Bills To Amend Frederick County’s Property Tax Credit Program Introduced Tuesday To The Council

Hearings are expected to be held at a future date.

Councilman Steve McKay (Photo from Frederick County Government)

Frederick, Md (KM) Public hearings are expected to take place on three bills which make some changes to Frederick County’s property tax credit programs. The legislation was formally introduced to the County Council on Tuesday night by Councilman Steve McKay, who is sponsoring the bills.

One piece of legislation would make changes to the Disabled Veterans Property Tax Credit Program. “This will expand the duration of the tax credit for the surviving spouse of a disabled veteran,” McKay says. The current duration is five years.

A second bill would amend the Senior Citizens Local Supplement to the Homeowners Property Tax Credit Program, which gives a property tax Credit of 20-percent for households with gross incomes of between $30,000 and $80,000; and a 40-percent credit for households with gross incomes of $30,000 or less. McKay says the legislation  “revises the property tax credit to 30-percent and 50-percent to the two tiers of eligible income, and increase  the home value limitation to $500,000 for the Senior Citizen Supplement to the Homeowners Property Tax Credit,”: McKay says. The current assessed home valuation under the current plan is $300,000.

There’s also a third bill which would change the Elderly Individuals and Uniformed Service Members Property Tax Credit Program. “This bill will expand the income eligibility for elderly individuals, increase the property tax credit to 30-percent, and remove the five-years limitation for the elderly individuals and uniformed service members property tax credit,” says McKay.

Public hearings will be scheduled for these three bills.

During  previous discussions about these bills, McKay has said the county has taken in a lot of revenues “north of $250-million,”:: and should return some of that to the citizens.

He also says rising home values have meant greater wealth for some homeowners, but not all have been able to monetize that wealth. McKay says seniors living on fixed incomes have been hit the hardest  by rising  tax bills, and many have had to decide whether they should move away from their families or friends.

By Kevin McManus