OCEAN CITY – It’s a well-known fact that of all the properties in Ocean City, almost 80 percent are owned by people who don’t call the resort home.
Yet, we rarely hear their voices in the daily dialogue of town planning and strategizing. Their stories, as some would argue, are part of the lifeblood of what Ocean City has been built on: former customers who have become community members, frequent visitors and financial stakeholders in the resort.
The Voting Argument
Non-resident property owners have long argued that they are the proverbial bread and butter for the city’s property tax totals, which makes up more than half of its annual budget (53%); but while many are content with only visiting Ocean City on summer weekends or for a few months out of the year, others have long yearned for a larger stake in the community.
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10 comments:
Who cares in 25
Yrs OC wont be worth squat it will be under water just like oceanpines, sell sell sell.
Property owners should be allowed to vote on local issues. Not only OC but everywhere.
See Robin Cockey and his bunch who are responsible for taking it away from Salisbury property owners
958-They said that 25 years ago too, 958.
LOL.
Same issue in Salisbury. You can own a building and pay 30k per year in taxes but you get no vote or say on the issues.
Make no mistake, the defining moment occurred when voting rights were taken away from Salisbury property owners. As a direct result, Salisbury has become a pathetic place to live and a laughing stock politically.
Non resident property owners should be allowed to vote. If brains were gas, the voters and the elected officials of OC wouldn't have enough to get a piss ant's go cart around a Cheerio. The place is an eyesore of plastic buildings and concrete and drunks running amok. No charm left whatsoever.
I own additional property in OC, but I don't live there either.
That said...I still disagree that "non-resident" property owners should be able to vote there. If I seriously dislike what the *residents* have voted into place, I am free to sell the condo and buy somewhere else that suits my views better. It's called a free market, and it works both ways.
I'll vote in the area that I live, and I don't want "non-resident" property owners voting their whims into my neighborhood. If a non-resident owner has a real problem with some changes, an appeal can always be filed.
Rehoboth Beach allows non resident property owners to vote in their municipal elections.
You vote where you legal residence is . You don't have to own property
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