Taxing District

A recent survey of merchants in historic Ellicott City has concluded that, above all else, what the quaint row of shops needs is more -- guess what? -- parking. What other revelations will surface we can only imagine.Anyone who has ever ventured into the cozy environs of the original Ellicott City knows full well how difficult it is to park there. Civic leaders have been saying that for years.Still, merchants seem quite happy that their poll reveals what everyone knew anyway. Indeed, they've been positively energized by what they've discovered.

Attention, residents of Bolton Hill and South Charles Village: The special taxing district you wanted, to pay for better private security and sanitation, is in deep trouble in the legislature.But there is hope, albeit slim. Another measure, a citywide bill that would allow such special districts to supplement municipal services, is still alive -- for the time being.Although the House approved the South Charles Village legislation two weeks ago, the Senate has not considered it. And the Bolton Hill measure has yet to receive even a committee hearing in either chamber.

Shocked into action two years ago by the brutal murder of a young father of two, a community association in Baltimore's Charles Village is asking the legislature for the power to tax residential and commercial property owners to pay for private security services.The proposal for a "community benefits district" is the first time that a city neighborhood has asked the government to allow it to raise tax money on its own for private services such as security and sanitation."We're not trying to take the place of the city," said Thomas J. Shafer, the administrative partner of Whitman, Requardt and Associates, who is viewed as the father of the plan to take back the neighborhood streets and keep businesses in the area.

Many Howard County residents will pay more in fire taxes next year under a bill County Executive Charles I. Ecker sent to the County Council this week.The bill would substitute two fire districts and two sets of fire taxes for the six fire districts and six sets of fire taxes the county has now."The six districts were drawn at a time when it made sense," Mr. Ecker said. In those days, the companies were mostly volunteer. The idea was for each district to pay for its fire service out of the fire tax.Today, some fire companies spend more time fighting fires and responding to emergencies outside their districts than they do inside, Mr. Ecker said.

Teri Nilsen and her Johns Creek neighbors will pay nearly $800 more in taxes next year, and they have only themselves to blame.OK, maybe Mother Nature had a hand in it, too.Ms. Nilsen and seven neighbors have formed the Johns Creek Waterway Tax District, to restore a boating channel through the West River tributary that has been filled in by natural erosion from the creek's banks, their yards and nearby farms.Ten to 15 years ago, the channel was 5 feet deep.Today, even at high tide, it is just 3 feet deep.

PHILADELPHIA -- The natives nicknamed this city "Filthadelphia," no doubt because of the paper bags, cheese steak wrappers, assorted litter and pure grit that seemed as fixed in the cityscape as the statue of William Penn atop City Hall.But it's time to start working on a new moniker for this place because the old one no longer applies.Philadelphia's downtown is virtually free of trash, thanks to the work of the Center City District, a "special benefits" district created last year to fight grime and crime and bolster the sagging image of Philadelphia's center city.

The Crofton Civic Association may be walking a thin legal line by using tax money to pay for enforcing covenant violations.Court rulings and opinions from the Attorney General's office say that public money -- even from a special taxing district -- can be used only to serve a public purpose.Since covenants are considered private contracts, using tax money to enforce them might violate that standard.No court cases have dealt directly with Crofton's right to use tax revenue for such purposes.

City officials and business leaders unveiled a plan yesterday to fight downtown crime and grime by raising city property taxes on commercial real estate by 5 percent throughout downtown Baltimore.Gov. William Donald Schaefer joined city officials and three dozen business leaders at the Center Club to drum up support for the proposal, which would create a "special benefits district" containing 1,000 private properties in a 90-block area.The proposal must be approved by the General Assembly and the City Council.

Nearly a quarter of a century old and growing, Columbia is still trying to define itself.A citizens group has launched a study to determine whether this unincorporated city, built by the Rouse Co., needs to adopt a new form of governance.The Columbia Forum has appointed a nine-member committee to examine whether the city, whose population of 75,000 is spread over an area the size of Manhattan, should become an incorporated municipality, form a special taxing district or continue to be run by the non-profit Columbia Association.

While other county residents sign petitions to cap their property taxes, some homeowners in Pasadena actually want to dig deeper in their pockets next year.The community associations for Sun Valley and Cedarwood Grove, two housing developments off Mountain Road, are considering creating special taxing districts to offset the cost of maintaining their private roads and parks.Leaders for both communities suggested seeking additional property taxes to fairly divide the upkeep among all homeowners, instead of burdening association members with higher dues.