MARYLAND NEWS – Income taxes in Montgomery County set to increase, according to County Executive Elrich

Laila Kirkpatrick, Staff Writer

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich made his State of the County speech on Thursday night, where he commented on some “tough choices ahead,” including how the Maryland county will always find ways to fund everything from education to environmental programs. As part of his finding plan, Elrich said that instead of raising the county’s property tax, he proposed boosting the income tax rate on the county.

If the council does not support these revenue changes, Elrich will be forced to make cuts to the school system or two critical government services. The county executive’s budget is subject to approval by the county council, and Elrich said that he had reached out to Council President Kate Stewart ahead of his decisions, describing her reaction by saying, “She didn’t say ‘great’ and she didn’t say horrible.” Steward said that Elrich has not yet provided details about his decisions to drop the property tax increase in favor of raising the income tax beyond what was in a letter sent to her on Tuesday. Elrich proposed a $7.65 billion budget that is subject to approval by the 11-member county council. The council is expected to vote on the final version of the budget next month.