Like most Montgomery County taxes, the new trash tax is a regressive tax that will hit the poor and middle class the most. The new Pay-as-You-Throw trash tax will also hit working families and large families hard especially hard. Rich people who dine out every night, not so much. Thanks to one Bethesda citizen who stood up in recent years, the WSSC's attempt to bilk large households with illegal punitive water fees was found unconstitutional by a judge. The utility, while dragging its feet slowly and mightily, is now being forced to reduce those fees on large households.
Montgomery County's proposed trash tax is likewise unconstitutional, and targets specific residents with exorbitant fees. The more trash you generate, the higher the trash tax will be. Regular trash fees will also rise, to cover the costs of replacing residents' own trash cans with "official" trash cans. As other jurisdictions have found, the result will be a large increase in public dumping by those who either cannot afford the multiple County trash cans, fees and new trash taxes, or who find they have more trash than will fit in the number of official County cans they have. This is going to be a disaster for our streams and watersheds, which are already filled with trash thanks to the Council not making any effort to arrest those dumping and littering in large quantities.
Will residents stand up and fight the new Montgomery County trash tax? Predictably, the local media wasn't seeking out many who would after the cartel officially floated the trash tax trial balloon Thursday. A majority of taxpayers did not punish the Council after the passage of the bag tax, which utterly failed to reduce plastic bag use, and was proven to be a revenue grab only. If you don't fight the trash tax, you're going to get the trash tax.
Why is the trash tax being floated? Trapped politically, and by activist-attorney Robin Ficker's successful property tax cap approved by voters, the Council nevertheless wants to keep spending insane amounts of money on their developer sugar daddies and other cronies. As they've forced the rich to flee to lower-tax jurisdictions in our area, revenue has continued to plummet, while spending only increases annually.
They want to keep giving massive raises to County employees, as well. I strongly support honoring labor contracts; a deal is a deal. But County Executive Marc Elrich was informed soon after his victory about the bleak budget and revenue forecast. So, while I agree strongly with his positions on development, I was surprised at the size of the pay increases he agreed to with union leaders. Now those wages and benefits have to be paid, but there's little political room for a massive property tax increase. How to raise taxes massively, and disguise it as a fee?
Enter the trash tax. But, in short, the trash tax itself belongs in the trash.
15 comments:
Hey Dyer. I lost power last night near the Marriott construction site. Seems like a good opportunity for you deride one of the county's largest employers.
5:59: Don't worry, the cartel has that cornered with their memorable attacks on Lockheed Martin. Remember when cooler Democratic heads had to talk the Council off the ledge with their anti-Lockheed resolution? The Lockheed hotel issue? And then there was Nancy Floreen's famous, "We don't need the Lockheed headquarters" remark in 2010.
What was that again about "largest employers?"
Your whataboutism is lacking. You need more practice.
'So, while I agree strongly with his positions on development'
If Elrich had his way all of the nice new apartment buildings and retail stores you like to take pictures of would not exist
'I was surprised at the size of the pay increases he agreed to with union leaders'
If you truly were then you must have been the only one in the county
If said family would pay attention/make an effort to recycle more of their "trash" and generate less real "trash" you would have the net same amount to dispose. Look at the trash in the lesser affluent neighborhoods and you'll see much of it is recyclable material.
7:00: There may be room to improve, but I thought most governments were complaining that it is costing more to recycle than to simply throw it away, and that much of it ends up in landfills anyway because few places will accept recyclables.
Thanks for calling out Elrich on this nonsense.
There is a simple solution to reduce trash -- the county should offer curb-side food-waste/compost pickup. We use a private compost pickup service and now the amount that we put in our trash can every week is down by at least half. It's amazing how much waste is generated in a household that is compostable.
"I was surprised at the size of the pay increases he agreed to with union leaders"
BB has been all over this.
https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/government/pay-raise-plan-sparks-questions-over-whether-our-county-budget-is-sustainable/
I love when Robert talks trash...
"I'm a tax payer [sic] what are you?"
Sure you are, Robbie.
"Not only will Montgomery County residents be getting a property tax increase in the next fiscal year's budget..."
Increases in assessments reflect the increase in property values. If there is no increase in the value of your property, there is no increase in your assessment.
"...but now the Montgomery County cartel is proposing a new trash tax."
There is already a "trash tax". Check your Mom's property tax bill. The proposal will not create an additional tax - rather, it will replace the current flat fee with a variable fee based on use. I thought conservatives loved user fees? You know, like the toll for your Second Crossing to Nowhere?
"That's right, from the folks who brought you a tax on the rain."
There is no "tax on the rain". The amount of rain that falls does not affect what you pay under the Impermeable Surfaces tax. You can reduce your Impermeable Surface tax by reducing the amount of impermeable surfaces on your property. Also, that tax is levied by the state of Maryland, not Montgomery County.
"The new Pay-as-You-Throw trash tax......is a regressive tax that will hit the poor and middle class the most...[and] will also hit working families and large families hard especially hard. Rich people who dine out every night, not so much."
How so? Seems more likely that lower-income households would generate less trash than higher-income households. Not sure what dining out has to do with this. Do you imagine low-income families' trash cans being jammed full of McDonald's bags and soda bottles?
"Thanks to one Bethesda citizen who stood up in recent years, the WSSC's attempt to bilk large households with illegal punitive water fees was found unconstitutional by a judge. "Montgomery County's proposed trash tax...targets specific residents with exorbitant fees. The more trash you generate, the higher the trash tax will be."
The problem with the the former WSSC fee structure was that it was disproportionate to the actual amount of water used. No such problem with the proposed trash fee. Also, I don't see the word "unconstitutional" anywhere in Judge Romine's ruling, just "discriminatory".
"Montgomery County's proposed trash tax is likewise unconstitutional"
Saith Judge Dyer, constitutional scholar.
"Regular trash fees will also rise, to cover the costs of replacing residents' own trash cans with 'official' trash cans."
We've been using "official" trash cans for some time now. Not sure where you're seeing anything in the proposal that relates to forcing residents to buy new trash cans.
"As other jurisdictions have found, the result will be a large increase in public dumping by those who either cannot afford the multiple County trash cans, fees and new trash taxes, or who find they have more trash than will fit in the number of official County cans they have. This is going to be a disaster for our streams and watersheds, which are already filled with trash thanks to the Council not making any effort to arrest those dumping and littering in large quantities."
Absolutely out-of-control speculation.
Totally agree! I actually don’t believe recycling is any better than trash anymore- both are a symptom of our consumerist culture. But composting is real. It really does reduce what goes into our landfills and can be turned into something useful. We have a company that picks it up- compost crew. Check them out online!
The more trash your house creates, the more you pay? Sounds like a great idea!
6:25: So low/middle-income large family should pay more than 2-person rich household that eats out most nights? Sounds like an unconstitutional idea of unequal taxation. WSSC lost in court with a similar scheme to soak large families.
This is a new tax being proposed out of a childlike tantrum over being unable to raise property taxes past the Ficker limit.
If it passes, the Yellow Vests are coming.
I'm not sure the relative wealth of a household or where they choose to eat dinner factors into the calculus here. I have mixed feelings about this one. On the one hand, does it make sense for everyone to pay the same regardless of how much trash they generate? Should elderly couples living alone pay as much as a family of 5? Could a tax make people think twice before discarding things? (Isn't that the logic behind the bag tax?) That could be good (though as you point out there's the risk of illegal dumping, too). On the other hand, I've lived in small towns in PA where you have to purchase a special bag from the borough to discard your trash - buy more if you have more trash, less if you don't. They would only pick up trash in sanctioned bags. While I found it inconvenient to have to go buy bags, I couldn't argue with the logic.
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