Taxpayers Association

The Carroll County commissioners were scheduled to meet at 8:30 a.m. today at the County Office Building with a Westminster man who wants the county to build a tunnel under the new runway at the Carroll County Regional Airport.Roger Roop, a member of the Carroll County Taxpayers' Association, has talked with the commissioners in past months about his idea, which would reconnect Meadow Branch Road.As part of the airport expansion project, Meadow Branch Road was relocated, and the old Meadow Branch Road now is a dead end.County officials have said they considered building a tunnel, but rejected the idea because it would have been too expensive.

Taxpayers group to meet tomorrow at senior center The Carroll County Taxpayers Association will meet at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at Westminster Senior Center. Rob Spring will discuss the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconstruction Act of 2001 that changed the way property tax assessments are calculated. Residents can learn about their rights and about procedures to fight high property tax increases. The association's agenda for this year's Maryland General Assembly also will be discussed.

County officials have agreed to pay $15,000 as part of a settlement with two Annapolis property managers who accused the county of luring their tenants to its Heritage Office Complex by offering space at below-market rates.The county, which insisted in the consent decree that it did nothing wrong, also has agreed not to lease space at the office complex in Riva to new commercial tenants. It can, however, lease to other government agencies.The settlement has led county officials to change their minds about selling two of the four buildings it owns in the Heritage Complex.

Herb Hickman, a retired Navy chief petty officer, estimates he will pay an additional $300 in property taxes this year.That's becausethe real estate assessment on his four-level, two-car garage home oneight acres rose 30 percent last year.He finds that hard to believe."We're in a recession -- there's no two ways about it," he said. "They want to come up to us and taxus more. I don't get it."Neither do other South Carroll residents who, along with the 57-year-old Hickman, are working to form a county chapter of the year-old Maryland Taxpayers Association.

Democratic club to meet tomorrow in Westminster The Carroll County Democratic Club will meet at 7 p.m. tomorrow at Frisco Family Pub in Carroll Plaza Shopping Center on Englar Road, Westminster. Hampstead Mayor Haven Shoemaker will discuss the status of the Hampstead bypass. The club's membership runs from July 1 to June 30. Dues are $10 per person or $20 per family and may still be paid. Membership dues and information can be sent to Maxine Wooleyhand, 511 Manor Road, Sykesville 21784.

U.S. Senate candidate Ruthann Aron denounced as "extortionist" and "racist" yesterday a letter that the head of the Anne Arundel Taxpayers Association sent in support of her opponent, Bill Brock.Robert C. Schaeffer, who two years ago led the successful fight to impose a property tax cap on county government, sent the letter urging all Republican candidates in Anne Arundel County to actively support Mr. Brock.Mr. Schaeffer suggested they put Brock stickers on their yard signs or a Brock sign alongside their own."

Environmental affairs advisory board plans to hold meeting Wed. The Carroll County Environmental Affairs Advisory Board will meet from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday in Room 300A of the County Office Building. The agenda includes an update on changes to the adoption of Batch 8 ordinance codification of the storm water management and grading and sediment erosion control ordinances, and the advisory board. Information: 410-386-2248. Taxpayers association to discuss gun safety, laws Carroll County Taxpayers Association will meet at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 5 at Westminster Senior Center.

Annapolis officials say the long-promised Pasadena public golf course project is back on track after the General Assembly passed emergency legislation intended to clear the way for construction. Legislators sought the bills, which broaden the charter of the project's developer -- Maryland Economic Development Corp. -- after a golf course development company challenged the legality of MEDCO's involvement. Dennis Callahan, county recreation and parks director, said he expects construction to begin in early July, with completion in fall 2002 -- six months behind schedule.

Pat Dornan came out of a five-year retirement this year as head of the Howard County Taxpayers Association, deciding that residents need the group's help in fighting an income tax increase. The County Council last month approved a measure raising the local income tax from 2.45 percent to 3.20 percent, and Dornan is trying to have the legislation repealed. "This time around, it was just enough to put me over the edge," said Dornan, of Glenwood. He is leading a group of 67 volunteers who are gathering signatures on a petition to put the income tax increase on the ballot as a countywide referendum issue.