Property Owners

When a Baltimore couple combined two Federal Hill rowhouses into a double-wide home a few years ago, the state's tax assessors made a mistake: Instead of factoring in the values of two addresses, they set the new home's value as if it were still just a single rowhouse. As a result of the state's mistake, which officials acknolwedge, the city issued annual tax bills the past three years that were thousands of dollars lower than they should have been. On Friday, after the state recalculated the value going back to 2009, Marci De Vries learned just how much in back taxes she and her husband will owe on the South Hanover Street property: $7,585.

What sort of bill starts off at $1,300 and gets slashed to $282? If you live in Baltimore, you probably already know the answer. Landlord Micah Cohen reported back this week with an update to his water-bill saga -- namely that the big tab he got for an eight-month period wasn't that size merely because the city had neglected to bill in a timely fashion. The new bill is for the same extra-long period but is 78 percent less expensive. If you've been following the uproar over water bills, you know the city said it was issuing $4.2 million in refunds last month after an audit found that many customers in both Baltimore and Baltimore County were overcharged in recent years.

Micah Cohen got a nasty surprise recently when he opened the water bills for several of the Baltimore properties he rents out: They weren't for the usual three months. The charges stretched over half a year in some cases and nearly a year in others. That meant much bigger payments than he and his tenants -- who reimburse him -- are used to making in one fell swoop. He sent as an example a bill for one of the homes, which came to $1,300 for eight months. "How is anyone supposed to pay this?"

Maryland homeowners who are caught getting unwarranted homestead credits on their property tax bills would face fines equal to 25 percent of any undeserved break, under a bill introduced Friday in the General Assembly. Meanwhile, Del. Samuel I. Rosenberg, the bill's sponsor, has abandoned an ambitious idea to revamp Maryland's 35-year-old homestead credit — which rewards longtime residency — with a tiered system tied to homeowners' incomes. Though he earlier called that a fairer system, he says he has concluded such an overhaul lacks public support and would be too complicated.

The Howard County school system may have to search for a new location for a much-needed elementary school because the owner of the property it is trying to buy is embroiled in a legal dispute that has held up the sale. Meanwhile, the Board of Education has sued the property owners in Circuit Court, alleging that they reneged on the $2.64 million deal to sell the school system the 10.1 acres in Elkridge. But the developer can't complete the deal until a lien dispute is resolved with a shareholder, Barry Mehta, who has fought several battles with the county over the years involving an adult book store and operating a flea market at the site of a former drive-in movie theater.

Your article "Distorted discount" (Dec. 18) made a good case for a full legislative review and revision of the Maryland Homestead Property Tax Credit. It would be hard to imagine a more Byzantine, distorted, unfair and unenforceable system of taxation. A quick look around my North Baltimore neighborhood reveals the following within three blocks of my home: Double dipping, absentee owners who have moved out of state and continue to get the credit, and renter-occupied houses that are getting the credit.

Some property owners in the 21042 zip code in Ellicott City did not receive their tax bills mailed out earlier this month, prompting county officials to request a post office investigation Second installment notices were sent to all semi-annual tax bill payers Dec.1, but some homeowners in the 21042 zip code still haven't received their bills. The Department of Finance is mailing residents in the area who still have a balance due a replacement bill this week. Residents whose bills have already been paid can ignore the new bill.

Your article "Distorted discount" (Dec. 18) suggests getting rid of the homestead property tax credit. Eliminating the property tax credit could reduce Baltimore City's property tax rate by 13 percent and provide the uniform taxation of all property owners required by the state constitution. But it would do so only at the risk of driving many long-time city residents from their homes. Far better would be a "One State, One Rate" property tax policy such as the one I have proposed.

Bonnie Celmer had been on the waiting list for Section 8 housing since July when she finally got a voucher three weeks ago. She's still living in a Baltimore County homeless shelter, unable to find an apartment. "I've been looking for a place, but I can't get anybody to accept the voucher," the 59-year-old said. Celmer spoke to a crowd of more than 100 gathered Wednesday evening at Towson United Methodist Church to support a proposal that would prohibit landlords from discriminating against potential tenants based on their sources of income.

  Since 1989, the Hereford Community Association has been the principal voice to county government officials for the residents and businesses of the Village of Hereford and the surrounding areas on development, safety and welfare issues. Association members were instrumental in the development of the Hereford Plan, which was incorporated into the Baltimore County's Master Plan in 1991. We are now in the beginning of the 2012 CZMP. Our association supports the efforts to maintain open rural spaces and not high density home track development.