Property Tax Rate Remains Constant for the 10th Consecutive Year
This article has been updated.
Rockville residents will pay the same property tax rate as they have for the last nine fiscal years, after the Mayor and Council on May 1 approved the Fiscal Year 2018 budget.
Rockville’s FY 2018 operating budget equals $130.3 million. Budget highlights include funding for:
- Three new full-time police officers.
- Expanded Senior Center hours and senior support services.
- Consultant services to assist with urban planning and design efforts and to improve citywide wayfinding.
- Special events and programming, including a new fall Oktoberfest-style event called Rocktobierfest, on Saturday, Oct. 7, and an expanded Lunar New Year celebration.
- Extended summer camp offerings to accommodate the 2017-2018 Montgomery County Public Schools calendar.
The budget also includes a 1 percent cost-of-living adjustment and an average 3 percent step or merit increase for all regular employees, and increases in wages for temporary employees, to maintain competitiveness with local jurisdictions.
The FY18 budget represents a 3.2 percent, or $4 million, increase over the Fiscal Year 2017 budget. The general fund, which supports the largest portion of the operating budget, equals $79.7 million, a 3.3 percent increase. The 2018 fiscal year begins July 1 and ends June 30, 2018.
Property tax rates will remain $0.292 for real property and $0.805 for personal property. Both of these rates are per $100 of assessed value. The FY18 budget continues the city’s supplement to the State of Maryland’s Homeowner’s Tax Credit, which provides real property tax credits to low- to moderate-income homeowners for taxes due on their principal residence.
The adopted budget includes increases to average residential bills for water, sewer and stormwater management, under plans previously approved by the Mayor and Council. The budget also includes an increase of $21 per year for recycling and refuse services. Based on the adopted FY18 rates, the average annual residential bills for property taxes and city utilities for a family of four will increase by $170, or 4.9 percent.
The Capital Improvements Program (CIP), the city’s five-year plan for funding new construction and infrastructure maintenance, includes $19.9 million in new funding, combined with a carryover of $49.4 million to support 49 projects. It includes funding for:
- Rockville Swim and Fitness Center Locker Room renovation construction.
- Chestnut Lodge property acquisition.
- Lincoln Park Community Center parking lot expansion.
- Proposed Potomac Woods Community Center concept design and outreach.
- Rockville Senior Center Americans with Disabilities Act improvements.
- Stream restoration at Anderson Park.
- Concrete roof repairs and electrical upgrades at the water treatment plant.
- Information technology network security enhancements.
The Mayor and Council held three work sessions and three public hearings, and solicited budget ideas from the public through the city’s website.
To learn more about the city’s FY18 budget, visit www.rockvillemd.gov/budget or call the Finance Department at 240-314-8400.
Praise for the Process, City Staff
The Mayor and Council held three work sessions and three public hearings, and solicited budget ideas from the public through the city’s website. After adopting the budget May 1, the mayor and councilmembers offered praise for the process and for city staff.
Councilmember Beryl L. Feinberg praised city staff “for all the guidance and professionalism that they exhibited going through this budget process,” adding that the public hearing process “went a long way to getting resident input and business input too.”
Mayor Bridget Donnell Newton said the FY 2018 budget process was “terrific,” and singled out City Manager Rob DiSpirito and city budget staff. “In seven years, this has been the best budget process I’ve been through with the city. And I thank you all very, very much for your transparency, for your inclusion of the comments, concerns and questions from myself and the councilmembers.”