Elrich property tax increase

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And here's a key thing that the articles I've seen on the topic don't mention. Our property assessments went up.. by about 13% state-wide:
https://thebaynet.com/maryland-property-tax-assessments-rise-by-average-12-7-for-2026/

That means by not adjusting the rates at all, the County already gets more revenue because their taxing higher values. So why do they need to raise the rates also?

Bad leadership -- if they can't make it work with the increase they are already getting due to higher assessments, then that means they are not willing to actually manage the budget, and are just letting it head upwards and never say no to anything.

And when assessments go down, as they almost certainly will this year, you can bet they’ll come back to raise the rate again. Constant yield held tax increases (based on the amount you actually pay) in check better than constant rate.

[Anonymous]

The budget has largely gone towards mcps, police, and fire forever. Those are core services we need.

So where can we cut?

The press release references a new Green Initiative, zero fare bus line expansion, and affordable housing initiatives.

Do we know the details for those projects? Are they critical or are they new shiny objects that ultimately aren’t as necessary as the increased taxes?

[Anonymous]

When are people going to start wondering why so many high ranking mcps employees live outside of Montgomery County???
As well as employees of Street Outreach Network, Tree of Hope, various moco DHHS programs.

[Anonymous]

Schools, schools, schools,......my arse.

They ALWAYS try to pawn off tax increases because "it is for the schools!". This is totally insane. Basically, 10% tax increases in only 2 years on top of reassessments that always go up every few years. They need double tax increases? Really?

Newsflash. The economy sucks. A lot of federal workers lost jobs. Prices for food, insurance, and utility bills are exploding. Now they want to crush your housing affordability even more.

Is everyone's salaries going up to cover all these rising costs? Of course not.

There isn't a single tax Dems have never not liked. It's never a spending problem to them, only a taxation problem. Cut the number of employees in MoCo govt. Make them pay more money for benefits. Slash their retirement and pensions. Stop all hiring for 5 years.

They will just have to work more efficiently, boo hoo.

[Anonymous]

This is what happens when you brag about inviting non college educated workers of varying immigration status from all over the world and have more ribbon cuttings for low income housing projects than corporate headquarters and town centers. Who do you think is going to foot the bill for all the public services that these new residents consume? The middle class homeowners who are hurting because of DOGE cuts and the economic downturn, that’s who. What else did people think would happen? There’s no businesses here to raise taxes on!

[Anonymous]

So many people seem to think Andrew Friedson will get taxes under control, but he’s voted for all the spending knowing full well his colleagues will vote for the tax increase even if he doesn’t. After the last tax increase, when it turned out the county had extra money, he didn’t choose to give the money back to the taxpayers. Instead, he sponsored and passed a subsidy that’s gone almost entirely to companies that donated to his campaigns.

[Anonymous]

Just like with Federal tax, it's more about the taxes that some don't pay. The Payment in Lieu of Tax (PILOT) arrangements meant to incentivize certain favored development, the deferrals of collections to later years for the same, and on and on.

And have you ever looked af abandonment proceedings? Someone in Bethesda wants a tenth of an acre of publicly owned land to add to their property to make certain improvements possible, and the County just gives that away instead of selling it at the going rate?!?

These benefit well-connected interests, of course -- just look who shows up at hearings to testify. Just like the tax-preferred rates and tax avoidance associated with cap gains, carried interest, Opportunity Zones, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The budget has largely gone towards mcps, police, and fire forever. Those are core services we need.

So where can we cut?

The press release references a new Green Initiative, zero fare bus line expansion, and affordable housing initiatives.

Do we know the details for those projects? Are they critical or are they new shiny objects that ultimately aren’t as necessary as the increased taxes?

Cut MCPS central office staff in half. Keep all the classroom teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So many people seem to think Andrew Friedson will get taxes under control, but he’s voted for all the spending knowing full well his colleagues will vote for the tax increase even if he doesn’t. After the last tax increase, when it turned out the county had extra money, he didn’t choose to give the money back to the taxpayers. Instead, he sponsored and passed a subsidy that’s gone almost entirely to companies that donated to his campaigns.

Wait, seriously??

[Anonymous]

Gas is now $4/gallon


No tax hikes. Americans are getting DESTROYED. The county will just have to make due like everyone else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So many people seem to think Andrew Friedson will get taxes under control, but he’s voted for all the spending knowing full well his colleagues will vote for the tax increase even if he doesn’t. After the last tax increase, when it turned out the county had extra money, he didn’t choose to give the money back to the taxpayers. Instead, he sponsored and passed a subsidy that’s gone almost entirely to companies that donated to his campaigns.

? He doesn't vote for tax increases, and he does vote for the operational cuts that must happen when tax increases are not approved. He will likely do the same this year.

The regular part of county govenment takes the brunt of operational cuts when Elrich proposes his tax hikes. Not MCPS. I wish they'd all grow some backbones and say no to the schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gas is now $4/gallon


No tax hikes. Americans are getting DESTROYED. The county will just have to make due like everyone else.

County leaders need to invest in the middle class. I totally support subsidies for lower income people. But failure to support the middle class and what helps people become and stay middle class is what's hurting the entire nation. We need to have a more balanced approach. And that honestly means creating jobs here. Which nobody has done in a very long time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So many people seem to think Andrew Friedson will get taxes under control, but he’s voted for all the spending knowing full well his colleagues will vote for the tax increase even if he doesn’t. After the last tax increase, when it turned out the county had extra money, he didn’t choose to give the money back to the taxpayers. Instead, he sponsored and passed a subsidy that’s gone almost entirely to companies that donated to his campaigns.

? He doesn't vote for tax increases, and he does vote for the operational cuts that must happen when tax increases are not approved. He will likely do the same this year.

The regular part of county govenment takes the brunt of operational cuts when Elrich proposes his tax hikes. Not MCPS. I wish they'd all grow some backbones and say no to the schools.

No. Friedson votes to spend the money but doesn’t vote for tax increases. It’s hardly a realistic position. He votes for the school budget and the salary increases. He advocates keeping Wootton open while starving the infrastructure budget with tax cuts for developers and while voting against borrowing more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Schools, schools, schools,......my arse.

They ALWAYS try to pawn off tax increases because "it is for the schools!". This is totally insane. Basically, 10% tax increases in only 2 years on top of reassessments that always go up every few years. They need double tax increases? Really?

Newsflash. The economy sucks. A lot of federal workers lost jobs. Prices for food, insurance, and utility bills are exploding. Now they want to crush your housing affordability even more.

Is everyone's salaries going up to cover all these rising costs? Of course not.

There isn't a single tax Dems have never not liked. It's never a spending problem to them, only a taxation problem. Cut the number of employees in MoCo govt. Make them pay more money for benefits. Slash their retirement and pensions. Stop all hiring for 5 years.

They will just have to work more efficiently, boo hoo.

I'm a county employee and I agree that compensation and benefits need to be re-examined. It's 80%-90% of the budget. Because local government is a service provider. Unlike federal government which is much more a funding provider.

However, the efficiency thing is a red herring in terms of employees. Everyone is already short staffed. I've worked in various governments across the DMV and this county actually has good processes. Doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement. But we are generally better than most in my experience.

You will have to cut services to get the efficiency you desire. Close libraries more days, cut transfer station days, cut bus routes, cut inspections. Cut pot hole repair, cut trash pick up. Cut fire stations. That will result in fewer staff. And a less inviting Montgomery County.


I haven't looked into this deeply yet but it looks like the Elrich budget proposes raising the county contribution to our retirement from 8% to 9% of our salaries. I obviously would benefit from this. But is it necessary? Now? Does it merit a tax increase that will cost us all more? That's just one thing. But how many of those little things exist in the proposed budget? How do they add up?

Has anyone looked at pooling our health coverage with other local governments to leverage having a larger covered life population and access lower rates? Can we create a health insurance consortium with Frederick and Howard and Prince George's? The unions probably wouldn't allow it. But the council could order it through legislation. When we go out to bid for health plans, do we ask about cost savings if employee copays and deductibles were set at different levels? Would we get better pricing if we only offered one health plan? Or does having 3 or 4 build in better competition?

I don't know if that type of thing is happening already, but if someone ordered a comprehensive review of benefits and compensation, we would find out.


Oh and procurement sucks. We have to order from local vendors and stuff can cost twice as much than if I could order from Staples or Amazon. It's a policy decision to keep business local. There are a ton of those policy decisions that cost us extra. We may all agree on some of those policies. Or not. But those are worth examining too.

[Anonymous]

As I posted in the duplicate thread, we need to cut housing assistance. MoCo's total budget is $7 billion, and we spend $300 million on housing programs. In DC, their total budget is about $22 billion, and they spend $400 million on housing programs.

MoCo is spending way too much, and that means we're importing poverty which just drives up demand for services in other areas.