From the Harford Property Owners Association:
Harford Property Owners Scores a Victory for Private Property Rights when County Council Bill 12-02 is pulled before hearing.
On February 14, 2012, at the scheduled hearing for Bill 12-02, the Livability Code update, Councilman Dion Guthrie withdrew his sponsorship which effectively killed the bill.
The Harford Property Owners Association partnered with the Harford Campaign for Liberty to fight this bill, which would have mandated rental registration, added authority for unwarranted inspections, and contributed to the ongoing attack on private property rights in Harford County.
After the bill was pulled, Patrick McGrady said “Thank you for committing your valuable time to make phone calls, send emails, and write faxes to our elected officials in Harford County. We must work together to defend our rights into the future.”
The right to use our property as we see fit is a necessary component of a free society, and the Harford Property Owners Association will work to defend it against all threats.
While killing this bill was a small victory, we must remain active and continue the fight for property rights– now at the state level.
Two Bills require our immediate action in order to preserve our rights, and start getting some of them back.
Senate Bill 196 will require inspections for decks and balconies in multi-family units. It can be viewed here: LINK and more information will follow.
House Bill 644 is related to the presence of Lead paint in real property. The bill language is here: LINK and more information will follow.
The Harford Property Owners Association is growing and is seeking new board members. If you are interested in serving to protect property rights, write to Patrick McGrady at Patrick@harfordproperty.org or Joan Ryder at Joan@harfordproperty.org.
One of the people quoted in the Aegis actually said she owns rentals in the county but and was quoted as saying that they paid several hundred @@@ per year already to rent in the county. Upon further investigation, I haven’t seen any type of rental fess in the county that would account for any of these charges. In addition since they listed their last name I was able to confirm that they do own several properties in Baltimore County and in Harford County, but apparently they also list several of them as residential use? It is galling when people that complain about cost don’t actually have said costs but also cheat the right paying tax payer by listing several properties for personal residential use, thus being able to claim the Homestead Tax Credit which is only available for properties in which the owner resides, not several other properties.
Is this what Patrick McGrady meant when he said, “We must work together to defend our rights into the future.” The right to milk the county and state while ignoring the renters and communities?
I like how after the bill they are called “unwarranted inspections”, but 10 days ago it was all about the ability to “search” a private residence without a warrant.
At any rate, hats off to them for mobilizing and making a difference, as I’m sure the loudest voice was well heard.
I would prefer next time it is done with some integrity and a lot less heavy handedness and fear mongering.
the voice of tax evaders was heard…
looks like Patrick is heading back to the old “Shady McGrady” name.. guess the only inspections that his family wants are where they notify yuo a few weeks in advance so you can clean up.. Plus, with the “high cost” of the registration.. those landlords who have shoddy places would have to identify all of them and would have to pay more $$ to fix them. That’s about the only high cost that it would be.