Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
County hearings on APFO and building excise tax draw major policy debate; board leaves record open for two weeks
Summary
Officials proposed removing the alternate mitigation contribution and raising the county building excise tax to shift how new development pays for school capacity and other infrastructure. The county received written comments from the City of Hagerstown and several builders; commissioners kept the hearing open for two weeks for further input.
Washington County planning staff proposed revisions to the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (APFO) and the Building Excise Tax Ordinance (BETO) that would change how new development pays for impacts on school capacity and other infrastructure. Commissioners opened a public hearing, received written and oral comments, and left the record open for two weeks to allow additional input.
Jill Baker, director of the county Department of Planning and Zoning, summarized the proposed changes. Staff proposed removing the current "alternate mitigation contribution" (AMT) option from the APFO and replacing most of the revenue with an increased building excise tax. Under the staff proposal,…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
