Annapolis Mayor Alfred A. Hopkins passed up a final chance yesterday to make his case to the County Council for lower city property taxes, virtually assuring that the matter will end up in a courtroom.
Instead, Hopkins had a letter hand-delivered to Council Chairwoman Diane R. Evans, informing her that "as he understands the County Council's powers," its seven members cannot change the property tax rate presented by County Executive John G. Gary with his budget on May 1.
"Under the circumstances, I'm not sure what good it will do to explain our concerns," the mayor wrote.
The county charter, however, gives the council, not the county executive, the power to set the tax rate. Council members are expected to do so Friday before voting on Gary's $754 million spending plan for the fiscal year that begins July 1.
The confusion may have scuttled the last, best chance Anne Arundel and Annapolis officials had to resolve the tax dispute outside the courtroom.
"I don't think it's going to be settled," said Councilman William C. Mulford II, an Annapolis Republican. "One of the last opportunities to do so was [yesterday] afternoon, and city officials chose not to come before the council. I'm very disappointed."
Gary's budget includes what would amount to an 8-cent increase in the property tax rate for Annapolis residents, a proposal that has put the city and county on a legal collision course. The Republican executive is proposing to reduce the tax break Annapolis receives from the county for providing certain public services.
If approved, the proposal would add $61 to the average city property tax bill, while raising $760,000 for Anne Arundel. Gary has said the money would help the county pay for providing services, including education, to Annapolis residents. City officials have said that Annapolitans pay enough.
The County Council could delete the proposed tax increase from the spending plan if members agree on $760,000 in spending cuts to keep the budget balanced.
Yesterday, County Auditor Teresa Sutherland recommended ways to trim spending by $4.2 million, including deep cuts in several programs pushed hard by the administration. The Personnel Office, which is designing a sweeping reform of the county's employment code, and Anne Arundel Community College are among targets for large cuts.
The council will vote on the auditor's recommendations tomorrow and could use the savings to eliminate the property tax increase. But there has been little goodwill: Last week, a city offer to send the matter to arbitration -- with a guarantee that the tax rate would not increase more than Gary has proposed -- was rejected by county officials.
Evans then invited Hopkins to appear during the council's final week of budget negotiations in an effort to head off a threatened city lawsuit. The mayor passed up an appearance while calling the invitation "very constructive."
"At the 11th hour, I hope there will be a good-faith effort to settle the matter," Alderman Carl O. Snowden, a Ward 5 Democrat, said yesterday. "I guess at this point we have to see if the county will be willing to do something to settle this."
County officials said yesterday's hearing probably would be their last overture.
"The council didn't invite the mayor over because it didn't have anything better to do," County Attorney Phillip F. Scheibe said. "This is a political issue" for city officials.
Scheibe said, "If they file a baseless lawsuit against us, I will ask the court to award us attorney's fees. I'm going to press them on this."
Hopkins attached a one-page summary to his letter outlining several reasons for the city's opposition to the tax increase. He argued that city residents should not help pay for a new $27 million county jail and that the county ran a surplus last year.
Mulford called those issues "proper matters of discussion that an independent analysis would look into." But without a personal presentation from the mayor, he said, the council is not likely to side with the city's position.
With a slide show and handouts, county Budget Officer John R. Hammond argued the Gary administration's case for the tax increase yesterday. His presentation was to have been followed by the mayor's.
Pub Date: 5/29/96
