PRINCE FREDERICK — Calvert County commissioners want to cut property taxes for the next budget year, but the county’s finance team warned them Oct. 20 that a lower rate alone may not shrink many homeowners’ bills while assessments keep rising.
Each 1-cent reduction in the county’s real property tax rate would cost about $1.6 million a year, Chief Financial Officer Malena Brookshire and Deputy Director Mary Andes told the Board of County Commissioners during a work session on relief options for the fiscal 2028 budget. A 2-cent cut would cost about $3.3 million and a 4-cent cut about $6.5 million.
The board took no vote. Commissioners instead asked staff to come back by Nov. 17 with a fuller menu: rate cuts, a lower homestead cap, and possible credits for seniors and disabled veterans.
What a cut would mean on a tax bill
The county’s rate is 96.7 cents per $100 of assessed value, the same rate carried in the $420 million fiscal 2027 budget commissioners approved this summer. Andes walked the board through what each option means for a home with a $400,000 taxable assessment, holding the assessment steady:
| Rate cut | New rate (per $100) | Yearly savings on $400,000 | Yearly county revenue lost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 cent | 95.7 cents | $40 | About $1.6 million |
| 2 cents | 94.7 cents | $80 | About $3.3 million |
| 4 cents | 92.7 cents | $160 | About $6.5 million |
The catch is the assessment. In a second example, a home taxed on $100,000 pays $967 in county property tax. If that taxable assessment rises the maximum 10% to $110,000 and the rate drops 4 cents, the bill becomes $1,019.70. That is less than the owner would have paid at the old rate, but still more than the year before.
“The person at home just wants to go, hey, where’s my bill going down?” Commissioner Mike Hart said.
The Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation sets values, while the county sets the rate. Calvert is split into three reassessment areas, each revalued every three years. Area 2 was reassessed in January with an increase of about 9% over its cycle, Brookshire said. Area 3 is next, in January 2027.
The homestead cap
Staff said a second lever could matter more to longtime homeowners: the homestead tax credit, which limits how much a principal residence’s taxable assessment can grow each year. Calvert’s cap is 10% for fiscal 2026 and 2027.
Under that cap, a homeowner whose assessment jumps from $100,000 to $150,000 would be taxed on $110,000 the first year rather than the full phased-in amount, Andes said. A lower cap would save more for eligible owners whose assessments are climbing fastest. Brookshire said the staff’s early analysis shows a homestead change would have a greater impact on taxpayers than a rate cut, but it takes longer to put in place.
Deputy County Administrator Stephen McGibbon said a rate cut is the quickest option to carry out. A homestead change requires work with the state and is more likely to affect a later budget year. A senior credit would take the most work, he said, because staff would need to verify eligibility every year. He suggested Calvert could build on the state’s income-based Homeowners’ Tax Credit, as Montgomery County does, rather than create its own application system.
How the county got here
Finance staff said the county’s starting point is healthier than its first forecast showed. The initial fiscal 2028 projection had a gap of about $15.3 million. Staff closed it on paper in two ways:
- Raising the income tax estimate from about $140.4 million to $148.7 million, an increase of about $8.3 million, based on prior-year receipts.
- Using $7 million in prior-year fund balance for one-time capital projects.
Departments spent about $8.8 million less than budgeted in fiscal 2025, Andes said, and fiscal 2026 is expected to add to fund balance as well. But each rate cut would reopen part of the gap, which would then have to be closed with spending restraint or other changes.
Staff also listed pressures still ahead: an education estimate of about $210 million in operating, capital and debt costs; about $26 million in identified capital cash needs; about $3 million for a one-step raise and cost-of-living adjustment for employees; roughly $450,000 less in state highway user revenue; and higher utility and fuel costs. The $15.3 million gap figure assumes flat school operating funding of $169 million.
Brookshire also pointed to the county’s Triple-A rating from Fitch. Calvert kept that rating this month when it sold $78.9 million in bonds.
What commissioners asked for
Commissioner Catherine Grasso said residents she meets, including a widow and a man living on Social Security, are “begging for relief.” She asked staff to “evaluate all avenues.”
Hart said he believes local income tax revenue was about $97 million before the COVID-19 pandemic and asked staff to check that figure. He said the growth should be part of the relief discussion. He also said the state’s assessments have run well ahead of what is normal, noting that the first house he bought in 1990 for $85,000 is now listed for more than $300,000.
Other commissioners asked staff to keep any plan simple and to study the homestead cap, a credit for disabled veterans and a senior tax break. One commissioner said they would also like to pursue legislation for breaks for first-time homebuyers, sheriff’s deputies and teachers.
A yardstick from the treasurer
During public comment, County Treasurer Amanda Dolina offered commissioners a benchmark: the constant yield rate, the rate that would bring in about the same property tax revenue as the year before once new assessments are counted. She said Calvert’s constant yield rate was 92.3 cents in 2026, 93.9 cents in 2025, 88.5 cents in 2024 and 89.5 cents in 2023.
By that measure, the current 96.7-cent rate sits 4.4 cents above this year’s constant yield rate. A 4-cent cut would bring the county close to that level.
Dolina also said her office will mail reminder bills in the coming weeks to owners with prior balances or missed payments, and that the Treasurer’s Office website now lists the county’s existing property tax credits.
Staff is scheduled to return Nov. 17, after the Nov. 3 election. Any rate change would be set in the fiscal 2028 budget, which commissioners adopt next spring.
