Despite housing slump, tax bills to rise for 3 years

Friday, Oct. 31, 2008

But, thanks to the braking effect of the county's Homestead Tax Credit, the average county homeowner will see his or her taxes continue to rise for the next three years.

The Charles County commissioners invited Robert Farr, the state's tax assessment officer for the county, to explain this phenomenon at their meeting Tuesday.

Farr noted that the county's average housing sale price has "decreased dramatically" in recent months and said, "The market has cooled, even decreased in some areas."

However, Farr explained that the county's homestead credit prevented the tax bill on owner-occupied homes from increasing with the rate of the market in the last few years. The credit limits increases in tax bills to 7 percent each year. So, even as homeowners see their property values dropping, they still are not yet paying taxes at the rate of that dropping value.

"The taxable assessment is likely to rise for the next three years," Farr predicted, believing it will take that long before falling property values again intersect with a tax rate that has been held back by the homestead credit.

Farr explained that the Homestead credit acts as a brake on both increasing and decreasing property tax assessments.

"The brake works the same way in reverse; it smooths the ride out," Farr said.

No takers

for county trash

The county's efforts to outsource its trash disposal to a private company didn't attract any bidders this year.

The county issued a request for proposal earlier this year, asking for a private waste company to build and operate a transfer station on the site of the county's landfill.

"When the bids came due, we really can't say to you why they didn't bid," Dennis Fleming, the county's solid waste chief, told the commissioners on Tuesday. "We gave it our best shot."

Fleming said that one of the two companies that considered the RFP commented that the potential waste stream was not large enough to justify investing in the project.

Now, Fleming said he and his staff are trying to find ways to balance the costs and income of the landfill, which has lost money in recent years. Fleming said he plans to propose fee increases and shorter hours for the facility. The landfill is already under a voluntary hiring freeze.

Citizens mum

on proposed bills

Proposed county legislation to prohibit carrying concealed air guns, require scrap metal dealers to record the identities of suppliers and eliminate time restrictions for political yard signs are on their way to approval.

The three bills drew no public comment during hearings held Tuesday. Citizens can still submit written comment to the commissioners on the bills until 4:30 p.m. Monday.

All three bills are scheduled for a vote Wednesday afternoon, and none of the commissioners have signaled opposition.

County delays

Hughesville rezoning

The Charles County commissioner voted last week to delay any decision on the controversial rezoning of 150 acres of land in Hughesville for another 90 days.

The decision pushes any decision on Chaney Enterprises' proposal to rezone the land on Route 231, which went to public hearing four months ago, into January.

Commissioner Samuel N. Graves Jr. (D) moved to delay the vote, saying that the commissioners needed to absorb information from 223 pages of documents concerning the rezoning proposal.

Graves also moved to have the county's attorney and planning staff provide more information about the proposal's impacts on setbacks, buffering, permissible uses, safety, traffic and natural features. There was little discussion of Graves' proposal, and the commissioners voted unanimously to approve it.

Chaney has proposed to rezone the land, located next to the Hughesville Industrial Park, from rural residential to heavy industrial and reserves the possibility of locating a gravel wash plant on it. In return, the company has promised to donate land and buildings to the Red Cross and the College of Southern Maryland.

At a June public hearing on the proposal, several Hughesville residents roundly panned it, claiming that it would clog traffic, destroy the village's tranquility and would not conform to the local development plan.

jfriess@somdnews.com