The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch

The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch

The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch

Pitch Opinion: ‘Ficker Amendment’ Hinders Efficiency

Nov. 4 was a momentous day. The grueling campaigns of the two presidential candidates were culminating at last, while scores of congressional races were also winding down. But buried under all of the buzz and hype on Election Day was an issue much more pertinent to our local interests: Question B on the Montgomery County ballot.

The so-called “Ficker Amendment,” a ballot initiative that passed with only 50.66 percent of the vote, will amend the county charter and make it more difficult for the nine-member County Council to raise local property taxes by requiring the unanimous consent of the council members instead of the current seven-member requirement.


This proposal is simply bad policy.

Although people’s innate aversion to tax increases is completely understandable, the current seven-member requirement for a property tax increase is a perfectly adequate safeguard of the public interest.

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Furthermore, assembling the unanimous support of the nine council members will be excruciatingly difficult and highly unfeasible. The requirement for unanimous support has the potential to give any one council member disproportionate power in a situation where eight of the nine members have already voted for a property tax increase. The amendment will severely restrict the County Council’s ability to make timely decisions in response to the problems posed by the volatility of the economy.

The glaring faults of this new property tax amendment become even more apparent when we consider its implications on a more immediate aspect of our lives: our public school system.

Public schools depend primarily on local property tax revenue for the bulk of their funding. The new restriction on increases of property tax revenue will make it almost impossible for the county to increase funding for its schools in the coming years.

As a result, it will be extremely difficult for the county to expand the variety of classroom technology and resources that students enjoy everyday.

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