Chesapeake Beach And North Beach Approved For County Property Tax Differential Rates 

PRINCE FREDERICK, Md. — The towns of Chesapeake Beach and North Beach were both approved to proceed with their differential county property tax rates by Calvert’s Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) at the March 3 meeting.

State law allows municipalities to request a reduction in the county property tax paid by their residents, based on the premise that town residents also pay municipal property taxes to fund services the county does not provide within town limits. Historically, the BOCC has met with the mayors of the towns to discuss the new tax rate.

County Chief Financial Officer Malena Brookshire explained during the meeting that the differential tax rates help save the county money — when towns pick up duties like snow and trash removal in their own municipalities, it saves the county from having to pay for those services in those areas.

Assistant County Administrator Stephen McGibbon added later in the meeting that the process for determining the differential tax rates was deliberately designed to be equitable to all involved.

For 2026, the county’s real property tax rate is $0.967 per $100 of assessed value. The current tax differential for the Town of Chesapeake Beach is $0.336 per $100 of assessed value, and they requested a tax differential rate of $0.362 per $100 of assessed value for FY27.

The current tax differential for the Town of North Beach is $0.336 per $100 of assessed value, and the town requested a tax differential rate of $0.340 per $100 of assessed value for FY27.

The BOCC approved both recommendations and noted that moving forward they would meet with the towns’ representatives to review the requests in advance of approving them to comply with state law.

The BOCC approved the requests in a 3-1 vote. Commissioner Mike Hart voted opposed because no representative from North Beach was present at the meeting.

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