Montgomery County residents would pay higher taxes to fund new bus

Montgomery County residents could pay as much as 15 percent more in property taxes to fund a new bus network, according to a county-commissioned report released Tuesday.

County Executive Ike Leggett promised to build the system, estimated to cost $1.8 billion to construct and an additional $1.1 million per mile to operate each year.

Paying for the rapid bus system
?	Average residential tax	Maximum residential tax	Maximum additional tax rate (on $100 of assessed value)
Scenario A	$232.73	$320	8 cents
Scenario B	$330.91	$440	11 cents
Scenario B1	$336.36	$440	11 cents
Scenario C	$252.73	$360	9 cents
Scenario C1	$269.09	$360	9 cents
Scenario D	$385.45	$580	15 cents
Scenario D1	$260.91	$400	10 cents
Scenario D-A2	$344.55	$500	13 cents
Scenario D1-A2	$247.27	$340	9 cents
Scenario F	$310.91	$420	11 cents
*All tax amounts are based on residential property valued at $400,000 and in 2012 dollar values. These amounts would be added to existing property tax bills.
Source: Montgomery County Transit Task Force

"We will in fact do this," he said. "The question for us is the time frame in which we'll do it, how we pay for it and how we prioritize what [route] comes first."

A panel of advisers gave Leggett and the County Council 10 funding scenarios for the approximately 160-mile system, in which high-speed buses would rush residents -- who pay an average $1 fare -- through major thoroughfares using dedicated lanes. The buses would supplement the existing Ride On buses.

The system should be built in no more than nine years and be paid for largely with property tax revenue, the Montgomery County Transit Task Force said in its report.

Ninety percent of the county's tax base would pay for the system, though how much taxpayers shell out depends on which scenario the county chooses. Leggett and Council President Roger Berliner, D-Bethesda, declined to endorse a specific plan.

At most, residents' property tax rate would increase 15 cents on $100 of assessed property value on top of the 99.1 cents expected to be approved by the council on Thursday. In other words, a resident whose home is valued at $400,000 would add $580 to his annual property tax bill. The average county resident, whose home is valued at $350,000, already pays $2,800 a year in property taxes, according to county Finance Director Joe Beach.

The least expensive scenario would be a plan that pays for only the first phase -- six routes -- and allows officials to evaluate the funding plan before building the rest. Residents would pay at most 7.3 cents more on $100 of assessed property value, or about 7 percent.

Under some scenarios, residents would continue covering the operating costs not paid for by fares after the construction

costs are paid for. Fares are expected to recover less than one-third of the operating costs, according to a Parsons Brinckerhoff study last year.

Residents could continue paying for construction costs until 2035, the report shows.

"It's great to think big, but we need to be realistic," said County Councilwoman Nancy Floreen, D-at large. "We are looking at very constrained resources and big tax hikes across the board, and this is not going to be inexpensive. We already have a multimillion-dollar backlog of transportation projects in the hopper."

The system's advocates pointed to the potential for creating jobs by attracting developers near the bus routes and for getting cars off the road.

"This is the first thing that I've seen in 30 years that actually has a chance reducing congested roads," said Dan Wilhelm, who represented the Montgomery County Civic Federation on the panel.

But the success of the system is not guaranteed, Floreen said.

"Eighty-five percent of residents do not take transit of any sort," she said. "This can't help congestion at this point."

rbaye@washingtonexaminer.com

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