Thursday afternoon Montgomery County Council held a public hearing on County Executive Marc Elrich’s proposed operating budget.
At-Large Councilmember, Gabe Albornoz says he encourages all residents to share their perspectives, which is what more than 150 residents did at this week’s hearings. The biggest issue residents brought up regarding Elrich’s $6.8 billion operating budget, was the 10-cent property tax increase. 71-year-old Nancy Templeton says since this tax hike was proposed to cover schools’ needs, it should not be raised for older residents.
“Seniors, including myself and my husband, need tax relief and NOT a tax hike,” said Templeton. “Please consider raising the taxes for those individuals who are younger than 65 years old. Several counties in the US separate tax solely for property and the property tax portion to fund schools. The school portion tax is capped for seniors. Montgomery County seniors desperately need the same arrangement.”
Other residents like Harisch Sood say this increase is unjustified, especially given the economic challenges many in our community face.
“I believe that your proposed property tax increase primarily benefits this narrow minority while disregarding the needs and interests of the broader community,” said Sood. “While I understand the need to fund our schools and other critical public services, I believe that the proposed property tax increase places an undue financial burden on homeowners, who are still recovering from the adverse effects of the pandemic and have faced 20% increases in property assessments.”
There were also several people applauding the county’s proposed investments in areas such as behavioral health support, affordable housing and homelessness. Jenna Umbriac says in order to end homelessness by 2025, key programs need increased funding to add more services rather than a reduction in programming.
“I also support the increased funding for emergency rental assistance as a safety net for families so they never have to face the trauma of eviction,” said Umbriac. “Finally, I support increased funding for the crisis center so that it can be staffed 24/7 for all three sites in Rockville, Germantown and Silver Spring.”
The council has final authority on the budget and must approve it before it goes into effect on July 1.
