MoCo question A passed but B didn't. What does that mean for us?

[Anonymous]

I found these questions very confusing. Now that we know A passed an B did not, can someone give me a simple explanation of what that means for us?

[Anonymous]

It means elected council members are more free to raise property taxes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It means elected council members are more free to raise property taxes.

Except it doesn't. They could raise taxes with a unanimous vote before, and they can raise taxes with a unanimous vote now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I found these questions very confusing. Now that we know A passed an B did not, can someone give me a simple explanation of what that means for us?

It means your property tax *rate* will be fixed unless the council unanimously votes to change it.

Until now, your property tax rate would float a little bit due to some needlessly complicated rules.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It means elected council members are more free to raise property taxes.

Except it doesn't. They could raise taxes with a unanimous vote before, and they can raise taxes with a unanimous vote now.

B would have killed even a unanimous vote to raise above inflation regardless of conditions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I found these questions very confusing. Now that we know A passed an B did not, can someone give me a simple explanation of what that means for us?

It means your property tax *rate* will be fixed unless the council unanimously votes to change it.

Until now, your property tax rate would float a little bit due to some needlessly complicated rules.

Correct. It is sad the questions were so confusing. I am sure many were confused on what they did or did not vote for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I found these questions very confusing. Now that we know A passed an B did not, can someone give me a simple explanation of what that means for us?

It means your property tax *rate* will be fixed unless the council unanimously votes to change it.

Until now, your property tax rate would float a little bit due to some needlessly complicated rules.

Correct. It is sad the questions were so confusing. I am sure many were confused on what they did or did not vote for.

Question A, proposed by the County Council, suggests removing a cap that limits how much the county’s property tax revenue can increase in a single year. The proposal would require all nine council members to vote in favor to approve an increase in the tax rate.

Currently, the council is only allowed to increase its revenue by a percentage equal to the Consumer Price Index in the Washington region for a 12-month period ending on Nov. 30 of the preceding year.

The cap was 1.27% for the current fiscal year. It is estimated to be 0.6% in the next fiscal year. Without a cap, the increase could be higher than the CPI.

https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/politics/what-to-know-about-montgomery-countys-ballot-questions/

I don't think there's a simpler way to explain this.

Meanwhile, Question B:

Question B, placed on the ballot through a petition drive by county resident Robin Ficker, calls for limiting tax increases. It would prohibit the council from increasing property tax revenue greater than a percentage equal to the CPI in the Washington region for a 12-month period ending on Nov. 30 of the preceding year.

Ficker’s proposal would [have] eliminate[d] the possibility of a greater increase, even by a unanimous vote, under any circumstances.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I found these questions very confusing. Now that we know A passed an B did not, can someone give me a simple explanation of what that means for us?

It means your property tax *rate* will be fixed unless the council unanimously votes to change it.

Until now, your property tax rate would float a little bit due to some needlessly complicated rules.

Correct. It is sad the questions were so confusing. I am sure many were confused on what they did or did not vote for.

Question A, proposed by the County Council, suggests removing a cap that limits how much the county’s property tax revenue can increase in a single year. The proposal would require all nine council members to vote in favor to approve an increase in the tax rate.

Currently, the council is only allowed to increase its revenue by a percentage equal to the Consumer Price Index in the Washington region for a 12-month period ending on Nov. 30 of the preceding year.

The cap was 1.27% for the current fiscal year. It is estimated to be 0.6% in the next fiscal year. Without a cap, the increase could be higher than the CPI.

https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/politics/what-to-know-about-montgomery-countys-ballot-questions/

I don't think there's a simpler way to explain this.

Meanwhile, Question B:

Question B, placed on the ballot through a petition drive by county resident Robin Ficker, calls for limiting tax increases. It would prohibit the council from increasing property tax revenue greater than a percentage equal to the CPI in the Washington region for a 12-month period ending on Nov. 30 of the preceding year.

Ficker’s proposal would [have] eliminate[d] the possibility of a greater increase, even by a unanimous vote, under any circumstances.

OP here. Sorry, I must be very dumb. I just have a hard time understanding that language.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I found these questions very confusing. Now that we know A passed an B did not, can someone give me a simple explanation of what that means for us?

It means your property tax *rate* will be fixed unless the council unanimously votes to change it.

Until now, your property tax rate would float a little bit due to some needlessly complicated rules.

Correct. It is sad the questions were so confusing. I am sure many were confused on what they did or did not vote for.

Question A, proposed by the County Council, suggests removing a cap that limits how much the county’s property tax revenue can increase in a single year. The proposal would require all nine council members to vote in favor to approve an increase in the tax rate.

Currently, the council is only allowed to increase its revenue by a percentage equal to the Consumer Price Index in the Washington region for a 12-month period ending on Nov. 30 of the preceding year.

The cap was 1.27% for the current fiscal year. It is estimated to be 0.6% in the next fiscal year. Without a cap, the increase could be higher than the CPI.

https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/politics/what-to-know-about-montgomery-countys-ballot-questions/

I don't think there's a simpler way to explain this.

Meanwhile, Question B:

Question B, placed on the ballot through a petition drive by county resident Robin Ficker, calls for limiting tax increases. It would prohibit the council from increasing property tax revenue greater than a percentage equal to the CPI in the Washington region for a 12-month period ending on Nov. 30 of the preceding year.

Ficker’s proposal would [have] eliminate[d] the possibility of a greater increase, even by a unanimous vote, under any circumstances.

OP here. Sorry, I must be very dumb. I just have a hard time understanding that language.

You’re not alone, don’t worry!

[Anonymous]

OP, it means you will pay a stable property tax rate, which likely means your property tax bill will be slightly larger than it would be under the previous system. Basically your property taxes will now be a certain percentage of your assessed property value each year. That percentage will be stable unless the Council votes unanimously to increase it. Every three years the state assesses your property's value, so if that goes up, your property tax bill goes up.

That is different from the previous system that limited how much your property tax bill could go up with a complex cap on total property tax revenues that is confusing to explain.