Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich called for a state level tax change to better fund infrastructure projects during a Wednesday media briefing on his proposed Capital Improvement Budget. The executive also discussed the recent winter storm and the status of respiratory illnesses in the county.
Snow in Montgomery County
The county saw its first significant snowfall in nearly two years this week, with as much as five inches of snow in some areas. The snowfall and low temperatures led the county to issue a “Cold Emergency Alert” Tuesday – the highest level of extreme temperature alert issued by the county.
“[The alert] brings all of our resources together to work toward the common goal saving lives and limiting the impact of winter storms,” Elrich said.
Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) were closed Tuesday and Wednesday as a result of the “dangerous conditions and persistent difficulties in ice removal”.
Elrich encouraged all residents to sign up for Montgomery text alerts and to visit the county’s snow website for the latest updates on weather conditions and closures.
Capital Improvement Budget, Proposal for Tax Change
Elrich released his proposed Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Budget this week. The proposal dictates a 2.3% budget increase and a $5.8 billion investment over six years. The proposed budget includes funding for schools, affordable housing, stormwater mitigation and transportation projects. This includes a plan to roll out a bus rapid transit system, something Elrich said he has been working on implementing in the county since 2008.
However, Elrich said many worthy projects – especially related to schools and transportation – cannot be funded as a result of an “antiquated tax structure”.
“One of the biggest disappointments in this process is realizing that we cannot afford all the projects being requested,” Elrich said during the briefing.
Counties should play a bigger role in producing revenue for major improvement projects, Elrich said. This can be achieved through state-level local tax change.
County leaders, Elrich said, have no authority for local taxes unlike most counties in other states, including Virginia. In Northern Virginia, he went on, special taxing districts on commercial properties have provided funding for the type of transportation and other infrastructure projects needed in Montgomery County.
“We cannot build and we do not build the projects that sit in our master plans, because we have no way of guaranteeing when we’re gonna get the money, and how much money we’re gonna get,” Elrich said. “Virginia took their future in their hands”.
He proposed that the county should implement tax structures used in Northern Virginia – where commercial properties pay a higher tax rate than homeowners – to become less dependent on state funding for transportation projects. Elrich said this change could make homeowner taxes lower and businesses more profitable due to improved local infrastructure.
This comes after Governor Wes Moore announced in December that there would be a statewide $3 billion cut to transportation funding.
This comes after the Wes Moore administration proposed over a $3 billion statewide cut to transportation funding in December.
“When the state has no money, we have no money,” Elrich said.
If given local taxing authority, Elrich said Montgomery County would be in a position to build and more reliably fund what the county has promised its residents. Every year that infrastructure projects are delayed they become more expensive due to inflation, Elrich said.
This proposal would require state level change and is something that, Elrich said, he hopes to be accomplished this year.
COVID-19, Respiratory Illness
Elrich tested positive for COVID-19 after attending community events for Martin Luther King Jr. Day Monday. He said at the briefing that this infection is not nearly as bad as his first COVID-19 infection.
Elrich is not the only one in the county with a COVID-19 infection. The county is dealing with a new dominant variant of COVID-19, JN.1.
County COVID hospitalization rates are elevated but have been slowly coming down in recent days, Acting Deputy Chief of Public Health Sean O’Donnell said at the briefing. The same is true for flu infections.
“We encourage people to be cautious, particularly if they have weakened immune system,” O’Donnell said.
Elrich encouraged the public to get up-to-date with vaccines they’re eligible for, specifically the updated COVID-19, flu and RSV vaccines.
