April 2, 2019
Media Contact:
Scott Peterson, Director of Communications, Office of Public Information, 202-277-9412
County Executive Ball had proposed the legislation in February, will take effect at start of the new fiscal year, July 1, 2019
ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Yesterday evening, the Howard County Council passed legislation (CB8-2019), filed by County Executive Calvin Ball, to repeal the mobile home tax in Howard County. An estimated 1,100 county mobile home residents previously paid an average of $45 a month in mobile home taxes. The repeal will be effective on the start of the new fiscal year, July 1, 2019.
“Our legislation will reduce an unjust tax burden on Howard County residents in manufactured homes and support our community in expanding opportunity for all. The owners of these mobile home parks derived no benefit from this tax, so repealing it was the right thing to do,” said Ball. “I want to thank Councilmembers Mercer Rigby, Jones, Jung, and Walsh for their support on this legislation.”
“[These tax savings] could be used for some basic necessities that low-income people regularly struggle to afford,” said Amy Lamke, Howard County mobile home resident, in her testimony.
“This tax repeal will bring relief to over 1,000 residents of Howard County that currently pay a duplicative tax to live in their manufactured home community,” said Council Chair Christiana Mercer Rigby. “I was excited to vote to repeal this tax with three of my colleagues on the County Council and the support of County Executive Ball.”
“Repealing the Mobile Home Tax will help lessen the financial burden of residents in our mobile home communities,” said Council member Opel Jones. “As a community we must continue to push for equality in all of our neighborhoods. This repeal will assist the most vulnerable members of our community and acknowledges the need for affordable housing in Howard County. I am thrilled County Executive Ball has introduced this significant piece of legislation that will affect residents throughout the county.”
To read the legislation, visit https://bit.ly/2EocKfl.