Johnson Pushing Property Tax Bump

Executive Warns of Layoffs

Desperate to raise money for basic county services, Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson is asking state lawmakers to approve a bill that would raise the size of annual property tax increases.

Johnson (D) has asked the legislature to consider a bill that would change the formula used to determine property taxes. Under state law, property taxes cannot increase by more than 10 percent in any year, but each jurisdiction sets its own rate. In Prince George's, the tax cannot increase by more than 5 percent over the prior year. The bill would allow property taxes to go up by 10 percent during fiscal 2009 and 2010.

County officials said a taxpayer with a house assessed at $250,000 would pay about $120 more a year in taxes. The county expects to raise $53 million over two fiscal years.

The bill, which would alter the tax formula through an adjustment of the homestead tax credit, is Johnson's latest proposal to plug a projected $102 million shortfall in the next fiscal year's budget.

Johnson said yesterday that Prince George's would have to lay off hundreds of workers, including police officers, if his proposal is not approved by the legislature.

"We would have to devastate our government," Johnson said. "We just don't have the money to operate our government."

Johnson announced last year that 5,900 county workers would be required to take two weeks of unpaid leave this year. The furloughs come on top of a hiring freeze, which is in its second year.

Johnson said the county has made enormous strides in the past few years, including seeing crime reduced and improved school test scores. He said if the county is unable to close the hole in its budget, public safety and education would suffer.

In addition, Johnson has requested that the legislature consider a bill that would shift the funding of school buses to the Washington Suburban Transit District. The joint entity between Prince George's and Montgomery County now funds only mass transit initiatives, such as local bus networks. The proposed change could save the county about $30 million a year.

Johnson also is suggesting that some services now funded by the county be shifted into the budget of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. Those include some library services and the operation of an equestrian center.

The County Council has not taken a position on the proposals, according to Chairman Marilynn Bland (D-Clinton).

Thirty years ago, voters in Prince George's created some of the country's strictest barriers to tax increases by imposing a cap on property taxes and placing a requirement in the county charter that tax increases must be approved by voters.