Evening star., 1953-08-30
County Heads
Ask Maryland
Car inspections
20 Commissioners
Keep Up Fight
On Reussessments
a., e. Hl,.
By Gene Goodwin
Sfer Staff cerraspendant

OCEAN CITY, Md, Aug. 29.-
The commissioners of 20 Mary
land counties went on record
today in favor of a compulsory
automobile inspection law.
Gathered here for the third
annual conference of the Mary
land Association of County Com
missioners. the delegates also res
affirmed their opposition to the
new three-year property reas-
sessment system scheduled to go
into effect in Maryland next
January l.
They promised to do battle for
both causes when the Maryland
General Assembly meets in An
napolis next February.
Three counties were not repre-
sented at today'S session.
Must Prove Emergency.
The association might have
trouble getting the Legislature
to consider the automobile in
spection proposal, however. The
Legislature is restricted to con-
sideration of only fiscal and
emergency matters in its even
year sessions. With opponents
of compulsory automobile in
spection dominating the Legisla-
ture during the past several ses-
sions. it may be difficult to per-
suade the Assembly that the
proposal is of an emergency
nature.
Mrs. Stella B. Werner, Mont
gomery County Council member,
made out a case for an emer-
gency situation when she pre-
sented the inspection resolution
today along with proposal call
ing for tougher laws on getting
drivers licenses.
She described the accident in
her county last month-the one
in which a day camp bus, actu-
ally a converted truck, ran off
the Rockville pike and into a
tree. causing the death of a boy
and injuries to II other children.
Sees Accident Reduction.
I'VE have reason to believe, :"
she said, that an inspection
system such as they have in the
District of Columbia would have
prevented that accident"
Arthur E. Miller, Montgomery
County Public Safety Director,
has said he believes the accident
was caused by a faulty tire.
Paul M. Widdowson. Wiconi-
60 County Commissioners and
president of the Association,
said Delaware, like the District,
has rigid State-operated car
inspections. Delaware used car
dealers, he added, dump their
old jalopies into Maryland
rather than pay to make them
safe enough to pass inspection"
The companion resolution
Mrs. Werner presented was re-
ferred to the legislative COM
mittee for study and report at
the next meeting in December.
Renters Tax Proposed.
That also was the action
taken on a third Montgomery
resolution calling for a renters
tax, a gross receipts tax or some
other means of getting more
revenue from individuals and
businessmen who do not pay
real estate taxes.
The associations opposition to
the new three-year reasseSsment
law is based on the provision
that reaSsesSment can be put on
county tax books only every
three years after the entire
county has been reassessed.
That would have the effect of
freezing a county's debt ceiling
for three-year periods, since the
debt ceiling is based on the total
assessed valuation.
The association has no objec-
ton to assessing every three
years if counties would be al
lowed to put the new assess
ment in effect annually. They
can do that now under the five
year assessment law expiring at
the end of this year.
Road Loans Urged.
Russell Mccain, chairman Of
the State Roads Commission,
and his executive assistant, Al
bert S. Gordon, urged counties
to take advantage of a provision
in the new 12-year road program
law allowing them to borrow
money from the state to build up
their county road systems. The
idea of the provision is to give
counties a chance to borrow at
the lower interest rate which
the state is able to obtain.
Gov. McKeldin spoke briefly
to the conference. Mayor Wins
low F. BurhanS, of Hagerstown,
was scheduled to address BAN