Increased County Taxes On Your Bills This Month

Montgomery County had to close a $1 billion gap for FY2011 which started on July 1st. 83% of the task was accomplished with spending reductions and layoffs. Property taxes were not increased beyond the Charter limit, but the Council did approve energy and cell phone taxes.Yesterday >WTOP reported “You might be a little shocked if you haven’t taken a look at your electricity bill lately.”

A 150 percent energy tax increase went into effect July 1 in Montgomery County. It will be in effect for two years.

The tax per kilowatt hour of electricity use jumped from half a cent to 1.3 cents. The cost per therm of natural gas rose from 4 cents to 11.5 cents.

County Executive Ike Leggett’s office calculated the County’s fuel energy tax would raise the average residential household bill by $8 a month and the average business by $290 a month.

You might have noticed a higher energy bill last month. The Examiner reported last month’s increased energy bills were tied to a temporary, larger energy tax increase of 300% for the month of June which was passed by the Montgomery County Council in May to make budget for the fiscal year. When I reviewed my pepco bills dated May 24th and June 28th, my “Montgomery County Energy Tax” rate was the same .0225868 per KWH, so I didn’t see a change.

We’ll see if the increase in the energy tax is removed at the end of FY12. The recommended temperature setting for air-conditioners is 78 degrees. The higher you can comfortably set the temperature, the more you will save this summer.

As for cell phones, the county’s tax on users will raise the current rate of $2 per line per month which appears on cell phone bills of county residents to $3 per line per month. The increase is expected to raise an additional $11.8 million in fiscal 2011.

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