Senior Tax Freeze

This week the Jefferson County Commission decided to forego a Senior Tax Freeze. In truth, if I had been voting I would have likely cast a my vote against, as well. But not for the same reasons. If you go to as many County meetings as I do, one thing becomes crystal clear. Who presents the motion is almost as important as the motion itself and sometimes it may even be more important than the motion. Any motion presented by a commissioner that is from the short side of the isle is dead in the water before it even hits the Commission floor. Don’t get me wrong, the commission isles are constantly shifting but it is a little like being short sheeted. It is never funny when it is happening to you and, though it is easy to distinguish, it is difficult and frustrating to watch( no matter who it is happening to) from the cheap seats.

Commissioner Tucker brought the Senior Tax Freeze to the floor and this is not his first attempt at getting some movement on the issue. County Trustee Franklin came out strong against the senior freeze and, as her office is the one to administrate the Senior Tax Relief program that the County currently has and would be administrating the Senior Tax Freeze, her voice carried a lot of weight with some Commissioners. Her reasoning was increased administrative costs but, to be honest, Tucker pretty much answered that issue. The guidelines for the Tax Relief and the Tax Freeze are largely the same, with only a very small income difference. There would likely be very few tax payers that would qualify for the freeze that are not already getting the tax relief and the information can be transferred from one document to the other with the click of a button. Technology is a wonderful thing. Another Commissioner, Commissioner Huffaker, stated that calls had been made to a few of the counties that have a tax freeze and that employees were dissatisfied with the program. Let me be clear. They were dissatisfied with having to explain the caveats of the program to seniors that “ didn’t understand” that the freeze would be lifted if certain improvements were made to their homes or their property was divided. I am sure that it can be bothersome to deal with the elderly. Or should I say some of the elderly because senior citizen and elderly are not necessarily the same thing. And, today’s seniors are an entirely different beast than seniors of decades past. As the Baby Boomers age into their sixties, we are finding that sixty never looked so good, both socially, technologically and physically. I personally called every county that has both a freeze and tax relief several months ago, when this issue came around again. I didn’t ask if the counties liked the freeze or not because I just didn’t find the question relevant. If I were looking for an opinion on the likability of the program, I would have contacted the seniors who were a part of the program to get their opinion. What I did ask, and find out, was that Jefferson County’s match of state dollars in the tax relief program is one of the most generous and most counties that also employ the freeze are not as deeply invested in the tax relief program.

For me, if I were casting a vote, bothersome would have had no impact. I don’t care if a program is bothersome if it is the right fit for our citizens and I really don’t care if it is extra work. I believe that our County employees work hard and are good at their jobs. However, I never forget that their jobs are funded by tax payers. County officials are elected by tax payers and it is the tax payer that should be serviced, inconvenience or not. The questions that I have about the Senior Tax Freeze have more to do with eligibility. The tax freeze and tax relief are based on income, not assets, and there are some that would be more than capable of paying taxes from their assets but would still qualify based on income. If there were a cap on qualifying properties, I might be able to get on board with a freeze. Tax relief only pays a set amount toward taxes and those with a $500,000 lake front home are not going to get very far on tax relief funds. It is entirely possible to transfer assets to children or have money in savings that is not producing large amounts of interest and come in under the income cap for tax freeze. Capping an eligible property at under $150,000 or even $200,000 would be much more palatable for many but the state mandates the guidelines and a cap isn’t possible.

In fairness, the current tax relief program that is offered by the state is matched by the county and it is a pretty generous program. But, I contend that any program that benefits the citizens deserves to be fairly vetted and this one wasn’t. In Work Session, Tucker was cut short because the clock was ticking and Commissioners were wanting the gavel to fall. In voting meeting, minds were already made up. Tucker spoke but relevant questions were few and far between.

I know that it seems strange to take objection to the failure of a program that I, myself, wouldn’t have voted for. But, sometimes we forget that the process is almost as important as the outcome. As we head into budget season, my hope is that there are more genuinely open minds. The Senior Tax Freeze is a legitimate, state sanctioned, program and it didn’t get as much serious consideration as I have seen over many lesser issues. Commissioners are people too and I am sure that it is difficult to keep personalities out of the mix but we must remember that every elected County official won the popular vote of the people in their district or of Jefferson County as a whole and to be disrespectful of those officials is to be disrespectful of the people who put them in office. For this year, this budget season, I would suggest that we all need to look at the big picture and pay attention to motions and suggestions for what they are and how they will benefit the County rather than being distracted by who is bringing them to the table. Sometimes the answer lies in different perspectives and unusual, uncomfortable places. And,sometime a common goal, perhaps that of a strong fiscal future, is enough of a place to start.