St. Mary’s Board Votes 4 to 1 to Hike Taxes Again

           to Fund New Spending


By Kenneth C. Rossignol
ST. MARY’S TODAY

LEONARDTOWN (Dec. 16, 2008) ---  It was more Alice in Wonderland politics in Leonardtown this week as the St. Mary’s Board of Commissioners once again have set budget goals which will embrace an additional tax hike for property owners in order to spend more money.

Its as if the board, with the exception of one commissioner, have been kept in a plastic bubble for the past year and not allowed to have any communication with the outside world.

Despite repeated efforts by Commissioner Larry Jarboe (R. Golden Beach), the Board failed to support his effort to lower the tax rate to counter increasing assessments and instead of projecting a budget for the next fiscal year which would cut spending and cut the budget the board instead set budget goals of increasing spending across the board by 5 percent.

Finance Director Elaine Kramer told the board that the starting point budget for the next fiscal year starts in the deficit by $51,000 in expenditures over revenue.

Jarboe made sure that the decision taken at Monday’s budget session to forgo maintaining the constant yield by lowering the tax rate and setting budget goals which would reduce spending due to the extreme reduction in revenues caused by the economic recession didn’t have his imprint on it.

“I want it noted that we are accepting this on a 4-1 vote and I am the only one opposed to that,” said Jarboe.

His fellow Republican, Kenny Dement, who voted for the $14.5 million tax hike on property this past year, was silent while Commissioner Jackie Russell (D. St. Georges Island) noted Jarboe’s opposition.

“I pointed out to my fellow commissioners that they are relying on revenue projections made last spring and the severity of the changes in our nation’s economy that has been taking place each week makes depending on old revenue forecasts is simply foolish,” Jarboe told ST. MARY’S TODAY on Monday evening.

“I am really concerned that by the Board ducking the economic realities and starting off the new budget process by cutting back on all spending that is not vital to the role of county government, that we will be cutting county employees when the axe falls,” said Jarboe. “My vote is to save jobs for people and we won’t do that by increasing spending, continuing to make county government larger, to buy parks we don’t need and can’t afford to develop and buying more land which further reduces the tax roles.”

Jarboe explained that the constant yield is the mechanism that the state provides for the counties to balance out the assessments which are increased on real estate by the state tax assessors.

The assessments went up last year by dramatic amounts sometimes doubling the tax on properties affected.  One third of the county is reassessed each year.

One property owner in the Leonardtown area recently had his home appraised for the purpose of refinancing and his new appraisal showed that the value of his home had dropped by $100,000.

While that property owner did not get an appeal on his assessment in on time last January, the state allows yearly appeals of the tax assessment and armed with an appraisal he will likely get his property assessment reduced.

Jarboe’s point is that the county commissioners set the tax rate and that is why he asked his fellow board members to support him on lowering the tax rate to keep taxes from rising.  Jarboe didn’t propose lowering the tax rate enough to lower taxes, simply to keep them level.  But his effort failed and taxes will go up once more.

Commissioners Dement and Russell are eligible for another term as commissioner but Commissioner Dan Raley (D. Great Mills) and Tommy Mattingly (D. Leonardtown) cannot run again as they have been elected to three consecutive terms.

Jarboe can run once more as he was defeated in the GOP primary in 1998 after winning election in 1994.  Jarboe came back to win again in the GOP primary in 2002 and won the general election that year and was reelected in 2006.

While St. Mary's County is planning on spending more money, the State of Maryland will be furloughing 67,000 states employees for up to 5 days this month in order to make up for a reduction in revenue.

The General Assembly has been working feverishly to cut spending in order to balance the budget and Delegate John Bohanan (D. Lexington Park) said that he cannot see the legislature once again raising taxes as an option.