(Jan. 12, 2017) As the ongoing debate between Ocean City and Worcester County over a tax differential to offset services duplicated by county and resort governments heats up once again, towns in the southern part of the county are of two minds on the subject.
“I understand why they might want to do it, but I could never support it,” Pocomoke City Mayor Bruce Morrison said. “The county has been good to us.”
Snow Hill councilman Mike Pruitt has similar feelings.
“As a resident of Worcester County I would want to see the Ocean City taxpayers get some relief for duplicated services,” he said. “But as an elected official of Snow Hill, I would need to wait and see how it would affect us.”
Snow Hill’s mayor, Charlie Dorman, declined to comment on the situation.
Annually, the county collects taxes and then reimburses municipalities set amounts as unrestricted grants — money the towns can use as they see fit. Ocean City has, for almost 20 years now, objected to that structure based on its own operation of similar services that are also paid for by its citizens.
Morrison thinks the current structure works well.
“It could impact us. We’ve been very happy and don’t want to change anything,” he said.
The resort hired a consultant to determine the scope of what services might be duplicated in 2013, which concluded an offset of about $17 million was warranted. The county produced its own study last year and found the number, from their side, was closer to $7 million. The resort’s grant last year was about $3.1 million.
Last year, Pocomoke City received a grant of $517,000, Berlin received $601,000, Snow Hill was reimbursed $648,000 and the Ocean Pines Association got $529,500.
One method to cover the shortfall created by cutting Ocean City’s tax rate, which would come to about three cents per $100 of assessed value in relief for resort homeowners, is to increase property taxes elsewhere in the county, which would cost taxpayers in Snow Hill and Pocomoke City nearly double the relief rate, or about six cents per $100 of assessed value.
Though the tax rate for the county has not yet been set this year, if this change was incorporated into this year’s assessment, the county rate would increase to almost 90 cents per $100.
The county commissioners voted last week to continue the annual unrestricted grant process instead of adopting a new system more favorable to the resort by a vote of 6-1. Joe Mitrecic, the representative of Ocean City, was the dissenting vote. In retaliation, the Ocean City council voted unanimously to begin exploring legal option in order to force the county to provide a differential.
“I understand why they might want to do it, but I could never support it,” Pocomoke City Mayor Bruce Morrison said. “The county has been good to us.”
Snow Hill councilman Mike Pruitt has similar feelings.
“As a resident of Worcester County I would want to see the Ocean City taxpayers get some relief for duplicated services,” he said. “But as an elected official of Snow Hill, I would need to wait and see how it would affect us.”
Snow Hill’s mayor, Charlie Dorman, declined to comment on the situation.
Annually, the county collects taxes and then reimburses municipalities set amounts as unrestricted grants — money the towns can use as they see fit. Ocean City has, for almost 20 years now, objected to that structure based on its own operation of similar services that are also paid for by its citizens.
Morrison thinks the current structure works well.
“It could impact us. We’ve been very happy and don’t want to change anything,” he said.
The resort hired a consultant to determine the scope of what services might be duplicated in 2013, which concluded an offset of about $17 million was warranted. The county produced its own study last year and found the number, from their side, was closer to $7 million. The resort’s grant last year was about $3.1 million.
Last year, Pocomoke City received a grant of $517,000, Berlin received $601,000, Snow Hill was reimbursed $648,000 and the Ocean Pines Association got $529,500.
One method to cover the shortfall created by cutting Ocean City’s tax rate, which would come to about three cents per $100 of assessed value in relief for resort homeowners, is to increase property taxes elsewhere in the county, which would cost taxpayers in Snow Hill and Pocomoke City nearly double the relief rate, or about six cents per $100 of assessed value.
Though the tax rate for the county has not yet been set this year, if this change was incorporated into this year’s assessment, the county rate would increase to almost 90 cents per $100.
The county commissioners voted last week to continue the annual unrestricted grant process instead of adopting a new system more favorable to the resort by a vote of 6-1. Joe Mitrecic, the representative of Ocean City, was the dissenting vote. In retaliation, the Ocean City council voted unanimously to begin exploring legal option in order to force the county to provide a differential.