Evening star., 1951-06-20
County Tax Rate
Rise Tentatively
Set al II Cents
Council Decision
To Follow Hearing
Tomorrow Night

-
Montgomery County's basic tax
rate will be increased II cents
next year. the County Council has
tentatively decided, instead Of 16
cents as recommended by County
Manager Irving G. McNayr.
The council has made several
cuts in the $1I million expense
budget proposed by Mr.. McNayr
for the next fiscal year beginning
July /, j. Louis Monarch, council
president, announced at yester-
days meeting in Rockville.
The biggest reason, however, for
the difference in the tax rates pro-
posed by the council and Mr.. Nc
Nayr is that the taxable base has
increased by $40 million since the
county managers budget was
drawn up.
Mr.. McNayr's budget was based
on a total property valuation Of
$404 million. He said that the
assessable base has since been re-
vised upward to $414 million,
which means an increase in antici-
pated revenue of about 5000, 900.
Hearing Set Tomorrow.
The council also proposes to
make several minor increases in
the county managers budget
totaling $182,449 These increases,
most of them on school funds. are
subject to public hearing set for
7:30 pm. tomorrow in the Rock
vile Courthouse.
Public hearings are required by
the county charter whenever the
council proposes to make in
creases in the managers budget.
The council can cut the budget
without public hearings.
Mr.. Monarch announced that
the council will go into executive
session after tomorrow's hearing
to make its final decision on the
budget and the new tax rate.
Tentatively, he said, the basic
tax rate will be $2.01 per 500 of
assessed valuation. The present
rate is $1.90. A $2.06 rate was
proposed in Mr.. McNayr's budget.
If the $2.01 rate is adopted,
Montgomery County tax bills &C
tually will be increased only 5
cents per 500, since State real
estate taxes are scheduled to be
decreased 6 cents per $100 as of
July /.
Reductions Not Disclosed.
The exact nature of the cuts
the council intends to make in the
budget was not disclosed. It is
probable, however. that the big
gest decreases will be made in the
recreation and library programs.
Councilman Harold Hammond
said the council has decided in a
preliminary 4-3 vote to postpone
establishment of a countrywide
library system. This would mean
a saving of almost 100000.
The managers budget proposed
a $206,759 appropriation for the
new county library program. Mr..
Hammond said that probably will
be cut to from $4,000 to SIS, 900,
merely enough to cover the salaries
OF the county librarian, his secre-
tary and incidental Office expenses.
He said George Nesbitt and Mrs.
Katherine Lawlor joined him in
voting against the move to defer
establishment of the library sys-
tenn.
S119,2O0 Asked for Recreation,
The recreation program, which
the county is scheduled to take
over from the Maryland National
Capital Park and Planning Com
mission later this year, was to get
$4,000 under the managers
budget. The extent to which that
appropriation will be cut was not
announced.
OF the $182,449 in increases by
the council, $147,458 would 60 to
schools and would partially restore
cuts made by Mr.. McNayr on the
Department of Education's orig
tnal budget request.
The council also proposes to put
back $5,245 for Negro extension
work at the University of Mary
land, which Mr.. McNayr had
eliminated. The money would go
for a Negro home demonstration
agent. a stenographer, and oper-
ating and travel expenses.
Zoning Pleas Rejected.
Most of the other increases pro-
posed by the council would cor
rect errors in the managers
budget or adjust certain salaries.
There is also an addition of $24,-
900 to the Department of Public
Works for operation of the county
dump, an item which inadver-
tently had been omitted from the
departments original budget re-
quest.
In other actions, the council
denied two zoning applications,
both asking that tracts of land
along Viers Mill road to be re-
classified from Residential A to
Commercial D. One of the appli-
cations was filed by Abraham S.
Kay for 10 acres in the Connec-
ticut Avenue Estates subdivision:
the other by Leon S. Crosby for
10000 square feet of land in Con-
necticut Gardens subdivision.