ROCKVILLE, Md. — Montgomery County homeowners can expect a big jump in their property tax bill next year.
The Montgomery County Council formally adopted a $5.3 billion budget for the upcoming year on Thursday. The 2017 budget, which takes affect in July, calls for an 8.7 percent property tax increase. That translates to a roughly $326 annual increase for the average home.
Recordation fees, those county taxes paid when a property is sold, will increase as well. The cost will depend on the value of the property being sold.
After the unanimous vote, Council President Nancy Floreen defended the move by the council to go above the county’s own charter limit on taxes.
“I think all nine of us on the council have a huge obligation to address schools’ needs,” Floreen said.
The budget adds $89 million above the state-mandated maintenance of effort formula to the school system’s budget, a move that raised concerns from the county’s Taxpayer’s League back in April.
The budget also contains raises for county workers. But it doesn’t give the various unions all that they negotiated for in collective bargaining agreements and simply delays other increases —like step increases — for future budgets.
Councilmember Craig Rice said the increases are needed to fund the operations of the county.
“None of this stuff comes at a zero cost. Whether it’s repairing our roads, increasing our school capacity, whether it’s hiring more police,” and firefighters, “all of those things cost money.”
Montgomery County’s continued growth factored into the decision to support the increase, Rice said.
School enrollment has grown by roughly 2,000 students each year and school construction costs continue to rise.
Eric Guerci, the student member of the Montgomery County Board of Education, said the added funding for schools will make a big difference.
Holding a Spanish test prep book in his hand, the junior at Bethesda Chevy Chase High School said his own experience shows how smaller class sizes could benefit students looking for meaningful feedback on assignments.
“Teachers struggle to provide comments on my English papers. They just provide a grade now because they have so many more students in their classes,” Guerci said.
Prince George’s County Council was also expected to vote on its budget Thursday.
