WASHINGTON — The Prince George鈥檚 County Council will vote on the proposed budget for the upcoming year Thursday.
Among the issues in the budget are whether to boost the county鈥檚 property tax rate by 15 percent. Prince George鈥檚 County Executive Rushern Baker says it鈥檚 critical in order to fund schools. He points out Prince George’s County Public Schools are getting $20 million dollars less due to Maryland Gov.聽聽Larry Hogan鈥檚 decision not to fully fund the Geographic Cost of Education Index (GCEI).
But Baker鈥檚 been getting pushback on the tax increase — including from the Prince George鈥檚 County Association of Realtors. On its website, the group says the 15 percent increase would add $447 to the tax burden of property owners with a home valued at $300,000. The site says the current housing is too fragile to accommodate the tax increase.
The statement reads in part, 鈥淵our customers are already struggling to get the necessary capital together to buy homes.鈥� And for the seller, the site says the tax hike 鈥渓essens the pool of ready, willing and able buyers.鈥�
County Executive Rushern Baker has argued that homes in the county are valued at a rate lower than those in neighboring Montgomery, Anne Arundel and Howard counties precisely because Prince George鈥檚 County schools rate near the bottom statewide. It鈥檚 his argument that the tax hike would result in higher quality schools which would in turn boost home values in the county.
The Prince Georges鈥� County Council will vote on the budget when it meets at .
海角精品黑料’s Kate Ryan contributed to this report.
