Taxing District

They voted for local taxes, collected them for 34 years and then balked at spending the money.From 1961 to 1994, the special Anne Arundel district of Long Point on the Severn raised more than $50,000 in taxes for the sole purpose of maintaining the mile-long ribbon of asphalt that is the only access to the private area.The problem was that two-thirds of the community's 52 homes fell inside the boundaries of the tax district. The other third, built after 1961, did not.The old-timers offered a simple answer: All used the road, all needed to pay.The newcomers balked, noting that the road was not their problem.

An effort is under way to allow a second residential neighborhood in Baltimore to levy additional taxes to pay for private security and sanitation services. It's good to see people want to invest more in Baltimore to make it a more livable city, but wouldn't it make sense to wait until the first residential special benefits district can be properly evaluated before attempting to create another one?It has been just six months since a referendum approved creating a special tax district in Charles Village, South Charles Village and a small part of Waverly.

Another large swath of Baltimore could have a special tax to pay for private security patrols and street sweepers under a bill introduced last night before the City Council.The proposed special taxing district in the city's midtown area could become the third in the city in the past three years -- and would link similar districts in the downtown business section and Charles Village area.Its boundaries are roughly Centre Street on the south, 20th Street on the north, the Jones Falls Expressway on the East and Howard Street and Eutaw Place on the west.

Crofton homeowners have petitioned the County Council to vote on a proposal to have their special tax district pay for recreation programs and enforce local covenants.About 54 percent of the 2,650 property owners approved of the proposed changes to the Anne Arundel County Code. County law requires that 51 percent of the homeowners ratify proposed amendments.Questions had arisen recently over spending the money collected in addition to county taxes for such programs because they weren't specified in the legislation that created Crofton's tax district.

Residents of Charles Village -- the first city neighborhood to agree to pay more property taxes for safer, cleaner streets -- are unlikely to see their money put into action until March.The special taxing district's full staff -- 12 to 14 public safety officers, a two- to four-member Clean Team, an administrator and a director of public safety -- won't be hired until then, Thomas J. Shafer, chairman of the district's interim board, told residents last night at Lovely Lane United Methodist Church.

Wait a minute. The ink is still wet on the check I wrote for $3,465 for municipal property taxes due Sept. 30. Do I really want to come up with another $171?That additional levy is being asked of the people who already pay property taxes in the proposed Charles Village Community Benefits District.It's a sad day for Baltimore when some of its residents are lobbying for more taxes to be spent to make their neighborhood safer and cleaner. Aren't we saying to Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke and the City Council that you've failed us so badly we need extraordinary corrective help?

Because of an editing error, an article in Saturday's paper incorrectly stated the percentage of votes required for a special tax referendum to pass in Charles Village. The measure requires an affirmative vote from 58 percent of all ballots that are returned. Registered voters and property owners in the district are eligible to vote.The Baltimore Sun regrets the error.Michael Foster will vote this month to raise his property taxes, and he hopes other Charles Village residents will do the same.

The Maryland Court of Appeals yesterday affirmed the use of special tax districts as a method of paying for community projects, striking down a challenge by a group of Cape St. Claire residents.Special tax districts allow counties to assess communities with a special fee and disperse the money collected to civic boards for specific projects, such as parks and piers.Robert J. Booze, an attorney representing himself and a group of Cape St. Claire residents, had argued before the Court of Appeals last November that the $30-a-year special benefit tax levied on his community by the Cape St. Claire Improvement Association is unconstitutional because the funds are being used for private projects.

The County Council will consider adding two special tax districts, one in Arnold and the other in Shady Side, at a public hearing tonight.The districts allow the county to collect from each homeowner a fee, which it gives to community associations to be spent for specific projects.The 42 special tax districts in Anne Arundel County last year received $2.1 million for projects that included maintenance of community beaches, parks and piers, special security services and insect and pest control.

Special tax districts, which allow counties to assess communities with a special fee and disperse it to civic boards for specific projects, are illegal uses of public tax dollars, the state's highest court was told yesterday.Robert J. Booze, an attorney representing himself and a group of Cape St. Claire residents, told the Court of Appeals yesterday the $30 a year special benefit tax levied on his community is being spent on beaches and a pier that are closed to the public.The beach is open only to members of the Cape St. Claire Improvement Association.