OC Today WWW.OCEANCITYTODAY.COM
JANUARY 4, 2019
SERVING NORTHERN WORCESTER COUNTY
LIFESTYLE
CARING FOR ANIMALS Berlin resident Susanne Hoshino has rescued more than 1,500 cats and dogs – Page 25
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MORGAN PILZ/OCEAN CITY TODAY
JUST LIKE SPRING On New Year’s Day, an estimated 600 people participate in the 25th annual Atlantic General Hospital Penguin Swim at 91st Street. The water temperature was around 46 degrees while the air temperature was a much warmer 63 degrees. As of Thursday morning, about $91,000 has been raised for the Berlin hospital with donations still coming in. See more photos on page 12 and story on page 27.
Tax reassessments show solid gains in value Commercial and residential real estate worth continues to grow in northern county
By Morgan Pilz Staff Writer (Jan. 4, 2019) Property values in several sections of Worcester County have increased, according to this year’s reassessment figures for the northern portion of the county.
Overall, the result throughout Maryland was positive, which has not been the case since the recession in 2008. The State Department of Assessment and Taxation (SDAT) announced the results of a triennial assessment of residential and commercial real estate values across Maryland last Friday. Each year, about one third of the residential and commercial properties around the
state are reassessed and assigned new values that are used to determine property tax amounts. This year, the sections evaluated were part of Worcester’s Group 1, which consists of Bishopville, Ocean Pines, Berlin and sections of West Ocean City. According to the SDAT statistics released last week, the value of residential properties reassessed in Worcester increased from $3.5 bil-
lion to $3.7 billion, for an increase of 6.2 percent. Perhaps more importantly from a property tax revenue standpoint, the value of Group 1’s commercial property, which is not protected by the Homestead Tax Credit, increased from $1.1 billion to $1.4 billion, representing an increase of 18.9 percent. Of the 14,301 residential properties reassessed, 11,882 saw their valSee INCREASE Page 5