City of Baltimore - File #: 13-0127R

• File #: 13-0127R
• Version: 0
• Name: Auditing Baltimore’s Tax Programs
• Type: City Council Resolution
• Status: Withdrawn
• File created: 10/7/2013
• In control: City Council
• Final action: 7/17/2014
• Title: Auditing Baltimore’s Tax Programs FOR the purpose of calling for an immediate and thorough audit of the Finance Department and the City’s tax programs to determine exactly what errors have been made in administering the City’s property tax programs and how much money these errors are costing the City.
• Sponsors: Carl Stokes, Bill Henry, Brandon M. Scott, James B. Kraft, Helen L. Holton, President Young, Sharon Green Middleton, Mary Pat Clarke, William H. Cole, IV, Warren Branch, William "Pete" Welch, Edward Reisinger
• Indexes: Resolution

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result
7/17/2014	0	City Council	Withdrawn
10/21/2013	0	Taxation, Finance and Economic Development Committee	Scheduled for a Public Hearing
10/10/2013	0	The City Council	Referred for a Report
10/10/2013	0	The City Council	Referred for a Report
10/10/2013	0	The City Council	Referred for a Report
10/7/2013	0	City Council	Introduced
10/7/2013	0	City Council	Assigned

* WARNING: THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL, INTRODUCTORY COPY OF THE BILL.
THE OFFICIAL COPY CONSIDERED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IS THE FIRST READER COPY.
INTRODUCTORY*

CITY OF BALTIMORE
COUNCIL BILL R
(Resolution)

Introduced by: Councilmember Stokes




A RESOLUTION ENTITLED

A COUNCIL RESOLUTION concerning
title
Auditing Baltimore’s Tax Programs

FOR the purpose of calling for an immediate and thorough audit of the Finance Department and the City’s tax programs to determine exactly what errors have been made in administering the City’s property tax programs and how much money these errors are costing the City.
body

Recitals

A recent media investigation revealed that calculation errors had led to under billing of at least $700,000 in the Enterprise Zone Tax Credit program. Previous media investigations have shown millions of dollars in errors in two unrelated tax programs. It has become increasingly obvious that poor administration of various tax programs on both the State and local level is costing the City an unacceptable amount of lost revenue.

Equally troubling is the fact that these errors have repeatedly been exposed through media efforts rather than through internal controls on the tax programs. A City with chronic fiscal concerns necessitating hard choices on program cuts year after year shouldn’t have to, and simply can’t afford to, rely on the media to catch multimillion dollar tax errors.

The results of the limited reviews conducted by reporters make it clear that there are systematic problems with how tax bills are being calculated for Baltimore City. However, these reviews have touc...