Last night the Wicomico Neighborhood Congress hosted an event which was billed as a debate on the Revenue Cap. Rather than a debate, participants Joe Ollinger and Wayne Strasburg presented information on the state of government spending in Wicomico County versus the Eastern Shore and gave their views on some possible solutions to what is clearly a revenue problem for the county.
Both advocated a tax cut in one area – income taxes. Strasburg presented data and both gave anecdotal evidence that Wicomico County is forced to provide services and infrastructure for businesses (and their employees) while many of those business owners and the higher paid employees choose to live in Worcester or Sussex counties and enjoy a much lower income tax rate. Ollinger also claimed that some individuals actually live in Wicomico County but claim residence in Worcester or Florida (which has no state income tax).
If residents are falsely claiming residency elsewhere, that is a problem for Comptroller Peter Franchot to enforce. If individuals are living elsewhere due to a lower income tax rate then that could indicate a need to cut the county county tax rate. However, will that address the need for higher county revenue?
One county residence stated after the meeting that Strasburg “lied” because he used Talbot and Worcester counties in his comparison. This is both untrue and unfair. Both Strasburg and Ollinger chose to compare Wicomico County against other Easter Shore counties. Ample data was shown that both Talbot and Worcester clearly have higher per capita income and wealth. Did including these counties in the analysis skew the results a little? Yes. However, the results would have been equally skewed if the comparison was made only against Caroline, Dorchester, and Somerset counties.
VOICE chairman John Palmer argued that using the term “Revenue Cap” queers the argument. The voters of Wicomico implement a charter change for “Property Tax Limitation”. This is true. However, it is also true that the charter change was for a cap on revenue from property taxes.
Former county councilman Bill McCain argued that both the county government and the county schools are efficient organizations and that we need to prioritize our spending. This is the same argument he put forward earlier at the WCBOE meeting at Parkside High School. McCain argues that if education is our priority then that is where our tax dollars should go. Sounds great. However, to fund the WCBOE at the levels they desire would basically require shutting down the rest of the county government. Hardly a practical solution.
Strasburg stated that we need “million dollar ideas”. He’s right. However, I cannot think of one national, state, or local government which has taxed itself to prosperity. The state of Maryland dictates how the counties are able to tax. They also continue to push additional burdens on the counties while continuing to spend like drunken sailors. Ditto for the federal government.
One thing is certain, the probability of any group gathering 10,000 signatures to repeal the revenue cap is low. The current council majority has pledged that the revenue cap can go only if citizens agree to do so in the same manner in which they voted it in (petition and a ballot). The fact is that Wicomico County is facing some tough times.