Frequently Asked Questions
See the Budget Summary for more questions and answers about the budget. If you have a question that is not answered you can contact the Office of Budget as noted under FYI.
What is my property tax rate for 2009?
What are the Fire Tax Rates for 2009?
What is the local income tax rate for FY2009? (commonly referred to as the "piggyback tax")
When will my property be re-assessed?
How does the County assess my property?
What is the difference between the operating budget and the capital budget?
What does General Fund Budget mean?
What is the total General Fund budget for the current fiscal year (FY09)?
How are my general fund tax dollars spent?
What is my property tax rate for 2009?
The tax rate remains changed for this year. The real property tax rate will remain $1.014 per $100 of assessed valuation. Personal property owned by businesses is taxed at $2.535 per $100 of assessed valuation.
What are the Fire Tax Rates for 2009?
Fire Tax Rates for 2009 remain unchanged from 2008.
Metropolitan Fire and Rescue District:
Real Property: 13.55 cents
Personal Property: 33.875 cents
Rural Fire and Rescue District:
Real Property: 11.55 cents
Personal Property: 28.875 cents
What is the local income tax rate for FY2009? (commonly referred to as the "piggyback tax")
The local income tax rate for FY2009 is 3.2%, which is unchanged from the current rate, which was effective January 1, 2004.
When will my property be re-assessed?
Area #3 is currently being re-assessed in calendar 2008. Area #1 will be re-assessed in calendar 2009, followed by Area # 2 in calendar 2010. (For more information about Assessment Districts see the Assessment Map.)
How does the County assess my property?
The County does not perform assessments. All assessments are performed by the State of Maryland, Department of Assessment & Taxation. The County does use the State data for property tax billing.
What is the difference between the operating budget and the capital budget?
The operating budget provides funding for the day-to-day operation of the county. It includes the operation of county buildings and facilities, salaries for county employees, and many of the services available to citizens.
The capital budget provides funding for the construction of roads, bridges, buildings (libraries, schools, fire stations, etc.), water and sewer facilities, parks and other pieces of the infrastructure.
What does General Fund Budget mean?
The term general fund budget refers to the expenditures and revenues associated with the delivery of services by county agencies funded with property taxes, income taxes, charges & fees, and state shared taxes. Services provided under the general fund include police protection, parks maintenance, snow removal/plowing, building permits, development review, detention center operations, k-12 education, community college, libraries, transportation services, county council, county executive, sheriff’s office, circuit and orphans courts, and board of elections to name a few. A complete list of agencies funded with general tax dollars can be found in the Budget Summary pages.
What is the total General Fund budget for the current fiscal year (FY09)?
The total approved general fund budget for FY09 is $854,500,087.
How are my general fund tax dollars spent?
General fund expenditures in the Approved FY08 Operating Budget were appropriated as follows:
Education---------------$537,894,852------62.95%
Public Safety------------$ 95,970,426------11.23%
Public Facilities----------$57,615,409--------6.74%
Community Services-----$ 46,878,133--------5.49%
General Government-----$ 21,576,704--------2.53%
Legislative & Judicial-----$ 21,443,059--------2.51%
Capital/Reserves---------$ 73,121,504--------8.56%
Additional information and detail can be found in the Budget Summary.
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