CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

Petition for senior tax freeze to be handed over soon to city

Greenville Herald-Banner - 11/16/2019

Nov. 16--Those wishing to sign the petition supporting a proposed property tax freeze for senior citizens and the disabled in Greenville only have a little over three weeks to do so.

The petition intends to get the proposed tax freeze placed on the ballot for the May municipal elections.

On Dec. 10, volunteers who have been collecting the signatures will submit them to the city secretary, who will then begin verifying the signatures.

Once the signatures have been verified, and if there are enough of them, the city attorney will have until Feb. 14 to work out the specific wording that will appear on the May ballot so that residents can vote for or against it.

The proposed tax exemption for residents aged 65 or older, or younger people who are disabled, would not be a freeze on the property tax rate or the property's appraised value, but rather a freeze on the tax dollar amount.

This means that if a senior citizen were to take advantage of the exemption, and the amount they had to pay in city taxes the year they turned 65 was $300, then they would continue to pay $300 in city taxes year-after-year, regardless of if the tax rate or their property's value increased.

This has made the proposal attractive to many residents who are living on a fixed income such as social security benefits or pensions.

For about four months, former Greenville City Councilman James Evans has been leading the petitioning process to demonstrate support for the possible property tax freeze.

"We've got a crowd coming down (to the city secretary's office on Dec. 10), and I'm looking forward to that day," Evans said at this past Tuesday's city council meeting.

However, despite a significant amount of vocal support from members of the community who spoke at city council meetings throughout the city budget and tax rate planning process, many of the council members felt that the freeze was too delicate of a matter for them to decided but that it should be voted upon by Greenville residents in a general election.

"There are certain things that the council should vote on, but for long-term decisions, it should be the citizens," Councilman Jerry Ransom said at the 10 city council meeting.

For those who still want to sign the petition, but haven't already done so, petitions are still available 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, at Terry Driggers Realty Service at 4403 Wesley St.

___

(c)2019 The Herald Banner (Greenville, Texas)

Visit The Herald Banner (Greenville, Texas) at www.heraldbanner.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Nationwide News