(12/10) The Town Council unanimously approved a change to the Town Code regarding the eligibility requirement for the Town’s property tax credit for seniors, bringing the Town’s Code into alignment with the Frederick County ordinance that sponsors the tax credit. Although the modification was approved at the December meeting, a public workshop was required to continue the process. As no resident spoke in opposition to the credit, the change to the Town Code was approved. The credit will go into effect until July 1.
Seniors who live in Walkersville will be able to apply for the tax credit through Frederick County, as the County is responsible for the bulk of the paperwork filed for the rebate. When the credit was initially proposed in 2021, the credit dropped seniors' property tax from 14 percent to 7 percent, as the credit is a 50 percent rebate.
The decision to modify the qualifications was at the recommendation of the Frederick County Treasurer, who reviewed the historical results of the tax credit program and made some suggestions to improve participation that Walkersville has chosen to adopt.
The biggest changes to both the Frederick County and now Walkersville Code are the requirements to qualify. The gross household income maximum has been raised from $80,000 to $100,000 and the maximum property assessment value to which the credit can be applied has been raised from $300,000 to $400,000. Applicants must be 65 years of age or older and meet both the income and property value figures to qualify.
The Council also approved an automatic adjustment to the maximum income allowable for seniors to qualify. The adjustment will be based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and not need to be reviewed every year. However, if there is a dramatic change in the CPI, the Commissioners will be able to manually make changes as needed.
Town Manager, Sean Williams, said that last year approximately 49 residents participated in the program. One resident, speaking in favor of the tax credit, told the Council that the senior tax credit saved them "almost $500." He was adamant that getting the public informed of the credit should be a priority as many residents would now qualify with the higher income and property value numbers, but few know about the credit and those that do don’t know that the credit is available to them.
Commissioner Tom Gilbert noted that a seminar about the credit is held every year and plans are being made for one this year as well. Details will be made available once the schedule is finalized.
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