Cambridge Makes Changes to First Responder Tax Credit

(CAMBRIDGE, Md) – The City of Cambridge made it easier for first responders to claim a real property tax credit, and reducing required length from three years of service, down to one.

The Cambridge Police Department, hopes it makes their city a more attractive spot for young officers looking to get into law enforcement. Especially in the competitive hiring environment on the Eastern Shore.

Police Captain, Ronald Hinson tells WMDT, “Each year, departments will raise their salaries and an opportunity. And so in an effort to entice officers to come to their different agencies this way, we’re actually finding other fringe benefits that we can offer that will still entice them.”

Cambridge now only requires new first responders to have lived in Cambridge for half a year.

By making the tax credit easier to access, the city is encouraging officers to buy a home in the city…

Allowing any new members to build equity while they build up their careers.

“Where we completely we believe that it’s a huge opportunity, for, you know, any young person that’s just starting out in the world to find out that, you know, you can at least take a little bit of money off of the cost of homeownership, which, you know, is always been labeled, as far as I understand, as the American dream that homeownership,” says Captain Hinson.