County Opposed To Lifting Marsh Tax Cap

SNOW HILL - The Worcester County Commissioners discussed a financial award and the marsh land tax cap briefly at their first December meeting

The Worcester County Commissioners Tuesday said they opposed the removal of the tax cap on Maryland marsh land, in response to a survey sent around to all Maryland jurisdictions by the Maryland Association of Counties. The cap restricts marshland to an assessed value of $37.50 per acre.

Dorchester County wants to remove the cap, according to county administrator Gerry Mason.

'It would definitely go higher•€¦it's a tax increase,' Mason said.

Dorchester County has the highest amount of marshland in the state, according to Mason. The removal of the tax cap would be statewide.

The County Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to oppose the statewide removal of the marshland tax cap.

In other county news, a national association for government finance officers awarded a Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting to the Worcester County Treasurers Office and county treasurer Harold Higgins on Tuesday.

'It is a very stringent process. It's a checklist of probably 200 to 300 items to go through,' said award presenter Charles Curtis, a member of the awarding body, the Government Finance Officers Association. 'Our job is to look for anything wrong.'

The award is given for financial reports that meet the highest standards, and is considered one of the highest honors in the government finance field.

'It's hard to explain to people how much of an accolade this is unless you do it yourself,' said Curtis.

This is the first time Worcester County has received this award.

'This reflects the professionalism and commitment of many individuals as well as numerous hours of hard work,' Curtis said.

After accepting the certificate, Higgins said, 'The crew behind me deserves a lot of applause and credit for all the effort they put forth to have this happen•€¦it's just another feather in our cap in Worcester County.'

'We are extremely proud of you and your team. We're proud of all of you. The team can't work without a leader, You've been the leader who put that together,' said newly chosen president of the county commissioners Bud Church.