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<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> The mayor's proposed budget for Riverdale Park has a </FONT><b><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> 24% average </FONT></b></div>
<div><b><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> increase in property taxes.</FONT></b><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Some of this increase comes from a </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> rise in assessments and some comes from a tax rate increase.</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Thus, if your assessment doubled (as many did) then your taxes </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> will more than double - although this increase may be phased-in </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> over several years.</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><b><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> What can you do?</FONT></b></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> While the above increase is surprisingly large, it is appropriate to take</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> a calm and careful look at the proposed budget and judge it accordingly. </FONT></div>
<div> </div>
<FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT><div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> You can discuss this with the mayor and your council person (it is the </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> new incoming council that will actually adopt the budget in early June.)</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> You and I can learn more about how this money will be spent and </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> you can express your opinions at the public hearing on the budget...</FONT></div>
<div><b><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> The public hearing on the budget will be Monday May 21 at 7:30 p.m.</FONT></b></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> at Town Hall. I hope to see you there.</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> If you have the patience you can also read the rest of this email.</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> (scroll down to see more)</FONT></div>
<div> </div>
<FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT><div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> --</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> --</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> --</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> --</FONT></div>
<div> </div>
<FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT><div><b><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> The Rate Increase.</FONT></b></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Ideally, the town would have lowered its tax rate to offset the increase </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> in assessments. Instead, the proposal is to actually raise the tax rate </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> from 64.1 to 68.7 cents (per $100 of assessed value).</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> This rate increase comes on top of the increase in your assessment. </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> As an example, if your assessment went from $200,000 to $400,000,</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> then your town property taxes will more than double, going from $1,282 </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> to $2,748, an increase of $1,466 per year.</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><b><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> The Homestead Credit Phase-in.</FONT></b></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Thanks to the Homestead Credit Act, most owner-occupied homes </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> will see this increase automatically phased in over several years. </FONT></div>
<div> </div>
<FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT><div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> The act phases-in large assessment increases at 10% per year. </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> However some housing, such as rental housing and houses that </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> were recently purchased are excluded - for them the full increase </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> is immediate. </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Homes that qualify for the Homestead Credit will see about an 18%</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> increase in the Riverdale Park portion of their real estate taxes - roughly </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> $200 to $400 more per year plus an increase in the state and county </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> property taxes too. NOTE: This estimate could be way off. (Your total </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> real estate tax bill is roughly triple the Riverdale Park amount.)</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> You can learn more about the Homestead Credit on page 17 of the March </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> 2007 </FONT><i><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Town Crier</FONT></i><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> . Which is available at Town Hall or online at www.rptc.us </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Below is a direct link to that Crier (then scroll down to page 17).</FONT></div>
<div> <A HREF="http://www.ci.riverdale-park.md.us/rptc/2007/Crier2007-03.pdf"><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> http://www.ci.riverdale-park.md.us/rptc/2007/Crier2007-03.pdf</FONT></A></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><b><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Budget Details</FONT></b></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> To learn more about the budget, you can look at the attached file, which</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> has parts of the proposed budget in it. The budget report is 7 pages long.</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> It is not available to me in electronic form, so I entered two of the pages </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> (the summary page and the revenue page) into a spreadsheet manually. </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> I also added information to clarify the tax change. </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> The proposed budget for the next fiscal year is available at town hall in </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> paper form. Perhaps if citizens request it, then the budget will also be </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> posted on the web site (as it was last year).</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> You can learn more about the county assessments and the constant </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> yield tax rates here:</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> <a href="http://www.gazette.net/stories/050307/prinnew174541_32323.shtml">http://www.gazette.net/stories/050307/prinnew174541_32323.shtml</a></FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><b><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Why I released this email</FONT></b></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> I have a lot more to learn about this budget proposal. I decided to </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> release this email now because I felt it important to give as much </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> notice as possible to our citizens.</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Rob Oppenheim</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Outgoing Ward One Councilman, Riverdale Park</FONT></div>
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