ALOC NEWS
| July 2, 2001 | Associated
Landlords of the Cumberland Area ALOC Phone (301) 759-0530 P.O. Box 1867 |
Vol. 7, Issue 7 |
|
New District Court Forms The District Court of Maryland changed their Failure to Pay Rent form in November 2000 and they are no longer accepting any of the old forms. The form number is DC/CV 82 and will have a revision date of 10/2000 and print date of 11/2000. This information is shown at the bottom left corner of the form. Make sure you throw out any of the old forms and get a supply of the new forms. There doesn't appear to be any major changes but you may want to talk to a court clerk While at District Court you may want to pick up a copy of the Landlords and Tenants in the District Court of Maryland. This brochure (DC/CV BR) was last updated in 10/99 but it appears to be reasonably accurate. Upcoming Speakers At our meeting in September we will have Bob Rider from the Cumberland Water Department as our guest speaker. Bob will update us with information on new developments with the Water Department. We understand that a lot of improvements are in progress at the Lake Gordon filtration plant and he will bring us up to speed. At our July meeting we have asked Mayor Lee Fiedler to attend to discuss changes regarding garbage costs being subtracted from the property tax. Garbage charges would then be added to each water bill. The Mayor, if he is able to attend, is scheduled for approximately 7:00 PM. At the time of the publication of this newsletter we do not have any confirmation. In previous discussion the Mayor has indicated that this change is intended to be revenue neutral on an overall basis, however there may be individual cases where this will not apply. We have asked the Mayor to give us the details of his plan in writing and when we receive this information we will share it with the membership. Later
in the fall we will try to have someone from the Health Dept.
in to discuss their approach to the lead poisoning situation
or someone from the District Court. |
July Meeting Location Change Last month when we had our meeting at the South Cumberland Library we had a bit of a problem as they had scheduled another group for the meeting room we use. Fortunately we were able to get them to move in June, however for July we will be meeting at TWR 117-119 Valley Street on the second floor above the garage. The entry door is on the right side of the building as you enter the parking lot. Parking is available behind the building along the railroad tracks. Rose Selby steps down as ALOC V.P. Our long time Vice President, Rose Selby, has recently resigned her position due to health problems. With this in mind it seems appropriate to get a nominating committee together to see who would be interested in the position or any other officers position. We should also look at our Board of Directors. News from the Association of Small Property Owners California has been busy with the Supreme Court allowing taxpayers to challenge taxes imposed without voter approval. In addition a Santa Clara County judge handed the paint industry a major setback by ruling that Bay Area counties and cities can proceed with lead-paint poisoning lawsuits that could cost the industry billions of dollars in damages. In spite of the new tax cuts taking effect many people will not see any benefits unless they make over $ 28,000 a year and the lowered tax rate may expose many more people to the Alternative Minimum Tax. Before you start figuring out how you plan to spend the extra money from the tax cut check with your accountant first. We
understand that refund checks ranging from under $ 300 to $
600 will be mailed to taxpayers over the next few months. You
may want to bank your refund check just in case the Alternative
Minimum Tax gets you. |
Maryland Property
Owners Notes
| As of the publication
of this newsletter we have not received a summary of the Bills
passed in the Maryland 2001 Legislative session, but hopefully
it will be ready for the August newsletter. Alfred Singer from the Baltimore Property Owners Association has informed us that College Park has recently formed a property owners group and we hope they will become part of our Maryland Property Owners Network. College Park apparently has similar problems to other college towns such as Frostburg and hopefully some mutual education can occur. One of Baltimore's largest landlords will have to make at least 480 rental units free from lead under a consent agreement with the Maryland Department of the Environment. Stanley Rochkind, who holds a controlling interest in 87 separate corporations and partnerships covered by the agreement, also will pay a $ 90,000 fine. If he completes the work within two years the MDE will refund $ 40,000 of the fine The MDE has reported
in the Baltimore Sunpapers, June 1, 2001, that it believes the
Lead Paint Program is having a positive effect on the number
of lead poisoned children. According to Susan Guyaux with the
MDE, this number has steadily decreased each year since the
program took effect in 1996. Specific numbers indicate that
new cases of children with lead in their blood dropped from
9,884 in 1996 to 3904 in 1999. The story goes on to say that
19 percent of 207,000 children under age 2 have been tested
for lead levels in 1999. |
|
Leases and other Documents The Leases and other forms have been upgraded to reflect Law changes made in recent years and are available now.ALOC has
available leases, rental applications and tenant checklists
for sale, at cost, to members. The cost for each item is as
follows: These forms are kept at Jeff Hutter's office, TWR Comm. at 117-119 Valley Street. Any paid member can stop by and pick up whatever they need, however we ask that you call first with your order so that the forms can be ready and waiting for you. Please
call at least 24 hours in advance as these are made to order. |
ALOC
Officers
J. Jeffrey Hutter President Need
One! Vice President J. Jeffrey Hutter Treasurer Board of Directors
|
|
Thought
for the Month
I
am opposed to the theory of doing wrong that good may come of
it. Letter
from Robert E. Lee to Custis Lee in June 1851 |
