MARYLAND HOMEOWNER'S MORTGAGE INTEREST DEDUCTION IN JEOPARDY
“In his recently introduced budget, Governor Martin O’Malley has
proposed to reduce the mortgage interest deduction for many
Maryland homeowners,” according to Mary C. Antoun, Chief
Executive Officer of the Maryland Association of REALTORS®.
“Since 1913, the tax code has protected mortgage interest
deductibility. Maryland shouldn’t be the first state to scale back the
most important tax benefit homeowners receive,” stated Antoun.
“Everyone is well aware of the burdens Maryland homeowners are
facing. Many homeowners have watched the value of their homes
decrease. One-fifth of Maryland homeowners are currently
underwater, and now homeowners find the one constant reliable
tax benefit to owning a home under attack.”
If tax deductions are capped, as proposed by the Governor’s
budget, many Maryland homeowners will lose some of the value of
their mortgage interest deduction and the deductibility of state
and local property taxes. “These two principal real-estate related
deductions accounted for almost 70% of total deductions claimed
by Maryland taxpayers in 2008,” noted Antoun.
More here.
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Agreement Signed For Continental Divide Trail Proj.
Jan. 19, 2012
Garrett Trails is one step closer to completing its Eastern Continental Divide Loop Trail. The Garrett County commissioners signed a property-use agreement this week with the University of Maryland Extension, which will allow a nonmotorized trail to be constructed on Western Maryland 4-H Education Center property near Bittinger.
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An agreement is also pending with the Department of Natural Resources that will give the local group permission to construct a trail through the Savage River State Forest for the Meadow Mountain phase of the loop trail.
Garrett Trails members reviewed the agreements for the commissioners and gave an update on some of their many projects on Tuesday afternoon.
“We’ve made a lot of progress,” said Mike Dreisbach, Garrett Trails president. “And I have to tell you, with out the help of the commissioners, this progress would have never been able to make it that far. You guys have been behind us 110 percent.”
Since last January, he said, the group has made some “gigantic steps.” One of those “steps” is Gov. Martin O’Malley’s announcement last Friday that $150,000 is earmarked in the proposed fiscal year 2013 capital budget for state park trail construction in Garrett County. Another $150,000 has been allocated for “western Maryland recreational access and trail restoration.”
Garrett Trails is a nonprofit, volunteer organization dedicated to the development of a network of trails that provide access to Garrett County’s historic, municipal, and environmental “treasures” that link to trails outside the county.
One of the group’s goals is to develop the Eastern Continental Divide Loop Trail, a 150 mile, multi-surface, multi-user pathway that will connect to state parks and forests; populations centers such as Bittinger, Grantsville, Mtn. Lake Park, Friendsville, and Deep Creek Lake; and the Great Allegheny Passage.
Rodney Glotfelty, Trail Maintenance Committee chair, reported on the project’s mid-county connector loop at Deep Creek Lake. Garrett Trails plans to construct a pedestrian hard-packed gravel or paved pathway from the Glendale Bridge to Rt. 219, along the same route as a proposed water line.
He said Garrett Trails has been working with the Garrett County Department of Public Utilities and the GC Roads Department to “take advantage” of the waterline extension. After DPU installs the underground line, the pathway could be constructed on top of the finished project.
“You wouldn’t have to come in twice, disturb the area twice,” Glotfelty said about constructing the trail. “It seemed like a win-win proposal for us.”
Garrett Trails sent a letter to 27 Glendale Road property owners last summer, inquiring if they would approve a pathway on their land. The group received 12 responses, with 11 of them favoring the project, according to Glotfelty.
More here.
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Beitzel bill requires state constitution change
Local delegate’s proposal would keep Chesapeake Bay cleanup funds intact
From Staff Reports Cumberland Times-News
CUMBERLAND — Delegate Wendell Beitzel has filed a bill to amend the state constitution to ban the transfer of funds designated for Chesapeake Bay cleanup to other purposes.
“Each year, Maryland’s citizens are required to pay for cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay. This bill simply provides that if citizens are told that the fees they are paying is dedicated for bay restoration, then government should be required to use the funds only for this purpose,” Beitzel said Thursday.
There are proposals on the table to increase the state’s so-called flush tax, an annual fee toward bay cleanup.
The Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund was established in 2004 for the purpose of providing funds for Chesapeake Bay cleanup, wastewater treatment plant upgrades, cover crop funds and septic system upgrades, Beitzel said.
“The stated needs for Bay restoration far exceed available funding and to raid the dedicated funding programs for other purposes is deplorable. These actions are a fundamental cause for the recommendation to double, triple or even quadruple the ‘flush tax.’ Now, the citizens of Maryland are now expected to pay more to remedy the situation,” Beitzel said in a press release.
During the 2011 session, Gov. O’Malley’s budget transferred $290 million from the Bay Restoration Fund and the Chesapeake & Atlantic Coastal Bays 2010 Trust Fund into the general fund, Beitzel said. Beitzel represents all of Garrett County and a portion of Allegany County.
A companion piece of legislation has also been filed by Sen. John Astle, D-Anne Arundel. Beitzel and Astle are also co-chairs of the Maryland Legislative Sportsmen’s Foundation.
Delegate Kevin Kelly is a co-sponsor to a similar bill, HB 23, which would ban transfers from dedicated state funds to the General Fund except in limited circumstances. Both bills would need to pass a referendum to amend the state constitution. Kelly represents Allegany County and portions of Cumberland and other municipalities in the county.
At the same time, counties are working to comply with bay cleanup efforts. The Phase II Watershed Implementation Plans submitted to the EPA set details on how each jurisdiction will achieve necessary nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment reductions by 2025, the target date set by the EPA.
Late last week, Maryland filed a plan to clean up the state’s water and the Chesapeake Bay with the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Allegany County submitted its plan in November.
Angie Patterson, a land use and planning engineer in the Department of Community Services, is in charge of coordinating Allegany County’s response to and implementation of the total daily maximum load (TMDL) requirements issued by the EPA and Maryland Department of the Environment. She works on a 20-member committee, including county and municipal officials along with other members.
TMDLs are “an estimate of the maximum amount of an impairing substance or stressor (pollutant) that a water body can assimilate without violating water quality standards,” according to the Maryland Department of the Environment.
Those numbers are being used to calculate the amount each county contributes to the pollutants entering the bay and provide a target number of how much the county must reduce its pollutant output.
More here.
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Wapiti survey begins
Michael A. Sawyers Cumberland Times-News
What’s up with this elk stuff anyway?
I’m speaking, of course, about the news announced this past August that some folks are going to look around Garrett and Allegany counties to see if it would be feasible to reintroduce Rocky Mountain elk. Elk used to live here, you know. Maybe you don’t remember because it was a couple hundred or so years ago.
How else do you think we got a town name such as Elk Garden just across the river in what we like to refer to here at the Times-News as “nearby West Virginia.”
The good news is that Responsive Management is getting involved. That company is based in Harrisonburg, Va., and has built a solid reputation as a surveyor of the public when it comes to natural resources issues.
Paul Peditto, the director of the Maryland Wildlife & Heritage Service, calls Responsive Management the “best in the business.”
RM is near the completion of a couple West Virginia surveys, including one checking into the attitudes of hunters when it comes to chronic wasting disease in deer. I can’t wait to see those results.
But back to elk and back to Almost Maryland.
The players are the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (paying for the feasibility study), the Maryland Legislative Sportsmen’s Foundation (doing the legwork) and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (providing wildlife expertise).
Mark Damian Duda, the executive director of Responsive Management, told us on Tuesday that the elk attitude survey will begin in February with results available in April.
“We will get complete responses from 800 Maryland residents,” Duda said. “It will take 10 to 12 minutes to complete the telephone survey.”
Duda said, too, that more residents of Garrett, Allegany and Washington counties will be called compared to any other one county in Maryland.
The calls are selected at random and will go to both landline and cell phones. The caller ID will read “Responsive Management.”
Duda said unanswered calls will be repeated to that number, up to five times, at different hours and days.
RM has been doing this kind of thing for 22 years now and, in fact, surveyed Marylanders a decade or so ago about their opinions concerning bear hunting.
“We have a great response rate,” Duda said. “Most people enjoy answering our questions.”
One question that will be asked: “Would you support or oppose the reintroduction of free-roaming elk into Western Maryland?”
That question would be followed by another: “Why?”
“People should know that the sponsors of the feasibility study are serious about determining the attitudes of residents about a possible elk reintroduction before making a decision,” Duda said.
We already know what the elected Garrett County commissioners think. They oppose a reintroduction.
There is a huntable population of elk in northern Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Game Commission reports that since 2001 there have been 99 elk struck and killed by automobiles. During that same time period, eight elk stepped in front of railroad trains twice; the first time and the last time.
Pa.’s elk population currently numbers about 700 animals descended from those restocked from Yellowstone Park.
During the 2011 Keystone State elk hunt, 50-plus animals were killed.
Contact Outdoor Editor Mike Sawyers at msawyers@times-news.com or 301-784-2523.
More here.
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Local lawmakers send bills onward
Panhandlers, Caylee’s Law on agenda in Annapolis
Matthew Bieniek Cumberland Times-News
CUMBERLAND — Local legislators are filing proposed laws either as sponsors or co-sponsors in the opening weeks of the General Assembly.
A bill to control panhandling in Allegany County is one of the bills filed by Delegate Kevin Kelly.
Kelly introduced the legislation at the behest of Allegany County Sheriff Craig Robertson, who has been concerned about a spike in panhandling in the area. Robertson was responding to complaints from the public. The existing law makes it tough for the sheriff and his deputies to do anything about the problem of people asking for money.
Kelly said he filed the panhandling legislation Friday.
The main concentration of the panhandlers has been in the LaVale area between Country Club Mall and Braddock Square. The panhandlers also seem to be active on nearby National Highway. The sheriff and his deputies have heard concerns from a large number of citizens, he said.
“It’s a safety issue when it comes to the roadway,” the sheriff said.
Kelly’s bill would amend a state law already on the books, to apply to Allegany County. That law bans solicitation along public roadways.
Delegate Leroy Myers said Washington County has faced a similar problem in the past.
Sen. George Edwards has filed a bill that applies to correctional officers in Garrett County entitled the “Correctional Officers Bill of Rights.” The text of the bill, Senate Bill 205, isn’t yet available.
Edwards is also co-sponsoring a “Caylee’s Law” bill in the Senate. Senate Bill 139 would make it a crime for failure to report the disappearance of a minor. Kelly is sponsoring a similar, independent bill in the House.
The proposed laws developed after Casey Anthony’s acquittal in Florida earlier this year, regarding charges that she murdered her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee.
Anthony did not report her daughter missing to police, who were finally alerted to the missing child by Casey Anthony’s mother 30 days after the child was last seen.
The laws are designed to allow prosecutors to bring felony charges against parents who do not quickly report missing children, with most of the proposals requiring law enforcement notification by 24 or 48 hours after a child goes missing, or a shorter time frame to report the death of a child.
Among other bills Edwards is co-sponsoring is one allowing veteran’s organizations a license for no more than five instant ticket lottery machines under specified circumstances.
Myers is co-sponsoring House Bill 82, which would make it the policy of the state to “restrict and deter the use of unauthorized alien workers in the performance of public contracts and grants in the State; specifying criteria for mandatory registration in a federal E-verify program for specified contractors and grantees; prohibiting noncompliant persons or entities from performing specified contracts,” a summary of the law indicates.
Myers is also co-sponsoring HB 113, which would require specific proof of identification by voters. If they did not have proof of identification, they would be required to submit a provisional ballot.
Delegate Wendell Beitzel is also co-sponsoring HB 82 on the E-verify program. He’s also supporting HB 91, a right-to-work law and HB 102 to proclaim a German-American Heritage month. Beitzel has also filed a bill for a Constitutional Amendment that will be the subject of an upcoming Times-News story.
Contact Matthew Bieniek at mbieniek@times-news.com
More here.
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Survey To Assess Public Opinion On Elk Reintroduction
Jan. 19, 2012
The Maryland Legislative Sportsmen’s Foundation (MLSF), the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) last week announced plans to conduct an extensive public opinion survey to determine the viability of elk reintroduction to western Maryland. Elk once roamed Maryland, but have been absent since the 1700s.
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Social, cultural, and economic questions will dominate the survey, which is scheduled to begin in February and conclude with a final report and analysis in April. The survey will reach a sample of residents across Maryland, with a focus on residents of western Maryland. Consensus from DNR’s experts and impacted stakeholders will be necessary for the final decision.
“We are pleased to announce this important step toward evaluating elk reintroduction in western Maryland,” said MLSF chairman David Sutherland.
The MLSF signed a contract with Responsive Management, a professional survey firm that specializes in public opinion and attitude surveys on wildlife management issues. The RMEF will underwrite the survey through an MLSF grant. DNR will assist with the technical review of the survey instrument and the final report.
“We recognize the need to ensure a scientific review of public opinion on this extraordinary and important question,” said David Allen, president and CEO of the RMEF. “Restoring elk requires a supportive community. We are pleased to be a key partner to that end.”
More here.
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Garrett bear hunting violations bring fines
From Staff Reports Cumberland Times-News
OAKLAND — Seven of 13 people charged on Oct. 24 by Maryland Natural Resources Police with bear hunting violations in Garrett County have paid fines. The remaining defendants are scheduled for trials during the next 60 days.
For each fine paid, the guilty also paid a $22.50 court cost.
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BOE Nixes Vote On Grade Level Change; Looking At Alternatives
Jan. 19, 2012
Upon leaving the executive session of a specially called meeting on Tuesday, the Garrett County Board of Education informed those in attendance that it would remove the vote on grade level reconfiguration from its current agenda.
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The decision came as a relief to many of the parents and concerned citizens who turned up to voice their opinions on the proposal. Many used the public comment portion of the meeting to express their thanks to the board for postponing a decision on reconfiguration and also to request more time to come up with solutions on solving Garrett County’s school budget losses. Solutions, they hoped, would not involve reconfiguration, school closings, and long bus rides for young children.
The event was held in the cafetorium of Southern Middle School and was called for after the BOE decided against a vote on the reconfiguration proposal at its previous meeting the week before (Jan. 10).
Having twice removed the vote on the proposal to move fifth graders from elementary to middle schools, the board will now look into the viability of leaving the grade levels as they are, or perhaps adopting alternative solutions.
In a presentation before the public comment portion of the meeting, Sue Waggoner, interim superintendent of schools, stated that the board plans to use the coming months to look into kindergarten enrollment rates, as well as staffing needs “at all levels.”
She has expressed the importance of parents taking advantage of kindergarten enrollment, as the board is currently working with birth rate statistics. “We need to know where these children are going to attend elementary school,” she said. Though effectively halted, the possibility of grade reconfiguration remains on the table.
Waggoner’s presentation also contained information on the school system’s efforts to reduce bullying in schools, topic brought up in public comment at the previous meeting. Parents who wish to access the form on bullying, harassment, or intimidation may do so by visiting the BOE web site: www.ga.k12.md.us.
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Annual Snowflake Chase Held
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Chasing snowflakes in the annual Snowflake Chase in beautiful Deep Creek Lake State Park on Saturday were over 130 hearty souls who braved the wintry conditions to participate in either the 5-mile run or the 2-mile fun run/walk. Proceeds from the annual event this year will go to the Garrett College Student Veterans Organization (SVO). The event was coordinated by the Queen City Striders Running Club, and a number of volunteers from the SVO assisted in various ways. Dan DeWitt of Frostburg was by far the fastest runner in the 5-mile race, as he blazed a path to the finish line in 29:42, nearly 1½ minutes faster than second-place finisher Chris Behre of Hurricane, W.Va. See full details in a story on the sports link. Photo by Kathy Fauber.
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On eliminating ASCI’s $3M debt: Exec. speaks out
Elaine Blaisdell Cumberland Times-News
MCHENRY — Despite dealing with multiple challenges like construction cost overruns, a faltering economy and the Wisp Resort filing for bankruptcy in October, the Adventure Sports Center International remains a focal point in promoting tourism, according to Matt Taylor, executive director of ASCI.
Garrett County commissioners made a public statement Tuesday that they met in executive session to discuss legal, financial and personnel implications of the $3 million debt obligations ASCI incurred because of unanticipated construction costs.
“ASCI has become the nexus it was intended to be, despite the aforementioned challenges,” said Taylor in an email to the Times-News. “The bottom line is that the facility was never intended to operate with debt, and Tuesday’s statements by the commissioners mark an important step in a long process to restructure and eliminate that debt so that ASCI can continue its core missions of promoting adventure tourism and healthy, active outdoor lifestyles.”
The debt was incurred during cost overruns in construction of the actual whitewater course and pond, according to Taylor. ASCI broke ground on the whitewater facility in 2004 and opened in the spring of 2007.
“The ASCI whitewater course is a one-of-a-kind facility and a combination of unique building challenges and high cost of materials. Most of the facility was built in the years following Hurricane Katrina, which greatly inflated certain material and transportation costs (that) led to the overruns,” said Taylor.
ASCI is a nonprofit entity and not under the authority of the board of county commissioners, according to Monty Pagenhardt, county administrator. The financial institutions involved with the debt collection are Susquehanna Bank and First United Bank & Trust.
Adventure Sports Chairman Duane Yoder said the group may consider transferring ownership to Garrett County or Garrett College.
The venture has received $4.1 million from the state, $2.9 million in federal funds, $1.3 million from Garrett County and $2 million from the sales of land donated by DC Development LLC, owner of the Wisp at Deep Creek Mountain Resort.
“ASCI has carried this debt from its opening in 2007 and we have operated for five successful seasons and intend to open in 2012 for our best season yet,” said Taylor.
The debt will not affect operations or the 2014 World Championship Canoe and Kayak Slalom Races, according to Taylor.
“The world championship is a real successful event for us. All along it has been part of our business plan to get corporate sponsors for this event, and this debt makes it hard to have corporate sponsors,” said Taylor.
“We have been in negotiation with the banks for years, and ASCI’s default is part of a structured process to eliminate the debt and allow us to focus on preparation and promotion for Deep Creek 2014. ASCI continues to work with state, local and banking leaders to find a long-term solution.”
In addition to successfully guiding more than 55,000 people down the whitewater course, welcoming more than 200,000 visitors, and hosting eight national and international competitions, ASCI has also developed widely recognized environmental education programs with Garrett County public schools, according to Taylor.
The commissioners will compile their positions and on this situation and plan to provide a more detailed review during their Feb. 7 public session, according to Pagenhardt.
Contact Elaine Blaisdell at eblaisdell@times-news.com.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
More here.
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