City Council Floats Idea of Referendum on Road Tax

Councilman Keith Hartzell suggested Thursday that the city should consider a nonbinding referendum asking voters if they'd be willing to pay a special assessment to fund road improvements.

Ocean City's low-lying and oft-flooded streets are in varying states of disrepair. The priority list is long. Taxpayer frustration is high, and with the city spending about $2.5 million per year on repaving, Hartzell suggested it could take more than two decades to catch up on all the necessary repair work (he said an estimate from the early 2000s came in at about $60 million).

Hartzell said adding two cents to the local tax rate (or about $100 annually for the owner of a $500,000 home), could help double what the city could spend on road improvements and cut in half the time it would take to reconstruct and repave Ocean City's streets.

He asked the city administration to deliver an accurate estimate of costs for all necessary road improvements, so City Council could get a better reading on how long it might take to complete an expedited road improvement plan. The proposed tax would be finite — it would end when the repairs are complete.

He said the city could potentially include the nonbinding question on the November ballot: Would voters be willing to pay a tax increase dedicated solely to road repairs?

"This is a bold plan," Hartzell said.

Council members fell in line behind Hartzell with the idea of taking the question to voters.  

In public comment, First Ward resident Dale Braun suggested that any potential referendum question include a guarantee that the city would match the taxpayers' $2.5 million increase. He said taxpayers would fear that the city would pass the dedicated increase then cut its own portion of road spending.