BALTIMORE (AP) — A Baltimore City Council committee has approved Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake’s proposed property tax cut that would mostly be paid for with slots revenue.

The plan approved Wednesday calls for a newly created homeowners tax credit program that Rawlings-Blake says would be paid for with money generated by slots and by reducing spending over the next several years.

According to the mayor’s office, if the plan is approved the owner of a home valued at $200,000 would see an annual tax
reduction of $40 in 2013, growing to $400 in 2020. Rawlings-Blake says the gradual tax reduction would prevent large cuts to city services and public school funding.

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