Yesterday the State Board of Education granted Wicomico County another waiver from the “maintenance of effort” requirement to receive special state funding for the schools in FY 2011. As a result the system will receive an additional $1.5 Million from the State of Maryland.
It appears that the waiver was approved because the County’s tax revenue is limited by the “tax cap,” which prevents the property tax rate from being raised to generate the revenue that would be needed to fully fund the school system under the state rules. In any case, the cap did not prevent the Board from granting the waiver, as some had predicted it would.
Wicomico is one of only two counties to obtain a waiver for the coming year, so the tax revenue limitation appears to be a decisive factor. The state officials must have overlooked the fact that the tax rate could have been raised slightly this year under the provisions of the tax cap.
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9 comments:
Yeah they saw that it is impossible to function with the tax revenue cap and not a tax rate cap. Needs to be changed. We are functioning at a 1970 take rate. Could you pay your bills at the salary you were being paid in 1970. It was a good idea to have the tax revenue cap to make the government to look more closely and manage better. However now it is past it's time, time to adapt again, time to change and make it work better for the citizens of this county.
For those with limited knowledge regarding Wicomico County fiscal matters, please consider that revenues are generated from many other sources than property taxes.
Revenue coming into the County coffers has exceeded a healthly increase of over 5.5% annualized during the last seven or eight years.
My questions are these. Has the average citizen of Wicomico County received increased compensation at the same rate? And is this increased rate not sufficent to run Wicomico County?
From what I read the tax cap is the best thing for the citizens that could possibly be. My question is why other counties don't pursue getting the same? I can't for the life of me see why anyone would be opposed to it.
This is State money we paid in taxes already. This is a better use of Tax dollars from the State than the overpriced "GOOD OLE BOY" high profit parking lot.
11:10....name one "good ole boy" involved...or is that just some dumb and meaningless phrase you like to use? ..you know, like "come here's".
This county needs to look at what money we are spending for a PI, Director of Adm {Ted Shea} County Councel Adm {Matt Cramer} before we think about giving more money to this county to waste. These are just afew problem areas this county faces.
Shea is running the county....better hold into him :-)
10:48, People are opposed because it is not a tax cap, it is a REVENUE cap. There is a big difference, however, idiots like you don't know the difference. Someone mentioned the counties budget has grown over the last 7 -8 years, how much has the population grown? There are increased costs that are associated with providing services. Has anyone given thought on how to provide money for our roads now? The county didn't have to do that before, how are they now? Those of you living in these newer developments with the fancy curbs and all the stormwater stuff, do you have any idea how much it will cost to fix that stuff? Just like what is obvious now with the Executive form that so many wanted, I can say I told you so, before long, I will be able to say I told you so also with the revenue cap. After reading this post, it seems as though now there is a complaint that the county didn't raise the rate even though they could have, and as a result, got a waiver. I will bet if they did raise the rate, you would be on here complaining about that. You people will never be satisfied and want everything cut until it affects something you want.
10:48...the county's population has grown at a lesser rate than it's budget. It has been growing at a constant rate of about 1 % annually...spending is up far more than that.
However,your point about tax cap versus revenue cap is correct. AND the rate structure of the revenue cap is unrealistic if one studies the history of inflation....no way you can project a stabilized rate of 2%.
As to the form of government...I could never understand the headlong rush for Executive form...with the right people the council form or the executive form would work.....what we are seeing and were seeing back then was a failure of people not a failure of form of government.We have added an estimated $600,000 to our annual cost of government and achieved what , exactly ???
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