On March 7th during the “Administrative Session” of the Board of Carroll County Commissioners Open Session a lengthy discussion was had regarding removing the supermajority requirement to raise taxes on citizens in Carroll County. The idea was brought up by Commissioner Ed Rothstein and a spirited discussion was had during the session on March 7th.
The Observer clipped highlights of the discussion between Commissioners (because the full discussion was more than 40 minutes long)
It is recommended you watch the full discussion to hear everything said on this topic
For some background on this issue: In 2011 the 59th Board of Carroll County Commissioners passed a resolution requiring a “super majority” of four commissioners voting in favor of any decision to raise taxes in Carroll County.
In 2023, led by Commissioner Tom Gordon, the Carroll County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to adopt a resolution requiring a vote of four Commissioners to repeal that resolution from 2011. Until that vote, a simple majority of three commissioner votes could reverse or repeal the resolution requiring a super majority. The community was told by Carroll County Government that the decision would require the vote of at least four commissioners to reverse the super majority requirement to raise taxes. County Commissioner Tom Gordon stated at the time: “The strengthening of the super majority resolution is a commitment to the people of Carroll County during this time of record inflation and economic uncertainty. We will search for innovative ways outside the status quo, while executing the budget in a fiscally responsible manner”.
Observer thoughts: It really does make one ask the question, what was the purpose of the vote in 2023 if a simple majority can now overturn the previous resolutions today? Was it all for show? Because if it actually did not do what it said (require a 4-1 vote to overturn it) why in the world did Commissioners spend time on a resolution that did nothing?
Maryland Muckraker did an excellent writeup on what happened on March 7th and is well worth a read:
Expect a lot more coverage from The Observer during the FY25 budget process. This is shaping up to be an interesting budget season for our local Government.
You can find the Carroll County Observer on these social media platforms:
- https://facebook.com/CarrollObserver
- https://tiktok.com/@carrollobserver
- https://twitter.com/CarrollObserver
- https://instagram.com/carrollobserver/
- https://youtube.com/@carrollobserver
- https://truthsocial.com/@carrollobserver
- https://rumble.com/c/c-4218154
[…] that information in 2023…here we are in 2024 and at the March 7th meeting it was implied (multiple times) that this could all be overturned with a simple majority vote (3 votes) in order to rescind that […]