The Bay Restoration Fund is administered by the Maryland Department of the Environment and was initially conceived to establish a fund to aid wastewater treatment plants in removing certain pollutants that may impact the water quality of the Chesapeake Bay. The fund is maintained by fees accessed on businesses and property owners. However, regarding financially stressed contributors, the law also allows exceptions to be granted.

The impending revisions include ending Taneytown’s threshold for exemption, and, if adopted, would simply emply the thresholds established by other supplementary-income programs upon which to base exemptions to the bay fund. Discussions spanned several meetings as far back as December 9. At the council’s January meeting, it was decided to consider final adoption of the proposal at their February meeting.

City Manager Jim Wieprecht told the city council at their December 9 work-session that the Taneytown Bay Restoration Fee Hardship Exemptions Program, including the thresholds for exemptions, was created in 2013, and that "it appears that the intent was to revisit the resolution on an annual basis to update the threshold figures."

However, he noted that it came to his attention this year that the income parameters on the exemption process had not changed since 2013 and that, as a result, some homeowners who might have qualified more recently did not, because their income numbers had changed (risen) due to their receiving various supplementary sources of income (such as supplemental nutrition program, supplemental income, supplemental disability, and other assistance).

"So now we’re having people who are no longer qualifying … because the amount they’re receiving for supplementary income, or things like that, have increased a little bit over the years and our threshold never has," Wieprecht stated.

Wieprecht then recommended disbanding the city threshold all together and then using the income thresholds established by the other supplementary programs for determining whether or not anyone could participate in any of those programs.

"I think it’s redundant for us to have our own income threshold. So, rather than having two qualifiers to qualify for our hardship exemption, I suggest we get rid of the income threshold and just leave it at - if someone qualifies for nutrition assistance or supplemental income or disability – because each of those has their own income criteria already," the city manager said, adding, "I think it’s going to make it easier for people to qualify."