On Monday, Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich signed a bill to double the county’s reimbursements for municipally-delivered services.
The county council unanimously passed the bill on March 1. Montgomery County has 19 municipalities including Gaithersburg, Poolesville, Rockville and Takoma Park. The county provides reimbursements to municipalities for public services they provide that would otherwise be provided by the county, like transportation.
“Residents in municipalities were basically taxed twice for these services, by the county and again by the municipality,” Elrich said during a press conference Monday.
In the past, municipalities were only reimbursed for 60% of services, explained Monique Ashton, president of the Montgomery County Chapter of the Maryland Municipal League. This bill will get that to 100% over time and relieve residents in incorporated cities from paying duplicate taxes for those services.
The bill will alter calculations and double reimbursements for municipally-delivered services from $10.1 million for Fiscal Year 2022 to $20.5 million, according to the county. It will have a phased-in approach, with full implementation in Fiscal Year 2025.
