Montgomery County                                2273

ing salaries to firemen, of the fire department, payment on account of any
"retirement plan" of the fire department as authorized by this section and
such principal and interest on any encumbrances on the real estate owned
by the fire department as may be due, that are necessary to properly estab-
lish, maintain and operate the fire department. Should the tax so collected
in any one year be inadequate to defray the costs, expenses, claims and
demands, such deficiency may be added to the amount required for the next
ensuing year and collected in the next year's taxes."

Section 2. This Act shall take effect on the 76th day following its
enactment.

Chapter 11
(Bill No. 9-69)

An Act to repeal and re-enact, with amendments, Section 41-2,
Chapter 41, title "Silver Spring," of the Montgomery County Code
1965, to eliminate the maximum authorized tax rate and to change the
time in which the Silver Spring Volunteer Fire Department, Inc.,
must certify their operating and capital budget requests to the County
Council.

Be It Enacted by the County Council for Montgomery County,
Maryland, that—

Section 1. Section 41-2, Chapter 41, title "Silver Spring," of the
Montgomery County Code 1965, is hereby repealed and re-enacted, with
amendments, to read as follows:

"Sec. 41-2. Annual levy; treasurer's bond and duties.

"For the purpose of providing funds with which to maintain, equip
and operate a fire department within the above described fire tax area, the
council is hereby authorized and empowered to levy annually against all
the property assessed for county tax purposes within the area a tax suffi-
cient, to pay annually to the Silver Spring Volunteer Fire Department,
Inc., the amount necessary to maintain, equip and operate the fire depart-
ment for the ensuing year, the tax to be determined, levied, collected and
paid over in the following manner: The Silver Spring Volunteer Fire
Department, Inc., shall determine the amount necessary to be raised for the
ensuing year to maintain, equip and operate the fire department, and shall
thereupon certify the same to the council, together with its proposed oper-
ating and capital budget not later than February 15 of each year; the
council, in their next annual levy, shall levy said tax on all property
assessed for county tax purposes within the area at a rate on each one
hundred dollars of the assessed value of the property to produce an amount
that may appear to them as sufficient for the purposes, provided that the
council shall not levy such tax at a rate which would produce less than the
amount so certified by the Silver Spring Volunteer Fire Department, Inc.,
as necessary to maintain, equip and operate the fire department, without a
previous public hearing to determine the necessity of any proposed reduc-
tion of the amount so certified by the fire department. The tax shall be
levied and shall be collected as county taxes are now or may be hereafter
levied and collected and shall have the same priority rights, bear the
same interest and penalties and in every respect be treated the same as
county taxes. The taxes so levied for the ensuing year shall be collected by
the tax collecting authorities of the county and they shall remit the whole