* Warning: This is an unofficial, introductory copy of the bill.
The official copy considered by the City Council is the first reader copy.
Introductory*
City of Baltimore
Council Bill R
(Resolution)
Introduced by: Councilmember Stokes
A Resolution Entitled
A Council Resolution concerning
title
Request for State Action - Tax Incentives for City Employees to Live in Baltimore
For the purpose of calling on the General Assembly to enact, and the Governor to sign, legislation allowing Baltimore City to encourage City employees to live in the communities they serve by providing them with targeted property tax incentives.
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Recitals
As Baltimore City seeks to reverse its population loss and improve ties between City government and Baltimore citizens, encouraging City employees to live within the City has emerged as an important tool to advance both of these goals. The City currently offers a variety of programs and incentives to encourage City workers to live in Baltimore, but more could be done.
City government jobs offer stability and help stabilize their communities. When these workers, and their paychecks, stay in the City they are assets for Baltimore both at home and at work.
Further, workers who live under the policies they implement, rely on the services they deliver, and regularly interact with neighbors affected by how well they do their jobs are more trusted by their fellow residents and can offer ground-level insights into how their work is impacting their communities that can be invaluable to City agencies.
All together, a City worker who lives in the City is an added value to Baltimore. Spending City money, or forgoing revenue, in order to give more City workers this added value therefor makes good financial and policy sense.
The City recently implemented a program, based on state authorizing legislation, to give City public safety officers a credit on their property taxes if they reside in Baltimore. The tax credit is expected to result in as many as 1000 additional law-enforcement officers and firefighters moving into the City at an annual cost of less than $2.5 million.
A similar program for all City employees could potentially add hundreds or thousands of additional families to Baltimore and improve government operations in all agencies. Depending on how the program was structured, this could even be accomplished in a revenue neutral way. All that would be needed is authorizing legislation from the State modeled after the authorization provided for the public safety officer tax credit.
Now, therefore, be it resolved by the City Council of Baltimore, That the Council calls on the General Assembly to enact, and the Governor to sign, legislation allowing Baltimore City to encourage City employees to live in the communities they serve by providing them with targeted property tax incentives.
And be it further resolved, That a copy of this Resolution be sent to the Governor, the Honorable Chairs and Members of the Baltimore City House and Senate Delegations to the Maryland General Assembly, the President of the Maryland Senate, the Maryland House Speaker, the Mayor, and the Mayor’s Legislative Liaison to the City Council.