Page 4 The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch October 4, 2013 OPEN EVERY DAY AT 11 A.M. BETWEEN CAROLINE AND TALBOT STREETS ON THE BOARDWALK 410-289-6953 PURPLE MOOSE APPAREL SHOP • LOTTERY • KENO • POOL TABLE MMLNot Backing Double Tax Change By JOANNE SHRINER STAFF WRITER WHITEHOUSE EFFECT FRIDAY & SATURDAY OCTOBER 4 & 5 FUZZBOX PIRANHA FRIDAY OCTOBER 11 BUCKET SPECIALS WEEK DAYS UNTIL 8 P.M. OCEAN CITY – The city was once denied the request of a tax differential from Worcester County by the Maryland Municipal League (MML), leading officials to schedule a discussion for future action. At the conclusion of Tuesday afternoon’s Mayor and City Council work session, Councilman Joe Mitrecic announced the city had received correspondence from the Maryland Municipal League (MML) regarding Ocean City’s Legislative Action Request (LAR) to receive relief from Worcester County through a tax differential. This was the fourth request made by Ocean City. “They are not going to take up our cause for a tax differential,” said Mitrecic, asking for the matter to be placed on a future work session agenda for further discussion. MML Legislative Committee Chairman Michael Bennett submitted to Mayor Rick Meehan by letter, the MML Legislative Committee met twice in August to consider 12 LARs received from member municipalities and departments. The committee voted to recommend one proposed legislative priority issue to the league membership – full reinstatement of municipal Highway User Revenues (HURs) in the fiscal year 2015 state budget. Bennett, furthered, following a robust discussion on the double taxation issue that spanned both committee meetings in August and based on the fact that effective double taxation legislation has failed repeatedly in the past, the committee recommended that, in lieu of proposing double taxation legislation in 2014, it was felt MML should use this year to develop a strategy to address the issue. It was noted that some municipalities would suffer financially if the legislation as proposed by the double taxation workgroup were to move forward. The committee felt strongly that additional time was needed to outreach to MML’s membership and the counties to ensure that a proposed solution would truly address all municipal concerns fairly and not unintentionally cause harm to those cities and towns currently receiving a double taxation rebate or differential. According to Bennett, the committee voted to adopt a double taxation strategic initiative to ensure the issue is fully vetted in the coming year. The strategy for the double taxation initiative will include interaction with affected local and statewide stakeholders in an attempt to resolve the longstanding inequity in Maryland. The initiative will also include a public information campaign to include outreach to candidates running for state and local offices in 2014. The committee will evaluate the success of this initiative before the 2015 legislative session to determine whether legislative action is advisable at that time. SEE PAGE 41