MONTGOMERY COUNTY COUNCIL 

R​OCKVILLE, ​M​ARYLAND 
H​ANS ​R​IEMER      
C​OUNCIL ​P​RESIDENT
MEMORANDUM

TO: Isiah Leggett, County Executive

FROM: Hans Riemer, Council President

SUBJECT: Prepayment of 2018 Property Taxes

DATE: December 21, 2017

Thank you for your December 20 memorandum regarding the possible prepayment of
2018 County property taxes before the end of this calendar year. This idea has arisen in response
to the just-enacted federal Tax Reform Act, which limits the deductibility of state and local taxes
to $10,000. The proposal would require the Council to enact legislation in January, when the
current recess ends, and make the date retroactive to this year. As a practical matter, the proposal
would require the Council to take a position on legislation now without conducting a public
hearing or the diligence of a legislative process.

In discussing the option of prepaying 2018 property taxes in 2017, you pointed out that
“creating a process and mechanism to accept prepayments in this short period of time will be
complicated and challenging. We will need to be prepared for criticism and complaints that will
inevitably result from providing this service under the pressure of time.”

These concerns are valid. The Finance Department would have to develop a new manual
system for the prepayments virtually overnight. Errors and confusion would inevitably result.
There would be significant issues with reasonable notice and sound implementation. The
criticism and complaints you referred to would come from many sources – people whose checks
are not accurately credited to the current online system; people who have problems with mortgage
servicers regarding their escrow accounts; and people who learn about the proposal too late.

This legislation could provide tax relief to some taxpayers: those who, according to the
executive branch, have the ability to prepay their entire 2018 property tax bill, in person, before
the end of this calendar year, and who believe that doing so would be to their ultimate benefit.
Furthermore, the Council would be making this decision without the benefit of public hearings or
a thorough analysis of the fiscal impact. Given that the law would have an impact on County
revenues by reducing taxable income for some residents, it seems best to conduct the usual
legislative process, but unfortunately that is not feasible in the time we have.

For these reasons, while we appreciate your placing this prepayment option on the table,
we believe that the serious risks of hasty action over the next ten days, for both our taxpayers and
the County itself, outweigh the possible benefits.

STELLA B. WERNER COUNCIL OFFICE BUILDING - 100 MARYLAND AVENUE, 6​ ​ FLOOR, ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND 20850
TH

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