Politics & Government

(Update) Carroll Commissioners Object To State-Mandated 'Driveway Tax'

Two of Carroll County's commissioners object to "attack on the middle class" and State Delegate Justin Ready agrees.

This article was updated at 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24 with Delegate Justin Ready's comments at the end.

Commissioners Richard Rothschild and Robin Frazier encouraged Maryland Association of Counties (MACO) members to take a position against a bill that would require counties to collect what Rothschild calls a "driveway tax."

The bill, HB 987/SB614, would require counties to place a tax or fees on residential impervious surfaces like concrete and asphalt, and stormwater management projects.

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Rothschild reported at Thursday's open Board of Carroll County Commissioners meeting that there was a heated discussion over the bill at the MACO meeting in Annapolis on Wednesday. 

"This is at attack on the middle class, an attack on detached single family homes," Rothschild said. 

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According to Rothschild, counties already have the authority to implement this tax if they choose to. He said he is angry because passage of this bill will mandate that counties implement the tax.

"We want our citizens to know that there are actually public officials from other counties that took the position that they want this mandate to create this tax," Rothschild said. "And one of them said publicly that if it's mandated by Annapolis then we as local officials don't have to take the blame."

"Unfortunately, those that speak in favor of it wanted to be able to raise taxes while maintaining plausible deniability for the tax increase by telling their citizens that 'Annapolis made them do it.' I find this kind of behavior offensive, and an abdication of leadership responsibility," Rothschild said in an email to Patch.

Rothschild said that he and Frazier, along with several other counties' officials, "vigorously objected" to supporting the bill.

"My comments to MACO were 'the last thing we need to do is give this administration new ways to create new taxes,'" Rothschild said. "We demanded that it (MACO's position on the bill) be reconsidered ... There was an overwhelming vote to oppose it (the bill)."

"The General Assembly is proposing a flurry of new taxes this year, and the counties don’t need to become accessories to bloated government by supporting legislation that would require counties to further raise taxes," Rothschild said.

Frazier said in Thursday's open session, "It is alarming to me that they continue to figure out ways to spend the little pot of money we have to take care of Carroll County, to tell us how we need to take care of Carroll County."

Carroll County Delegate Justin Ready said in an email to Patch that he agrees the bill would unfairly tax Carroll Countians.

"Counties like Carroll contribute only a tiny fraction of a percent of the water runoff that ultimately gets in the Bay.  HB 987 creates another layer of bureaucracy that will not appreciably improve our environment," Ready said. 

What would be far better is for our state to work with counties encouraging growth that incorporates new technologies to implement permeable surfaces.  Tax incentives or credits would be a great way, much like the Energy Star Program on appliances," Ready said.

Watch Thursday's open Commissioner session on video on the county's video archive.


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