On the first issue of tax cuts, the County Council took up the issue of what to do with the $74 million surplus the county has this year due to larger than anticipated income tax and property tax receipts. I proposed returning $15 million of that to taxpayers in the form of a $175 tax rebate to all homeowners in Frederick County. Unfortunately, only Council Member Blue voted in support of that effort. Instead, the County Council voted to provide $175 to people who owned a home that was assessed at less than $328,000 (about half of homes in the county). This means that most homeowners in the county will not receive any tax refund as a result of the surplus. Checks to those who are eligible should start going out within the next month or two.

Additionally, we began discussions on expanding the eligibility for the veteran tax credit for those that have served in our military. Given the proximity of Frederick County to a number of military facilities, it is my hope that providing a tax credit to spouses and other retired members of the community will help make Frederick County a destination for these heroes to retire.

On redistricting, we had a presentation from our non-partisan redistricting committee that was appointed to redraw the council districts based on the census count. All council districts experienced growth over the past decade, however the southern and eastern portion of the county grew much faster than the rest of the county. The redistricting committee looked to balance the districts by population and put forward a proposal to make each district hold between 52,000 and 56,000 people. This only required moving two precincts near Libertown from District 2 (currently represented by Council Member McKay) to District 5 (currently represented by Council Member Blue). This is a good solution that would provide continuity for constituents and balanced representation. It is my hope and anticipation that the County Council will shortly approve this map.

Finally, the County Council met in November as the Board of Health for the County to consider re-instituting a mask mandate. Mask mandates have become polarizing, confusing, and difficult to enforce. It is my belief that the time for mask mandates has passed. We are in a very different place than in Spring of 2020. We now have a host of vaccines to protect those that seek them and provide strong immunity against hospitalization and death. We also are starting to bring effective treatments on board including monoclonal antibodies which are now offered at both Frederick Health Hospital and in Hagerstown. More antiviral prescriptions are being approved and in the pipeline that look very promising and effective in keeping patients out of the hospital. The Board of Health did not support a mask mandate at our meeting in November.

With the vaccine available to everyone over 5 years old, it is time to allow people to make their own personal choices with regard to their own health with regard to this virus.

I hope that everyone can stay safe and healthy through the Holiday season.