Politics & Government

Mayor Opposes Benefits District Tax Increase

David Hill, executive director of the Charles Village Benefits District, said the city opposes an election year tax increase.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake will vote against a proposed surtax increase for the Charles Village Community Benefits District during Wednesday's Baltimore Board of Estimates meeting.  

According to an e-mail from spokesman Ryan O'Doherty, the mayor is urging the benefits district to follow the city's example and maintain services without raising taxes.

"Mayor Rawlings-Blake is urging CVCBD to follow city government's lead this
year and implement effective cost-cutting measures while maintaining
core services without imposing additional property taxes on Charles
Village residents and businesses," O'Doherty wrote.

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The Board of Estimates is scheduled to decide whether or not to approve the surtax increase during its regular meeting at 9 a.m. Wednesday at City Hall.

The Baltimore Bureau of the Budget and Management Research also opposes the proposed surtax increase in the Charles Village Community Benefits District.

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The benefits district is seeking a surtax increase of 1.4 cents per $100 of assessed value on homes in the district. Currently, the surtax is set at 12 cents per $100 of assessed value on top of city property taxes. It would be the first surtax increase in the district since its inception in 1995.

Baltimore City residents already pay $2.26 per $100 of assessed value in property taxes, twice as much as Baltimore County residents, who pay $1.10.

The Bureau of the Budget and Management Research’s report to the Board of Estimates states that the benefits district's proposed fiscal year 2012 budget would see revenues decrease $79,150 without the surtax increase. But the report also notes the proposed fiscal year 2012 budget would still be 66 percent larger than the fiscal year 2007 budget.

“This revenue level would allow the CVCBD to maintain its core services,” the bureau writes in its report. “While the new spending initiatives proposed by the CVBD (increasing crew member wages, hiring a VISTA volunteer, adding new trash cans) are meritorious, they do not appear to warrant a surcharge increase in the current economic environment.”

David Hill, the executive director of the benefits district, said election year politics are playing a larger role in the mayor's opposition to the surtax increase. Hill said he met with officials from the city about a month ago and was told they would not support the increase.

“The reason is, they can’t support a tax increase in an election year,” Hill said.

According to its website, the benefits district's mission is to "provide Charles Village with sanitation and safety services, while empowering the community and educating residents on ways to keep the neighborhoods safe and clean."

Hill argues that an increase in the surtax is necessary to maintain services despite declining property assessments.


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