Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1954-06-17
House Of Delegates
BLAIR LEE III

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House of Delegates
BLAIR LEE iii
I. Montgomery County is pour,
ing a flood of tax dollars Tin
come tax, sales tax, etc. into the
State Treasury and getting only a
tiny trickle back. This is because
of (a) the negotiable ratios of
assessment used by the various
counties, and (b) the cock-eyed
formula for distribution of State
aid that is written into the pre-
sent laws. The situation can be
corrected by enacting the recon-
mendations of the Case Commits
sion with respect to assessment
ratios lie, makethe counties use
the same ratio in assessing for
Statewide purposes and let them
use whatever percentage of mar.
ket value they want for purposes
of their own county tax rates.
The other half of the problem
can be solved by revising the dis
tribution formula so that it will
take into account the tremendous
increases of school enrolment
that are being experienced each
year by counties such as Mont
gomery and Prince Georges.
2. l am in favor of bringing in
light industry to help build up
the tax base, provided that it is
strictly controlled by adequate
planning and Zoning. 1t is well
to remember, however, that light
industry will not be attracted to
Montgomery County if the tax
rate keeps going up.
3. l am for letting the counties
and towns manage their own
affairs, SO that the State legisla-
ture will have more time for deal.
ing with Statewide problems.
4. This issue has been settled
by the Supreme Court. All that
remains is to work out the
mechanics of it in an orderly and
non-hysterical manner.
5. Since my father operates
half a dozen farms in the upper
part of the county, it's a cinch
that some of the farmers pro-
blems are going to rub off on
me. incidentally, I feel very
strongly that coming and assess
ments should be closely related.
If a farmers land is Zoned and
used for agriculture, it should not
be assessed at a fancy rate for
potential" residential develop
ment - even if there is a town
or a new subdivision in the
vicinity.
6. 1 am running for the House
of Delegates because believe
that this county has fiscal pro-
blems which must be solved at
Annapolis, such as State aid for
schools and equal assessments. /
am convinced that the present
Republican delegation, no matter
how good their intentions may be,
simply cannot put the program
across. The Republicans can in
troduce bills, but they have a
very low batting average on
getting bills enacted into law.
The General Assembly has a per-
manent Democratic majority, and
its chief officers and committee
chairmen are always Democrats.
I think that a Democratic delega-
ton from Montgomery County
could accomplish what the Repub-
licans have failed to accomplish.
JAMES F. TONES
/. The most pressing issue be-
fore all candidates who seek cleo
ton to the General Assembly is
the obtaining for Montgomery
County is fair share from the
State Equalization Fund. Mont
gomery County has not in the
past, nor will it in the future re-
ceive its proper percentage of
State aid for its schools unless
those candidates who are elected
do everything in their power for
our citizens who contribute so
much to the State Treasury, yet
receive so little in return out of
this State Fund.