January 19th, 2012 by WCBC Radio
Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley’s budget presented on Wednesday calls for doubling — from $55 million to roughly $110 million — the annual revenue that comes from the flat-rate flush tax on water and sewer bills, which pays for the upgrade of sewage treatments plants to make them more efficient at filtering pollutants. Lawmakers in rural Maryland, including Allegany and Garrett counties have strongly opposed to any increase in the fee. O’Malley is proposing to adjust the rate so that higher consumers of water would pay more than those who use less. The rate still is being worked out and will come in the form of legislation. O’Malley says the change would result in a doubling of the fee — which is now $30 annually — for the average user in the coming year…
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