by just raising taxes, instead of making difficult decisions when it comes to spending.

They spend on unnecesary costs like a racial equity and social justice office (plus associated staff)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/with-unanimous-vote-montgomery-passes-wide-ranging-racial-equity-bill/2019/11/19/7f0a9b0e-0a1d-11ea-8397-a955cd542d00_story.html
or
$1.5m on youth access to sports: https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/sports/county-will-spend-1-55m-to-increase-access-to-youth-sports/
or
trying to give money to legal aid groups for undocumented immigrants, then when the groups said they wouldn't accept it due to certain conditions (can't be used to defend violent offenders), the county allocated the money anyway in the hope some other group would sprout up and use the money:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/montgomery-considers-changing-tack-on-legal-aid-for-immigrants/2018/05/21/00bc43e8-5d02-11e8-a4a4-c070ef53f315_story.html

While nice, these are all luxuries. They can cut these before we cut first responder services.

yeah, but they're not going to cut those things (which are a fraction of the amount we spend on public safety).

elect different representatives if you don't like them.

losing AAA bond rating just means more of your tax dollars go towards paying interest on debt.

Or.. vote for B and not A. Those are just a few items I came up with and I'm not a budget expert. Surely the people who work on budgets can find more places for efficiency.

[Anonymous]

I cannot take anyone seriously who mentions Robin Ficker. But, you are probably Robin.

[Anonymous]

I think people need to be aware that we currently have in Montgomery County, and Question B will make more strict, a revenue cap from property taxes bound by inflation as defined by the CPI.

I think it's kind of weird to have a cap on revenues, and not on the tax rate. It means the County's revenues don't increase based on economic growth, except through income and sales taxes which make up a smaller share of revenues. But to make that cap permanent by preventing the Council from ever exceeding it, even with a unanimous vote, is deeply imprudent. It's based on the idea that the representatives you elect are fundamentally irresponsible - which is odd, since the County has a AAA bond rating (that this change would put at risk).

Whoa - first MOCO's AAA rating was at risk BEFORE the pandemic because of mismanagement of the budget. Instead of cutting expenses or putting tax increases in the table, he redirected money that was supposed to cover the pension liability. He created MORE financial risk for MOCO in a boom economy. With COVID hitting sales and income taxes he has no way out. He has done nothing to do draw business into the area. MOCO has dropped while NOVA and DC have taken over all new businesses. You can hate businesses but revenue from businesses would be another source of income for the county. It would also provide jobs and shorten commutes but this has been completely ignored by the current administration.

The reality is that the current administration is irresponsible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I think people need to be aware that we currently have in Montgomery County, and Question B will make more strict, a revenue cap from property taxes bound by inflation as defined by the CPI.

I think it's kind of weird to have a cap on revenues, and not on the tax rate. It means the County's revenues don't increase based on economic growth, except through income and sales taxes which make up a smaller share of revenues. But to make that cap permanent by preventing the Council from ever exceeding it, even with a unanimous vote, is deeply imprudent. It's based on the idea that the representatives you elect are fundamentally irresponsible - which is odd, since the County has a AAA bond rating (that this change would put at risk).

Whoa - first MOCO's AAA rating was at risk BEFORE the pandemic because of mismanagement of the budget. Instead of cutting expenses or putting tax increases in the table, he redirected money that was supposed to cover the pension liability. He created MORE financial risk for MOCO in a boom economy. With COVID hitting sales and income taxes he has no way out. He has done nothing to do draw business into the area. MOCO has dropped while NOVA and DC have taken over all new businesses. You can hate businesses but revenue from businesses would be another source of income for the county. It would also provide jobs and shorten commutes but this has been completely ignored by the current administration.

The reality is that the current administration is irresponsible.

So vote him out.

I challenge you to find any reputable economist that thinks it makes sense to permanently cap tax revenues. It is madness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I think people need to be aware that we currently have in Montgomery County, and Question B will make more strict, a revenue cap from property taxes bound by inflation as defined by the CPI.

I think it's kind of weird to have a cap on revenues, and not on the tax rate. It means the County's revenues don't increase based on economic growth, except through income and sales taxes which make up a smaller share of revenues. But to make that cap permanent by preventing the Council from ever exceeding it, even with a unanimous vote, is deeply imprudent. It's based on the idea that the representatives you elect are fundamentally irresponsible - which is odd, since the County has a AAA bond rating (that this change would put at risk).

Whoa - first MOCO's AAA rating was at risk BEFORE the pandemic because of mismanagement of the budget. Instead of cutting expenses or putting tax increases in the table, he redirected money that was supposed to cover the pension liability. He created MORE financial risk for MOCO in a boom economy. With COVID hitting sales and income taxes he has no way out. He has done nothing to do draw business into the area. MOCO has dropped while NOVA and DC have taken over all new businesses. You can hate businesses but revenue from businesses would be another source of income for the county. It would also provide jobs and shorten commutes but this has been completely ignored by the current administration.

The reality is that the current administration is irresponsible.

So vote him out.

I challenge you to find any reputable economist that thinks it makes sense to permanently cap tax revenues. It is madness.

Yep.

I'll definitely vote for A, and I'll almost certainly vote against Elrich when he's up. I knew he'd be a disaster for a lot of reasons.