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Riverdale Park council unanimously backs state task force on municipal revenue
Summary
The Riverdale Park Mayor and Council voted 6-0 to adopt a resolution supporting Maryland Municipal League-backed legislation (House Bill 1142) to form a task force that will study county and municipal revenue structures and options for modernizing how local governments are funded.
Riverdale Park's Mayor and Council voted unanimously on March 25 to adopt a resolution backing Maryland Municipal League priority legislation (House Bill 1142) that would create a task force to study how counties and municipalities receive revenue.
Mayor opened the special legislative meeting and the motion to adopt Resolution 2026-6-R-07 was moved, seconded and approved on a roll-call vote reported as 6-0. The resolution asks municipalities to express support for the bill so it can proceed to the state Senate after passing in the House.
Town staff framed the proposal as a needed review of a system the presentation said had not changed in decades, noting that local budgets still rely heavily on residential and commercial property taxes while municipalities do not directly capture certain local sales taxes. Supporters said the task force would identify best practices from other states and explore options to broaden municipal revenue sources.
Council members offered little debate, with one member calling the work "long overdue." The mayor and staff said the goal is a thorough, deliberative study before any changes to the revenue system are recommended. With the resolution adopted, town leaders said they expect to join other municipalities in urging state lawmakers to advance the bill.
