At his 2nd FY2019 budget hearing, CE Kittleman stated that it would cost an additional $50.5 million to fully fund the school system. According to him, this amount corresponds to a property tax increase of 10%.
The 2019 Spending Affordability report recommends three sources of revenue for the future: transfer tax, ambulance/EMS fee, and recovery of public safety overtime costs. But, why does it not mention school impact fees as an additional source?
For nearly 15 years, Howard County has been charging developers very low school surcharge fees. For FY2018, the county charged an average of $5,1831. Meanwhile, counties such as Montgomery and Prince George’s have been charging 4 to 5 times the fees. In 2018, Montgomery County charged $26,827 per NEW HOME.
What if the county was charging surcharge fees close to the amount charged by our neighboring county?
In 2017, the total number of residential building permits completed totaled 2,1473. Taking Montgomery County’s surcharge fees, this amounts to a total of $57.6 million, implying that the county has forgone nearly $46.5 million in revenue. Almost the amount needed to fully fund HCPSS.
If the County Executive, County Council, and State Delegation reach a deal to increase the fees to market rate then the school system would not need to increase class sizes, it would reinstate elementary school foreign language, increase special education funding, and provide needed funding for building maintenance.
Hiruy Hadgu
Savage, Maryland
Note: Mr. Hadgu is a candidate for the Howard County Council, District 3