The following letter was sent by H. LeRoy Whiteley, Jr., president of Marylanders for Fair Property Taxation:
The March on Annapolis continues. This week Delegate Wayne Norman cross-filed HB 204 –the Task Force bill authored by Senator Barry Glassman. We need to this bill passed to have a study of the property assessment and appeals procedure performed with a positive result of a fair, equitable, unbiased, uniform, and up to date assessment system being developed so that property assessments are commensurate with actual market values.
You can find the full bill on line at www.mlis.state.md.us. Look for the scheduled hearing dateand attend the hearing. Sadly, the only way we seem to get any attention to get some elected officials to do the job they were elected to do, is to get in their face. Politicians only know numbers?? We need to fill the room to show we are serious. We will be arranging bus trips on hearing dates. Stay tuned??
Contact the members of the Ways and Means Committee and your respective legislators to sign on and support this legislation. Ways and Means Committee members e-mail addresses are all in this format followed by @house.state.md.us
sheila.hixson
annmarie.doory
joseph.bartlett
kumar.barve
joseph.boteler
jon.cardin
page.elmore
bill.frick
ron.george
jim.gilchrist
carolyn.howard
jolene.ivey
anne.kaiser
peter.murphy
leroy.meyers
john.olszewski
craig.rice
justin.ross
christopher.shank
melvin.stukes
frank.turner
jay.walker
HARFORD COUNTY BUDGET ALERT
On January 26, 2010 at 6 PM at the C. Milton Wright High School County Executive David Craig will conduct the first budget hearing of the year. This is our opportunity to voice concerns about our tax rate, tax cap, taxes in general, and how OUR money is spent. Attend this meeting and express your feelings before the budget is developed and is submitted to the County Council for itsaction. NOW IS THE TIME TO MAKE YOUR VIEWS KNOWN. ATTEND AND SPEAK OUT OR SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES??
Remember, Nothing Happens Unless We Make It Happen??
Roy Whiteley
A Hearing on HB 204 is scheduled for 1:00 pm on February 4, 2010. The hearing will take place in the Ways & Means Committee in the Lowe House Office Building. Anyone desiring to testify must sign in at least an hour before the hearing. Wayne Norman, Delegate.
It would be helpful to those of us who are not [yet] familiar with the workings of the individual committees, etc. if you were to post just where in the Lowe House Office Building the Ways & Means Committee meets? Looking online, I’ve seen both rooms 111 and 131 posted as the appropriate room for Ways & Means – I finally called (410.841-3469) and was advised that the hearing will take place in room 130. Then there’s the question of whether it’s 6 Bladen or 11 Bladen. . . .
As for so many of the other comments about why more people have not shown up – many of us simply don’t know about this. Not yet, anyway. And, having found out, perhaps haven’t wanted to struggle through finding out just where it is. Many more of us WORK, and it is not easy to get off work, travel to Annapolis, pay to park, find the room where this is being held, sign up to speak, and then sit through all the hoopla and then finally head home – probably at rush hour. Ya know – that’s why we elected ‘representatives’ to do this for us. . . . But since they seem to be having trouble representing us, more and more of us will be showing up to help them out, I’m certain.
Actually, the committee hearing is the citizen’s opportunity to weigh in. The reps do their job through introducing and supporting the bills. I’d be POed if they didn’t allow for the public to be heard in favor or opposition at some point in the process.
I was refering to the local budget hearings held at reasonable hours very locally, specifically designed to get your feed back!
Just a warning that most of the Committee members are not from Harford County. Many are from Montgomery (Chairperson) and other bigger jurisdictions that run the State. How many of the elected officials are together on this? When the elected school board bill went through the Committee it got hosed up because of opposition in the county. I guess it depends on who is against it…
I found out very quickly that Maryland is because being run by Committee Chairs and the Presidents of House and Senate. I honestly think we should just get rid of most of our representatives because the way the system works now, any county that doesn’t yield power is basically operating at the whim of everyone else. Additionally, we are governed by Republicans who the Democrats don’t have to work with anyway. Even when Ehrlich was Governor it was difficult because of the way the system is set up. It is VERY frustrating and that is why a 2 party State really does matter.
Oh – and by the way? HB204 doesn’t actually DO anything about the assessments procedure. . . . If you read it, it calls for the appointment of an unpaid task force to STUDY the process. . . . calling for a ‘report’ to be made in a year. Great. Let’s pass a bill saying we’ll study it – that’ll get the people off our backs for a year!
Meanwhile, folks, there’s already a Maryland Property Owner’s Bill of Rights: http://www.dat.state.md.us/sdatweb/bor.html
which I think might cover just about all that this new bill wants the Task Force to study.
Why are we doing this again?
Remeber for all of you who complained about the budget and taxes last year but didn’t show up to a single budget meeting and then complained after the fact this is the meeting. If you fail to show this time and pull the same stunt you will have NO excuse!
Cdev –
I highly encourage folks to attend this meeting, but if they don’t people still have every right to complain about the budget and taxes.
Who do you think you are?
Joe
His point is that last year none of the people involved with the tea party bothered to go to any budget meetings or start demanding cuts until well after the budget was passed.
It’s a legitimate point. If you want a say in the budget process then show up for it. Don’t wait until everything is passed and then start complaining that you aren’t happy with it. It’s kinda like people complaining about a particular politician, but don’t bother voting in elections.
DW reiterates my point perfectly.
DW –
As I said initially “I highly encourage folks to attend this meeting”.
If people cannot or choose not to attend they do not forfeit their right to be critical of the budget and taxes. And they can certainly call Mr. Graig’s office and email him with their concerns.
Joe
Correct but they should do so NOW while the budget is being constructed. That was my issue last summer when people waited until the zero hour to complain instead of going to these meetings.
Cdev –
I think people have every right at anytime to lawfully petition their government. It certainly makes sense to make your views known often and early in the process.
You should not infer that if folks didn’t attend a David Craig listening session that they are somehow precluded from contacting him via telephone, by email, in person, not at all or go directly to the county council regarding taxes and the budget.
Joe
I never said they are precluded from complaining…just don’t be expected to be taken seriously and have it imediately corrected after the budget is implemented!
Cdev –
I think people rightly have the expectation to be “taken seriously” whenever they demand government be accountable.
Joe
Joe…
YOU might THINK that they have the right to be taken seriously, but, they shouldn’t be surprised if the elected officials don’t listen to them if they weren’t involved in the process when things are opened to public input…
Sometimes, Joe, it doesn’t matter what you think…
And this really is just another example of you picking an argument for the sake of arguing…It does nothing to get people to listen to you — just start tuning out what you have to say…
“Sometimes, Joe, it doesn’t matter what you think…”
No, it does matters what we all think. Since you disagree with him, you can choose to not care what he thinks. However, he is trying to accomplish something. Are you?
Phil –
Actually, I have been very successful in engaging people to listen to me.
In fact, I have had many compliments on my posts in this forum and elected officials have answered my questions in person, telephone calls, emails and they even stop by my house once in a while.
Now while you and Cdev may want to cow people into thinking that they have to attend Budget Hearings in order to have their opinion heard, I reject your opinion. I think people can make their opinions known to elected and unelected officials any lawful way and anytime they want.
Joe