Quarterly: Winter 2004 - GWCAR - Greater Washington Commercial Association of REALTORS

CBQ >> Winter 2004 Issue

Montgomery County 2004 Legislative Priorities

by Meredith Weisel, Vice President of Public Policy/MD and Legal Counsel

Budget

Local county governments throughout the state of Maryland will be watching very closely what happens during the 2004 Maryland legislative session.

On January 15, County Executive Doug Duncan released his FY05 Capital Budget and FY05-10 Capital Improvements Program (CIP). He has transmitted the budget to the county council and public hearings on the budget and CIP will be held in February. Here are a few highlights on how the county executive is proposing to fund the budget:

Recommend $2.18 billion for the FY05-10 CIP for all agencies (excluding the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission), an increase of $327.7 million or 17.7 percent from the previous CIP;

Recommend $2.13 billion for the tax-supported part of the CIP, an increase of $321.2 million or 18 percent from the previous CIP;

Recommend $515.8 million for WSSC, a decrease of $2.8 million from the FY04-09 Approved CIP;

Increase water/sewer rates by 3 percent (the first increase in six years);

Use a new funding source, the Schools Impact Tax, to provide needed educational facilities in growing areas of the county;

Allocate to school capital improvements and college information technology the net revenue attributable to the increase in the rate of the Recordation Tax;

Keep tax supported borrowing within prudent limits; and

Assume state and federal aid as follows:

$20 million for school construction maintenance of effort;
Silver Spring redevelopment and Transit Center;
Agricultural easements and parkland; and
Stream restoration

Transportation

Expansion of our capacity to transport people represents an important investment in the future growth of our economy and the quality of life in Montgomery County. By investing in roads and public transportation, the quality of life is maintained and enhanced. The failure of transportation systems to meet the ever-growing demands placed on it has reached a critical point. Traffic congestion and gridlock threaten to choke off opportunities for new investment in the County. For the last 40 years, the Master Plans of Montgomery and Prince George's County have included an Inter County Connector (ICC) to link key job and housing centers in the I-270 and I-95 corridors together, and to the rest of the state of Maryland.

Studies have shown the ICC would substantially reduce congestion on surrounding roads, and at the same time, have indicated that there are no effective transit alternatives in this corridor. Therefore, GWCAR continues support for the ICC and believes that failure to improve the transportation system stunts economic growth.

GWCAR will also continue to monitor County Executive Doug Duncan's "Go Montgomery!" Plan. Although GWCAR supports finding ways to help increase funding for Montgomery County's transportation needs, current business owners should not have to bear the brunt of the cost through further tax increases.

Instead, GWCAR encourages the County Executive and County Council to work with the General Assembly to study alternative revenue sources, like a gas tax increase or vehicle registration fee, which is directly related to the county and state's transportation needs.