Highlighting the overdependence on property tax and budget uncertainty, the League advocated for expanding its ability to raise revenues for local governments in 2025 – seeking enabling authority to leverage a fee on the sale of food and beverages consumption, up to 3%. This bill was a priority for MML, MACo, and Baltimore City.
The measure would have allowed local governments to broaden the ways they raise revenues - for example, to help support the costs of essential services to those who utilize them when working, shopping, or visiting a jurisdiction and choosing to eat out. Emergency services, water and sewer, to infrastructure are just a few of these services and currently, the financial burden falls almost exclusively to municipal residents, with 75% of all municipal revenues coming from property tax.