Council discusses $500 real‑estate tax credit for volunteer firefighters; scope limited to city residents for next year

Commissioner Carter presented a proposal to create a real‑estate tax credit of $500 per eligible volunteer firefighter whose primary residence is in the City of Frostburg.

Under the framework discussed, the credit would apply only to primary residences inside the city limits and would be nonrefundable and prorated if a qualifying property is sold during the fiscal year. Eligibility would mirror the volunteer fire departments’ existing membership point system: staff said the department uses a 50‑point threshold tied to attendance at meetings and responses to incidents; the fire department maintains records that staff would use to certify eligibility by May 1 each year. The program would cover qualifying members from the City of Frostburg Fire Department; council members debated including mutual‑aid departments that sometimes respond to Frostburg calls, but several councilmembers recommended limiting the first year to city members to avoid administrative complexity and possible inter‑departmental disputes.

Commissioners discussed logistics: the fire department would provide the list of eligible members for certification; the credit would be capped at the amount of a homeowner’s tax bill (so a credit cannot exceed the tax owed); and the city staff would draft an ordinance to permit future expansion of the program without a full rewrite if the council later elects to include mutual‑aid departments. No formal vote was taken during the work session; councilmembers indicated a preference to implement the credit for city residents in the coming tax year and to revisit expansion later.