A financially stable city

These are difficult times for Takoma Park and its residents. Costs are rising, and many have suffered from recent federal job cuts and then struggled to find work. In a fiscally challenging era, when rising costs are affecting us all, we need to keep the balance between the taxes the city collects and the services it provides. The city's financial analysis shows that Takoma Park's taxes are among the highest in Montgomery County, in part because we provide the most comprehensive services among all the municipalities, including a full-service police department, library, housing services, recreation, and curbside collection of food waste and trash. But to put this in perspective: statewide, our taxes are in the bottom third of Maryland's local tax rates. We need to keep a balance between taxes and services.

Our historic and structural challenge here in Takoma Park is diversifying our tax base. We have an imbalanced tax base, with single-family homes paying about 77% of the real property taxes collected and a limited commercial tax base accounting for only 5% of our property revenue. We need to encourage smart growth to broaden our tax base and make our city more financially sustainable for the years to come. We have opportunities to do this by working with Washington Adventist University as it seeks to redevelop the old hospital site in line with its vision for the educational and religious community. In Ward 2, the proposed senior housing apartments at Grace Methodist Church on New Hampshire Avenue are another project that merits the council's ongoing support. As the Purple Line prepares to open, the New Hampshire and University Avenue corridors will change. The council will need to think strategically about projects in these neighborhoods. While development in these corridors can provide fiscal support for our city, the council must balance protecting existing communities with managing the challenges that will accompany future development.