Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1954-02-25
BY Mrs. Philip Marcus
10. 1904

Mr.. Alex K. Hancock, Director
of Finance for Montgomery
County, was guest speaker at the
February meeting of the Glen
mont and Vicinity Citizens Asso-
citation, held at Glenmont School
last week.
Mr.. Hancock gave very inter
esting account of the assessment
and tax systems in this county.
In connection with. the assess
ment system, he brought out
that, originally, reassessment de-
pended upon passage of an act of
the legislature and that a per-
missive five-year plan, which was
not a rotation plan, was enacted.
On at least one occasion, the
legislature passed an act prohib-
iting reaSSesSment, and there
was no reassesSment between
1880 and 1889, Mr.. Hancock said.
\ In the 1889 reassessment, it was
y first thought that assessments
would be made on full cash
value, but when it was found that
this was not done elsewhere in
the State, this plan was given up
and a 60 percent value used.
In 1943, the f1ve-year rotation
plan was adopted, Mr.. Hancock
stated, but property was begin
ming to jump so much in value
that it was thought to be in
equitable to apply that plan
strictly, so 1871 values were used.
In 1913, he said, it was thought
that the 1914 real estate values
could be used, but a court deci-
sion indicated that it would be
necessary to use current values.
Currently, we are on a three
year rotation system, with one
third of the County being re-
assessed one year, one-third the
next, and so on the actual re-
assessment not being imposed
until the end of the third year.
This, according to Mr.. Hancock,
has created some difficult prob
lens in view of the fact that the
identity of the owner as well as
the identity of the property may
J. change within three years, as
well as the value of the property.
He questions the advisability of
a yearly reassessment system,
unless an adequate force of as
SCISSORS is available.
In revising the tax system of
the County, Mr.. Hancock pointed
out that, originally, there are
Just a State tax and a County
tax, but in 1898, when the County
started to acquire toll roads (the
first being the Rockville Pike,
there was opposition on the part
of residents of the rest of the
County to being obligated for
these acquisitions not often used
by them.
They had no benefit, and as a
result bond issues for the acqui-
sition of such roads and for road
improvements were keyed to
election districts to such an ex-
tent that, in some instances, par
ticular projects were the obliga-
ton of a particular precinct in a
particular election district.
The original Silver Spring I'M
derpass was the obligation of the
second precinct of the 18th cleo
ton district, and a part of Viers
Mill Road was the obligation of
the first and third precincts of
the 18th election district! An.
other complication in the Coun.
ellis tax history is shown by Mr.
Hancock's pointing out that in
1912 a number of villages" were
authorized to take care of prof
ects which the County was not
able to assume, with the result
that number of tax obligations
were keyed to these villages.
This was before the development
of special districts-the Subur.
ban and Metropolitan Districts,
created about 1927, the Sanitary
District, and the Recreation Dis.
trict, which is practically coter.
minous with the Metropolitan
District.
Mr.. Hancock brought out that