By Rebecca Ritzel
The Capital, Annapolis, Md.
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Annapolis City Council is giving first responders a tax incentive to live and work in Maryland’s capital.
Legislation providing police officers, firefighters and 911 specialists with up to a $2,500 tax credit if they live in the city passed unanimously at the July 24 council meeting, the last before the local legislators broke for August recess.
“This is a very good small step to take to help bring our public servants better access and opportunity to live in the city that they serve,” Ward 5 Alderman Brooks Schandelmeier said at the meeting, where he asked to be added as a co-sponsor. He called the ordinance, which was introduced by Elly Tierney, a Ward 1 Democrat, and DaJuan Gay, a Ward 6 Democrat, a “small step” to help with housing affordability issues.
Based on a staff report from the city’s finance department, only eight out of approximately 250 eligible police and fire employees own homes in the city and would be able to take advantage of the tax credit. Even though few officers live in the city, a spokesperson for UFCW Local 400, the union representing the police officers, praised the move.
“We are happy that the City Council is recognizing the hard work and sacrifices of first responders and hope that this is a piece of an ongoing effort to do everything possible to recruit and retain police officers in order to get the department to appropriate staffing levels and reduce the unacceptably high level of crime plaguing the city,” the spokesperson said.
Reports of shots fired and homicides are both on the rise in 2023, although some other violent crimes have statistically decreased in Annapolis compared to this time last year.
The Annapolis ordinance mirrors one adopted by Anne Arundel County in 2017 and allowed based on Maryland State legislation. Local lawmakers do have some flexibility in how expansive to make the tax credits. Some offer it to volunteer firefighters and corrections officers, for example.
Annapolis has a paid fire department with union member 120 members only, 11 of whom rent or own homes in the city, according the Joe Pilat, IAFF Local 1926 president.
“I hope that this and any future incentives the city can give encourages current and future employees to reside in the city we protect,” Pilat said.
___
(c)2023 The Capital (Annapolis, Md.)
Visit The Capital (Annapolis, Md.) at www.hometownannapolis.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.