Prince George's Homeowners Upset About Special Tax|ABC 7 News

Homeowners in a Prince George's County senior citizens community are complaining about a special tax that was levied against them to build streetlights, roads and sidewalks in their neighborhood.

County auditors are examining claims by residents of Central Parke at Victoria Falls that the tax was created unfairly and has been used improperly. A 2005 law allows developers to shift some expenses usually paid by the builders to homeowners by creating special taxing districts. But many homeowners said they were never told about that and others say they learned just as they were closing that they'd have to pay an extra $600 to $800 a year for water and sewer service. But now they're getting tax bills for nearly twice amount, and they learned that the money was being used to pay for infrastructure. The tax will rise a maximum of 2 percent a year for the next 30 years.