Harford County homeowners will get a bit of a break now that the county has lowered the homestead tax an average of $30.
“I know it isn?t much, but every little bit helps,” Councilwoman Roni Chenowith said.
The step down from the highest property taxes in the state, 10 percent, to 9 percent, will cost the county $2.8 million next fiscal year. The cut comes after years of soaring assessments in the county increased property tax bills.
Councilman Richard Slutzky, of Aberdeen, was the lone dissenter. He argued that the state will not be encouraged to raise taxes on home sales, which the county has been pressing for, now that the county is decreasing one of its other revenue streams.
Other council members said the two taxes are markedly different because the transfer tax goes toward school construction, while the homestead tax affects more people and pays county expenses for projects in more areas.
But Slutzky pointed to the state?s increasing debt, looming pressure on the county infrastructure with Base Realignment and Closure, and many overcrowded schools in need of additional buildings. Now?s not the time to lose so much revenue when taxpayers benefit so little, he said.
“My colleagues have had an apple in one hand and an orange in the other,” Slutzky said. “And I see lettuce: Money is green.”
Under the law, the council will lower the tax another percent in 2010.
The county needs to stop leaning on property taxes as a primary source of money, Council President Billy Boniface said. Many other counties rely on large businesses, which Harford lacks.
“We can?t make the people who live here pay for future development alone,” Boniface said. “We have to diversify our tax base. This gives us the incentive to do so.”
