On March 12th, the Board of Supervisors voted 7-0 to increase the real estate tax exemption limit for qualified elderly and disabled county residents from $1,200 to $1,500. A constitutional amendment approved in 2010 allowed local officials to set their own limits for qualification. It’s uncertain when the maximum exemption was last raised, but at least not since 2015. Click here to review a Cathy Jett 2017 Free Lance-Star article on this topic.
In past budget sessions, there have been some seniors that advocated for a lower tax rate, due to their limited financial resources and hopefully this long overdue move will allow Supervisors to balance the need to support County services with new revenue and protect some of the vulnerable parts of our community.
The anticipated loss in revenue due to the amendment in the FY2020 budget is $130,372. For each penny increase in the real estate tax rate the County generates roughly 1.3 to 1.4 million in new revenue.
Table from 2017 Cathy Jett Free Lance-Star article.