What Do Property Taxes Buy?
St. Mary’s County has basically two local revenue sources: property taxes and local income taxes.
I know people don’t like to pay taxes. I hear that almost every day, even though neither the property nor income tax rate has increased during my seven years in office. Taxes in St. Mary’s County fluctuate between the fifth and sixth lowest of the 23 jurisdictions in Maryland.
In short here’s what you get for those taxes:
Top-quality schools Paved and maintained roads Sheriff, fire and rescue services Waste disposal Services for health, elderly and youth- St. Mary’s remains a top-ranked school district in the State of Maryland, itself ranked top in the nation.
- Our law enforcement’s response record rivals any in the nation.
- Property taxes support 16 volunteer fire and rescue squads that cover the county.
- A countywide network of parks, overseen and maintained through county funds, provide sports fields and offer recreational amenities for all.
- There are 628 miles of county roads maintained and repaired through county revenues. Another 262 miles of local highways are maintained by the state.
- The county operates six drop-off centers for garbage and recycling in addition to hauling all garbage out of this county to a regional center.
- Well-maintained senior centers with transportation, food, and activity support are offered throughout the county.
We’re not perfect in county government, but our staff does a good job of keeping all of this and more running every day, year in and year out whether I’m in office or not. For my dollar I think they’re doing a great job.
Public hearings are advertised but sometimes the response is low. I would like to e-mail you occasionally about county issues and receive your thoughts. Please send me your e-mail at [email protected].
Thank you.
Read more stories and see video of Jack Russell on his Leader Profile page.
