Dacey looking to lower property taxes, continue advocacy of slowing government spending
Oct. 21—Leading up to the Nov. 8 general election, The Frederick News-Post is doing podcast interviews with candidates for Frederick County executive and council. To hear past podcast interviews, go to www.fnppodcasts.com/politics.
Frederick County Councilman Phil Dacey said his No. 1 priority if voters reelect him to the council would be pushing for the county to lower its property tax rate.
During each of his four years on the council, Dacey has voted for the county to lower its property tax rate of $1.06 per $100 of assessed value to the constant-yield property tax rate.
He said he would continue his advocacy if reelected.
The constant-yield rate is the real property tax rate necessary to generate the same revenue from year to year. The constant-yield rate for the fiscal year that began July 1 is $1.02 per $100 of assessed value. Adopting this rate would have decreased county tax revenue by $13 million for the last fiscal year.
Dacey said the county should have used money from its large surpluses in the last two budget years to make up for lower revenue amounts and offer relief to county taxpayers dealing with rising property values.
"I have some issues that I care about. I haven't been terribly successful over the last four years at getting those through the County Council, but I'm more hopeful over the next four years that, with a new County Council and new county executive, I'll be able to push my priorities," Dacey said in a podcast interview with the News-Post.
Dacey works for the Maryland Department of Transportation's Motor Vehicle Administration as the director of policy and innovation.
Dacey said that, over the last four years, he has introduced roughly three dozen proposals to trim parts of County Executive Jan Gardner's draft budget. The majority Democratic council, though, has voted down his proposals.
Dacey, an at-large council member since 2018, is one of two Republican nominees for the council's two at-large seats. Tony Chmelik, a general contractor and former council member, is the second Republican nominee.
Brad Young, president of the Frederick County Board of Education, and Renee Knapp, an advocate and caregiver for her son with autism, are the Democratic nominees for the council's two at-large seats.
General Election Day will be Nov. 8. Early voting will be from Oct. 27 to Nov. 3. The Maryland State Board of Elections has begun sending mail-in ballots to voters.
In his podcast interview, Dacey also discussed his reservations about the county's plan to preserve Sugarloaf Mountain and its surrounding area, his vision for how the county should grow and his opposition to the county's $20 million purchase of a 26-acre property at Himes Avenue. He said the purchase, which the county made using surplus revenue and which the council approved, was done hastily.
To learn about county, state and federal candidates in the general election, go to the News-Post's voters guide at tinyurl.com/generalelectionguide.
Follow Jack Hogan on Twitter: @jckhogan
