Ridgely tax rate remains steady, water and sewer rates expected to increase

RIDGELY – The Ridgely Town Commissioners discussed the fiscal year 2027 tax rate, as well as the projected increase in water and sewer fees, at their meeting on April 6.

The current property tax rate in Ridgely is .4656 for every $100 of assessed value. The Town’s Financial Assistant Gerry Sutton said he did an analysis of other locale’s property tax rate, and found that Ridgely’s is “the lowest of any of the largest towns” in Caroline County. Last fiscal year, Federalsburg’s property tax rate last year sat at .89, while Greensboro's and Denton’s were set at .68 and .66, respectively. 

Commission President Brad Sears motioned to keep the .4656 rate in Ridgely for fiscal year 2027. Commissioner John Hurley was not present at the meeting, so Commissioner Chad Leister seconded the motion, and provided the necessary vote to pass it.

Sutton explained that while the tax rate will remain the same, the amount that property owners pay is based on state assessments of property value. While these assessments continuously rise, Ridgely has a 5% cap on how much of an increase there can be in the actual amount of taxes rendered in comparison with the previous year to prevent extreme tax hikes. 

Later in the meeting, the Commissioners revisited charges to residents with an announcement on water and sewer rates. Commissioner Sears said, “the hard truth is, the rates are going to go up.” Commissioner Sears referenced the fact that the cost to run the town’s water and sewer operation outpaced the income the town received from fees by $309,000 last fiscal year. The town covered this budgetary shortfall with money from the general fund, but Commissioner Sears called this practice “not fair” and “not sustainable.” There is not yet a concrete answer for how much the water and sewer fees may increase.