Supervisors approve smaller increase in income level for Elderly and Disabled Tax Relief ordinance
By MIKE WILLIAMS
Patriot Publishing
The Pulaski County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Monday night to amend the county’s Elderly and Disabled Tax Relief Ordinance to raise the maximum annual household income threshold for those applying for tax relief.
The amendment raises the maximum annual household income from $25,000 to $30,000.
The move comes after last month’s board meeting when County Commissioner of the Revenue Kim Matthews proposed increasing the maximum income level to $35,000.
The tax relief program offers elderly and disabled county citizens a reduction in their real estate tax, with the percent of reduction based upon their yearly household income.
Matthews said last month there had been only one adjustment to the income level for the program in 27 years.
Matthews noted that regardless of the change in income levels, the amount of exempted real estate tax for a household cannot exceed $300 – that’s according to Pulaski County code.
Using the number of elderly and disabled citizens, the five-year average of the amount of tax exempted ($255) and the county’s poverty rate of 13 percent, Matthews calculated that with the proposed income level change to $35,000 in tax year 2025, the number of citizens applying for tax relief could increase to an estimated 775 qualified applicants with approximately $197,625 in tax owed being exempted.
“I know that sounds like a large amount,” Matthews told the board. “But that’s only one percent of our real estate tax revenue for 2024. It’s really not a huge number at all.”
Monday night, following a public hearing on the proposed amendment to the tax relief ordinance in which no one spoke, County Administrator Jonathan Sweet noted that raising the maximum income level to $35,000 was not budgeted.
“That could have a consequence to the Fiscal Year 25 budget that we’re currently in,” Sweet said.
He told supervisors that staff recommends – after understanding the board’s willingness to look at an increase – to raise the maximum level from the current level of $25,000 to $30,000.
“Then the board can look at this again during the budget work sessions when it can properly adjust and prepare for any further considerations and get that into Fiscal Year 26 and beyond,” Sweet continued.
Draper Supervisor Dirk Compton offered a motion to approve the staff recommendation and increase the maximum income to $30,000. Robinson Supervisor Jeff Reeves gave the second, and all five supervisors voted for the increase.
Anyone interested in applying for the tax relief can do so by contacting the Commissioner of the Revenue office.
December 19, 2024 @ 8:58 am
Exempted real estate tax for a household cannot exceed $300 – according to Pulaski County code.
That limit should be increased (to a minimum of $360) to keep pace with the devaluation of the dollar. A $300 exemption in 2024 is equivalent to a $240 exemption in 2020.
The dollar has been devalued 20% over the past 4 years due to inflation, caused primarily by reckless fiscal and monetary policies at the federal level. Although it varies based on spending patterns, $30,000 in 2024 has roughly the same purchasing power as $25,000 in 2020.
This Tax Relief measure may allow more families to qualify for the exemption but the exemption is in essence worth 20% less, because $300 in 2024 is worth 20% less compared to $300 in 2020.
December 19, 2024 @ 6:19 pm
Should be tied to inflation and the income level should be higher to start.
December 21, 2024 @ 8:16 am
I agree that it should be tied to inflation. The income level has always been too low for some of us who live on social security and small pensions. to apply for relief. It is a move in the right direction, but not nearly enough to really help many of us.