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St. Mary's County hearing draws opposition to plan to extend building excise tax into Leonardtown; commissioner faces conflict claim
Summary
At a public hearing on amendments to the St. Mary's County building excise tax ordinance, Realtors, Leonardtown leaders and senior-housing advocates urged the county not to apply the excise tax inside Leonardtown, citing duplication of fees and risks to affordable senior housing; a resident alleged a conflict of interest by Commissioner Mike Hewitt, which Hewitt denied.
St. Mary's County held a public hearing on proposed amendments to its building excise tax ordinance on March 10, 2026, drawing multiple speakers who warned that extending the county excise tax into Leonardtown would duplicate municipal impact fees, raise housing costs and threaten affordable senior housing.
County Attorney Buffy Giddens told the Board the amendments are primarily clarifying changes intended to make explicit that municipalities are included and to move the timing of collection from issuance of a building permit to issuance of an occupancy permit. Giddens said the amendments do not raise the tax rate, alter allocation formulas or add new taxable categories and that the county had received two written comments ahead of the hearing.
Why it matters: The change would affect how and when developers are charged and whether municipal development would also pay the county excise tax on top of local impact fees. If applied inside Leonardtown, multiple speakers said, the change…
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