February 16th, 2016 by WCBC Radio
Allegany County Commissioner Bill Valentine says a bill introduced in the General Assembly last week by State Senator George Edwards could lead to a tremendous shot in the arm for the local economy if it passes. The bill would require the state of Maryland to begin making annual revenue payments to any county in which it owns property. Edwards introduced a similar bill, Open Space Incentive Program, last session and while it passed the senate, there wasn’t enough time to get house approval. The land in question would include state forests, state parks and wildlife management areas. The proposed bill would generate revenue based on acre increments on those areas, generating $250,000 for every 10,000 acres the state owns. Among those testifying in support of the bill was Allegany County Commissioner Bill Valentine. He calls it an issue of fairness, saying the current formula drastically reduces the revenue stream that should be coming to the county annually…
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