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Berlin Residents Voice Concerns On Possible Tax Hike
The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch
March 15, 2019
BY CHARLENE SHARPE
STAFF WRITER
An unusually crowded council chambers is pictured at Berlin Town Hall on Monday.
Photo by Charlene Sharpe
BERLIN – Calls for the town to cut expenses and sell Berlin Falls Park highlighted a town council meeting Monday. Dozens of Berlin residents attended a Berlin Town Council meeting this week, primarily to voice their concerns about the potential 34-percent tax increase being discussed by elected officials. “Berlin Falls Park is a boondoggle,” resident Jim Meckley said. “It is dragging this place down.” Mayor Gee Williams told those in attendance this week that the budget process had only just begun. Expenses had been greater than expected in recent years, he explained, and the town had been forced to use its reserves to supplement utility operations. He pointed out that 57 percent of the town’s costs related to public safety and capital expenses. Williams added that while the town did need to replenish its reserves, it was not in dire straits yet. “The town is not going to run out of money,” he said. “Not in five months, not in the foreseeable future.” He also acknowledged a rumor that Town Administrator Laura Allen would be getting a raise when other employees were not. “This is not true,” he said, adding that Allen had specified in a statement signed Feb. 28 that she was unwilling to accept a raise outlined in her contract this year. Nevertheless, concerns regarding town spending and the plan to raise taxes as well as water and sewer fees dominated the public comment portion of the meeting. Jeff Auxer, a merchant and resident, said he thought the town’s finances should have been addressed before they got to this point. He said his livelihood was being jeopardized by Berlin’s administration. “We clearly need change in Berlin,” he said, comparing the town to a football team. “Change starts at the top with the head coach. In Berlin’s case that head coach is our town administrator. It’s never personal but a business decision that’s best for that organization. I feel it’s time to start over and fix Berlin’s problems from the ground up.” When Councilman Zack Tyndall asked Auxer for his views on a two-tier tax system, which would implement one commercial rate and another residential rate, Auxer expressed apprehension. “The property owners are going to take that cost and put it onto the renters,” he said. SEE NEXT PAGE