Wilmington City Council passes a resolution urging the city to implement a tax abatement plan passed more than two years ago by council.
With many residents seeing their property taxes skyrocket after the recent property reassessment, Councilmember Christian Willauer says it's time for the city to start the program.
"The homeowner property tax abatement program was meant to go into effect this year, but the city has not yet implemented it,” said Willauer. “Now with many homeowners facing tax bills they can't afford, we need to send a message to the city that they should start the program right away."
The legislation passed in June 2023 would allow the city to provide a property tax abatement for low-to-moderate income and long-term homeowners following a 50% or more property tax increase on their home.
"Launching this homeowner tax relief program is an important part of a larger picture. First, the assessment was supposed to restore equity, but instead, major corporations like JP Morgan Chase and Delmarva are together paying millions of dollars less this year while thousands of homeowners are paying more. This isn't fair," said Willauer.
Willauer’s resolution is a way to help city residents after the recent court mandated property reassessment.
"Many of the homeowners who will benefit from this program have gotten tax bills that are hundreds of dollars more than last year on assessed values that the mayor has pointed out are in many cases wrong," said Willauer.
The legislation that has yet to be implemented would pause qualified homeowners’ tax obligations at the pre-assessment amount as long as the property owner met program eligibility requirements.
To qualify for the program, the property owner’s combined household income must be less than or equal to 80% of the city’s annual median income.
Council passed a resolution last week urging the city to implement that legislation in a 9-0 vote with four absent.
