Maryland
Maryland failed to send 107,000 property reassessment notices on time, potentially costing counties millions
More than 100,000 property owners in Maryland were not properly notified of their reassessments in January, delaying a time period to appeal and potentially costing local governments millions in property tax revenue.
One-third of Maryland’s 2 million property accounts were reassessed at the end of 2023, leading to sharp climbs in assessed property values for the second year in a row.
The State Department of Assessments and Taxation, or SDAT, is required by law to send notices of the reassessments by Jan. 30. This year, an error with the agency’s vendor resulted in 107,000 notices that went unsent, according to a statement from SDAT Director Michael Higgs.
State officials said they are working to address the issue to ensure property owners still have the allowed 45 days to appeal and that they pay their property taxes later this year.
“It’s just a very unfortunate mistake,” said Sen. Guy Guzzone, a Democrat who chairs the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee.
He said legislation that the Senate and its lawyers are crafting to fix the issue is expected to be “on solid ground” legally to require the new property values to go into effect despite the missed notification window. That bill is still being developed. Without the solution, legislative analysts have pegged the potential lost revenue to counties at $250 million, Guzzone said.
Property taxes are a primary funding source for local governments, making it possible to spend on everything from education and local public transit. In Baltimore County, the taxes make up about 45% of the $2.5 billion general fund revenue in the current 2024 fiscal year, according to county budget documents.
Higgs said those who missed their notices should receive them in the coming weeks. Those property owners will then have the full 45-day period to appeal to SDAT, he said.
“The legislation will ensure that the state reassessment can be completed fairly and accurately and that all appropriate revenues are collected,” Higgs said in the statement.
Higgs’ office did not respond to questions about where the 107,000 properties are located across the state or whether the director would be available for an interview. His statement said the unsent notices were the result of a printing and mailing error by a vendor, the League for People with Disabilities. That vendor has been paid about $151,000 so far this year and $2.1 million in the last decade for SDAT services, according to Maryland’s spending transparency portal.
Statewide, total assessed value on the 767,226 residential and commercial properties rose 23.4% for 2024 — a jump from 20.6% on another third of Maryland properties in 2023.
In Baltimore City, the average 19.4% increase on homes and 16% increase on commercial properties were both below the statewide average of 25.6% and 17.6%, respectively. In Baltimore County, the residential increases were higher — 26.2% — while the increases on commercial properties were lower, at 14.4%.
State law caps the taxable portion of any property assessment increase at 10% annually. Many local governments have adopted further restrictions, like Baltimore City and Baltimore County’s 4% cap on taxable assessments annually.
Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr., a Democrat who is also the president of the Maryland Association of Counties, in a statement highlighted the need for local governments to receive the higher property tax revenues from those reassessments.
“This news is alarming, but we are thankful that legislative leaders have already signaled their intentions to take swift action on this issue,” he said. “It’s critical we ensure local jurisdictions receive their fair share of revenues so that we can remain focused on delivering the core services that our shared residents rely on and expect.”
A spokesperson for Olszewski did not have information about how many properties the problem affected in the county. A spokesperson for Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, a Democrat, did not return an immediate request for comment Thursday.
Guzzone said it was not clear when the Maryland General Assembly, which is in session through April 8, may consider the legislation to fix the deadline issue.
House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones, a Baltimore County Democrat, in a statement indicated lawmakers will also look at potential changes at the agency in charge of assessments to prevent similar problems in the future.
“We are still collecting the details on the full extent of this issue,” Jones said. “We take the effects of the delayed assessments very seriously, and the House is looking at all our options to ensure that our counties are not left to deal with the potential revenue shortages. As members of my leadership team have suggested, we will also look at reforms to SDAT, so this will not happen again.”
We’ll see a few afternoon and early evening scattered storms today followed by a drier end to the weekend. Highs today will reach the mid 80s with overnight lows in the upper 60s to lower 70s.
Mainly sunny and drier for the end of the weekend
Sunday is trending drier with lower humidity and a high near 85. Our temperaturs stay warm but comfortable on Monday with afternoon temperatures peaking the mid-80s. The chance of rain remains slim through much of next week.
Hot weather returns to Maryland by midweek
Temperatures start an upward trend beginning Tuesday. By midweek temperatures soar into the mid and upper 90s both Wednesday and Thursday afternoons. Humidity won’t be as bad as the July 4th week but heat indices could still reach near or above 100° during the afternoon hours for a few days. Heat will gradually ease heading into next weekend.
MARYLAND (WBFF) — Art D’Amico remembers when a bushel of crabs cost about $35 in the mid-1970s. Today, the president of the Annapolis Anglers Club pays nearly $400 a bushel — a price he says has climbed by at least $150 in the past five years.
“Everything’s more expensive,” said D’Amico, who has been involved in Chesapeake Bay fishing and crabbing since 1973, adding that he’s never seen crab prices like this before.
The soaring cost reflects more than inflation. Watermen, seafood dealers and economists say higher operating costs, shifting markets and concern about Maryland’s blue crab population are pushing prices higher, making one of the state’s signature summer traditions more expensive. But many Marylanders are still buying crabs, even at record prices.
“It’s definitely not what we’re accustomed to this time of year as far as quantity and price,” said John Ecker, a managing partner of Conrad’s Crabs, which has four locations in Maryland. “I’ve been here for 19 years doing this and, yeah, they’re getting higher.”
Read the full story on The Baltimore Sun.
MARYLAND (WBFF) — A Maryland woman was sentenced to two years in prison for her involvement in a multi-million-dollar money laundering scheme, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Maryland announced on Friday.
Fatoumata Boiro, 32, of Largo, will serve two years in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, and has also been ordered to pay $6,838,558.31 in restitution.
Boiro was found guilty of conspiring to engage in a large, multi-member money-laundering operation. She pled guilty to being involved in the conspiracy and acknowledged that at least $3 million was laundered through her direct participation.
From 2021 through February 2024, she and several other individuals laundered proceeds from a significant wire fraud scheme, according to court documents.
Court documents revealed that the conspirators engaged in various financial transactions to conceal the source, ownership, and control of the wire fraud proceeds, as well as their location.
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The victims of this scheme included government agencies, organizations, and companies, such as an environmental trust, an urban redevelopment program, a medical center, a transportation company, a logistics company, a school district, a college, and a county government, officials reported.
Boiro and her co-conspirators created limited liability companies to act as shell entities, opened bank accounts in the names of these entities, and received and laundered funds from fraudulent activities.
Fourteen defendants have been charged in connection with the money-laundering conspiracy, with 13 already pleading guilty.
Officials reported that Faizou Gnora, 28, formerly of Alexandria, Virginia, remains at large.
The following includes the individuals previously sentenced:
- Yahya Sowe, 42, of College Park, to 114 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, restitution of $13,050,827.03, and forfeiture of $1 million
- Bright Boateng, 45, of Bladensburg, Maryland, to 108 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, restitution of $1,247,950, and a forfeiture of $431,750
- Victor Killen, 33, of Hyattsville, Maryland, to 63 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, restitution of $7,070,656.46, and a $3-million forfeiture order
- Gedeon Agbeyome, 31, of Montgomery County, Maryland, to 72 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, along with restitution of $2,938,424.65, and a $2.8 million preliminary order of forfeiture
- Lawrence Ogunsanwo, 33, to 40 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, and restitution of $5,648,816.23
- Lakeisha Parker, 33, of Baltimore, to 36 months in federal prison, followed by three years supervised release, and restitution of $8,306,930.95
- Martin Ogisi, 37, of Severn, Maryland, to 33 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, restitution of $11,077,044.17; and a $500,000 forfeiture order
- Kevin Colon, 34, of Curtis Bay, Maryland, to 27 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, restitution of $2,515,159.63, and a $214,518.42 forfeiture order
- Areal Harris, 27, of Hanover, Maryland, to 24 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, and restitution of $3,159,482.83
- Emily Gil Arias, 29, of Silver Spring, Maryland to 24 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, and restitution of 2,102,919.27
- Lorena Perez Herrera, 29, of Washington, DC, to 24 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, and restitution of $1,473,125.58
- Blondel Ndjouandjouaka, 31, of Silver Spring, Maryland, to 24 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, restitution of $733,941.48, and a $757,562.63 forfeiture order.
Now, Boiro will spend the next two years in prison.
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