Maryland counties warn budget shifts would force property tax hikes; Mako opposes solar bill as drafted

The Maryland Association of Counties told the Eastern Shore delegation on Tuesday that the governor’s budget reconciliation proposal and related amendments would shift hundreds of millions in costs onto counties, forcing local property tax increases and cuts to services. The association also said it opposes the current draft of House Bill 1036 and Senate Bill 931 on solar siting and battery facilities.

The association’s executive director, Michael Sanderson, and legislative director, Kevin Kennelly, said counties face a mix of “cuts and cost shifts” that would land directly on local budgets. “With the DLS recommendations on top of what the BRFAA is, we’re looking at about a quarter billion dollars in cost shifts and cuts directly onto counties,” Kennelly said.

The association flagged several specific shifts. Kennelly said a proposed transfer of some teacher pension costs to counties would total about $190 million a year; another proposal would shift the costs of the State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) to county governments; and the elimination of enterprise zones would remove a tool many less-affluent jurisdictions use to attract investment.

“We have been above and beyond on the Blueprint,” Kennelly said, arguing counties already shoulder obligations the state expects them to fund. Sanderson and Kennelly urged delegates to highlight how those changes would affect individual jurisdictions, using Dorchester County as an example of a locality that could struggle to balance its budget without local tax increases or program cuts.

On energy, Dominic (Dom) of the association’s legislative team said the solar siting bill under consideration during that day’s hearings departs from a compromise the association and local officials had negotiated over the interim. Dom said Mako opposes the bill as drafted for five reasons: lack of battery safety provisions, threats to community livability (appearance, noise and other impacts), restrictions on local taxing authority that could reduce revenue, interference with planned affordable housing projects, and provisions that create implementation inefficiencies.

“The bill is divided into three sections. There’s an entire section on utility-scale batteries. Not one word in that section addresses battery safety,” Dom said. He added that Mako and others have proposed amendments the association believes would return the bill to the compromise reached in November, and that negotiations with legislative leaders were ongoing.

The association asked Eastern Shore legislators to amplify those concerns in Annapolis and to support amendments to preserve local authority on taxation and siting, and to add explicit safety standards for battery systems. The presenters did not propose formal motions for the delegation to approve; their comments were informational and aimed at legislative advocacy.

Speakers at the briefing also urged lawmakers to consider how cuts to state programs such as Program Open Space and other conservation-related funds would interact with an aggressive push for more large-scale renewable projects on the Eastern Shore.

Looking ahead, the association said it would continue to participate in hearings and to forward written analyses, budgeting examples and proposed amendments to county officials and delegates who requested them.

Ending: Association staff said they will circulate their Dorchester County budget analysis and suggested amendments to the bills under discussion. Delegation members and staff were invited to contact Mako for deeper briefings and county-level fiscal impact estimates.