Agenda for the Tax Relief for the Elderly and Disabled Taskforce December 1, 2014 at 3pm in Room 218

Transcription

1 Agenda for the Tax Relief for the Elderly and Disabled Taskforce December 1, 2014 at 3pm in Room Approval of Minutes from November 24 th meeting 2. Review of Requested Information a. Number of people omitted from program as a result of income audits - Eric b. List of home values currently in the program divide categories to no less than four individuals in the category Eric c. Run a scenario based on proposed thresholds Kevin d. Accounting question- why do we show a separate line item for the Elderly and Disabled tax relief 3. Discussion a. Revisit program criteria b. Add more questions to list for the City s Virtual Town Hall c. Elements of the program that can be changed i. Income-what types to include or exclude ii. Home value-cap or not iii. Net Worth-what is included in this calculation 4. Future meetings

2 Taskforce for the Elderly and Disabled Real Estate Tax Relief Program Meeting Minutes December 1, 2014 I. Call to order Catheryn Whitesell, Director of Budget and Management Services called to order the regular meeting of the Taskforce for the Elderly and Disabled Real Estate Tax Relief Program at 3:00 pm on December 1, 2014 in City Hall room 218. II. Roll call The following Taskforce members were present: City Council Member Barbara Henley, Ira Agracola, Michael Aschkenas, John Eason, Lee McDaniel and Rosemarie Morehead The following City staff members were present: Crystal Featherston, Phil Kellam and Eric Schmudde III. Open issues 1) Minutes from November 24 th meeting were reviewed and agreed upon by all who were present at that meeting. 2) List of homes values and total participants in each category broken down by relief option was provided to all members of the taskforce. 3) The three tax relief options, exemption, defer and freeze were defined and a handout explaining each option was provided to taskforce members. A) The committee felt that qualified citizens might not choosing to defer or freeze real estate taxes because of how generous the exemption thresholds are. 4) The median house value in the City for a single family residential home is $247,200. 5) The most common assets of those participating in the tax relief program after checking, savings and cash are IRA s, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, cd s and rental property. 6) All of the applicants income is used to determine their qualification for tax relief. 7) The state no longer controls the program so the City is free to change all aspects of the program with the exception of age requirement. 8) Audits on the tax relief programs are conducted every three years.

3 Page 2 A) Participants are required to sign an annual affidavit that states nothing has changed that would require them to requalify for the program. 9) 668 people were denied last year for various reasons A) 25 people were removed from the program in 2014 (did not qualify) B) 76 removed for excess assets C) 180 had excess income D) 187 had incomplete applications E) 44 did not meet requirements F) 181 did not reapply 10) Taxes lost from the Elderly and Disabled Tax Relief Program do not affect the school formula 11) In 2000, the City set the program up to increase exemption thresholds by the average increase in single family residential assessment. A) In times of assessment decrease the thresholds did not decrease 12) It will be hard to take away from a program that is already in place public policy wise. A) The committee discussed option to phase in a lower threshold, the phase would have to be done over a 3 year period because it takes three years to get all participants through the program. 13) Program Criteria A) Track program every 3 years i) Demographics and assessments B) The revised policy needs to be linked to the City s sustainability i) The program also needs to be sustainable ii) The City is looking at a deficit next year on the City side and on the School side (a) How much can the city afford to handle (b) Under the current program the City bears the entire cost of the program (lost revenue) thereby protecting the school system through the city/school funding formula.

4 Page 3 iii) The committee prefers to have lower threshold levels than cap the program at a specific dollar amount C) Fairness should be based on operations of the program i) Measure fairness based on data 14) Virtual Town Hall A) Will show how people in different areas of the City and out of the City answer the questions. B) Questions to add to virtual Town Hall list i) At any time, have you or a family member ever participated in the program? (a) If yes, what do you like or dislike about the program? ii) The current maximum income for the exemption program is $64,675 annually and $68,293 for the Defer and Freeze program. What would you suggest the maximum income levels be? (Please note higher income levels qualify a larger population of applicants thus increasing the cost of the program to the City). iii) The current amount of assets allowed in all programs is $350,000 excluding the cost of the home. What would you suggest the maximum asset value be to qualify for the program? (Please note higher asset values qualify a larger population of applicants thus increasing the cost of the program to the City). iv) What is your current age? 15) The difference between income and assets A) Income- live off on a daily basis B) Assets things that are accumulated (i.e. stocks, bonds, property). 16) Councilmember Henley will pose public input questions at her District Form on Thursday December 4, IV. New business 1) History of thresholds for the past 14 years a) What were the thresholds b) Where would the City be if the thresholds would have adjusted with the real estate assessments 2) Proposed Threshold scenario

5 Page 4 V. Adjournment Councilmember Barbara Henley adjourned the meeting at 4:30pm. Minutes submitted by: Crystal Featherston