Montgomery County executive proposes new taxes for transportation projects amid state funding crisis

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. - Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich tells FOX 5 that if the State of Maryland can’t figure out how to fix its transportation funding crisis, his county and other counties around the state should be allowed to raise taxes on their own to fund their transit infrastructure needs. 

 In Montgomery County, officials are voicing concerns about $3.3 billion in cuts just announced by the State Department of Transportation. It’s going to hurt every one of Maryland’s 23 counties. 

So, Elrich says it’s time for the state to let counties to create new taxes to fund local transportation projects.

 Right now, counties can not raise taxes or bond for major transportation projects because that’s a taxation power of the state. 

Elrich tells FOX 5 that given Maryland's transportation budget shortfall, he wants the General Assembly to allow Montgomery and other counties to start raising their own taxes for local transit projects the same way they already do across the river in Virginia.  

"As we look back 10 years later, in places like Tysons, they took that money, they built infrastructure and they prospered, this state didn’t do it and our county didn’t do it," Elrich said. 

 The county executive isn't the only one looking at new taxes to fill the transportation funding pot-hole-sized gap in the budget. 

Baltimore Delegate Robynn Lewis has floated the idea of a small increase in the state sales tax for transportation but what do taxpayers think? 

Some tell FOX 5 they understand the money needs to come from somewhere but not everyone is on board. 

"It depends on what the project is presumably but government does a lot of things that can be wasteful. I know first hand," one Maryland resident told FOX 5. 

"Generally, I think I would trust them but you never know exactly," said another. 

The state of Virginia made the move to allow local governments in the Commonwealth to raise local taxes to fund transportation projects a decade ago. 

What’s not clear is if lawmakers in Annapolis would greenlight a law that would loosen their control over transportation funds, or if taxpayers would go along with an idea that could mean more money out of their pockets.