County Commissioners Hold Constant Yield Hearing, Propose $.99 Tax Rate

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The Garrett County commissioners held a constant yield hearing Tuesday morning in their public meeting room at the courthouse in Oakland. Eight members of the general public attended the event.

Garrett County Department of Financial Services director Wendy Yoder explained that the constant yield rate is calculated by the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation for each taxing authority in the state. It represents the real property tax rate for the coming fiscal year that will generate the same amount of tax revenue that was garnered during the current year.

"As assessments increase, the constant yield tax rate decreases," Yoder said. "When a tax authority plans to impose a real property tax rate that is higher than the constant yield tax rate, that taxing authority must advertise the tax increase and hold a public hearing."

The commissioners are proposing to maintain the current property tax rate of $.99 per $100 of assessment in Fiscal Year 2011. At that rate, the county expects to realize a 5 percent increase, or about $2.2 million, in additional revenue in FY '11.

If the county wanted to maintain the same amount of revenue in FY '11 as it did in FY '10, the property tax rate/constant yield rate would be $.9433.

Yoder noted that the county's assessable base is expected to increase by about $211,416,000 in the coming fiscal year. Local property owner Charles Mills asked if this included new home construction. Yoder said it did not.

Mills noted, therefore, that the county probably will see more than a 5 percent increase in revenue next year. He also noted that taxes for his Deep Creek Lake property have gone up 300 percent in the last 10 years alone.

Mills acknowledged that the property probably has increased in value, but questioned the dramatic increase in taxes.

"That's a very large percentage per year over a 10-year period," he said. "I have no idea where the money went."

Mills said he was having a tough time figuring out where the 30 percent increase a year in revenue is going.

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