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Gazette
Thursday, Feb. 5, 2009
Johnson seeks to increase taxes
Proposal would raise assessments 10 percent starting this summer
by Daniel Valentine | Staff Writer

Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) asked state lawmakers this week to introduce legislation to increase the amount the county government can tax homeowners.

According to drafts of the proposed legislation, Johnson is asking to temporarily increase the county's Homestead Tax Credit, a cap that limits how much a homeowner's property tax assessment can increase every year, to 10 percent, the maximum allowed by the state.
Currently, county property assessments can only increase by up to 5 percent each year. Assessments, the state-determined value of a home, are what county officials use to calculate property tax bills.
County homeowners with a house valued at the averaged taxable assessment of $246,000 would see their property taxes rise to $2,597 under the 10 percent homestead credit — a $235 increase. The change does not include city and state taxes and other fees.

Johnson has asked for the 10-percent jump to expire after two years.
Johnson discussed the change with lawmakers Wednesday night and plans to discuss the proposal with residents at a public hearing Feb. 12 at Prince George's Community College.

Johnson was not available for comment as of press time. A government source said the raises are to forestall firing workers in the next budget year.

"If this doesn't pass, there are going to be a lot of people without jobs," the source said.

The legislation is prompting new concerns that the executive is trying to bypass a voter-imposed restriction on county tax increases put in place in 1996, where voters amended the county charter to force any county tax rate increase to be approved by referendum.

"This government needs to be honest," said Judy Robinson, a Hyattsville resident who has fought previous attempts to raise county taxes. "They owe it to the people of Prince George's County. Jack Johnson is being devious about this."

The tax increase comes as the county faces a fiscal crisis due to the ongoing recession and real estate market collapse. County officials said last week they may need to fire up to 500 workers to close a projected $102 million deficit in the county's $2.6 billion budget.
Johnson has met with state and local lawmakers seeking ways to raise more money for the county through state action.

Critics have said Johnson should focus on cutting unnecessary costs rather than raising taxes.

"This is not going to go over well," said Jerry McLaurin, an activist with the group People For Change. "People already have a problem with the spending decisions he's made. You're going to have a lot of angry people."
Increasing taxes is likely to be an unpopular move as residents face tighter times along with the government, warned Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, a Mitchellville resident.

"I don't think this is the environment to raise property taxes in Maryland," said Brown, who said the legislature would examine Johnson's proposal.