County Executive Ike Leggett will host five budget forums next month to receive input from residents before he presents his fiscal year 2017 operating budget in March.
The meetings are an opportunity for the public to weigh in on the county’s proposed budget, which this year totals about $5 billion. The fiscal 2017 budget will go into effect July 1 and end June 30, 2017.
Already the county executive has been warning about a potential property tax increase as the county deals with declines in state funding and the impact of the Supreme Court’s Wynne income tax case. Leggett expects the Wynne case to cost the county over $50 million in fiscal 2017.
The court ruled in May that Maryland’s income tax law is unconstitutional and that the state would have to provide a credit on the county portion of the state income tax for those who pay taxes on out-of-state earnings. The decision is expected to impact the county’s budget most significantly over the next two fiscal years as the county refunds individuals.
Joseph Beach, the county’s finance director, said Wednesday the county expects to pay approximately $76 million in refunds in fiscal 2017 and fiscal 2018 and $31 million in fiscal 2019. After that, the ongoing impact of the decision is expected to cost the county about $16 million per year, Beach said.
It’s possible that Leggett will begin steeling county residents for the likelihood of a property tax increase during the scheduled budget forums, which will take place in Silver Spring, Bethesda and Germantown. During the forums he hosted earlier this year, the county executive first mentioned the prospect of raising property taxes, but ended up not having to do so as part of his fiscal year 2016 recommended budget.
If Leggett decides to pursue a tax increase, he would need the support of all nine Montgomery County Council members. The county charter prevents the government from collecting more tax revenue than the amount of previous year’s revenue plus an inflation adjustment and taxes from new construction unless the council unanimously votes to raise the property tax rate.
The budget forums are scheduled for the following dates:
- Jan. 6 – Eastern Montgomery Regional Services Center, 3300 Briggs Chaney Road, Silver Spring
- Jan. 11 – Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center, 4805 Edgemoor Lane, Bethesda
- Jan. 20 – Silver Spring Civic Center, One Veterans Plaza, Silver Spring
- Jan. 21 – Mid-County Community Recreation Center, 2004 Queensguard Road, Silver Spring
- Jan. 25 – BlackRock Center for the Arts, 12901 Town Commons Drive, Germantown
