State lawmakers have rejected Anne Arundel?s plea to raise taxes for school construction, forcing the county to find other remedies to fund much-needed improvements.
Del. Mary Ann Love, chairwoman of the county delegation, said that after tax increases passed during last fall?s special session, few lawmakers support another increase.
“I don?t think there is a lot of desire to do this at this point, even though we know it would have been helpful,” said Love, D-District 32.
The County Council needed the General Assembly?s permission to raise the real estate transfer tax by as much as a half-percent, which the council believed would raise $25 million dedicated to school construction.
“I knew it was going to be a tough sell,” said Councilman Ed Middlebrooks, R-District 2, who pushed for the legislation. “We?re looking at other alternatives.”
One of those alternatives is an increase in impact fees, which County Executive John R. Leopold has pushed as a remedy to rising construction costs.
But the council has all but rejected Leopold?s proposed fees, fearing the increase would hinder economic development in the county and would not properly address school improvement in nongrowth areas. Impact fees cover only construction around new development.
“We?re pretty much back to square one,” said Council Vice Chairman Ed Reilly, R-District 7. “We have to find ways in the normal capital budget.”
But council members note that the state has cut over $20 million in funding, and the slumping housing market may hurt county tax revenues. That leaves little, if any, surplus funding to combat infrastructure needs, officials said.
Council Chairwoman Cathy Vitale, R-District 5, said another possibility is using bond money to pay for construction costs, but efforts may not come until May, when Leopold unveils the fiscal 2009 budget.
“There shouldn?t be any new projects if we haven?t finished the old ones,” Vitale said.
