Hamilton County Commission recessed meeting -- Sept. 11, 2008
Hamilton County Commission agenda session -- Sept. 11, 2008

While some Hamilton County commissioners clamored for a vote on proposals to freeze property taxes or provide tax relief for seniors 65 or older, Commissioner Richard Casavant on Thursday called the freeze plan “a stealth tax increase.”

“Right off the top, as I’ve said, it’s a redistribution of income,” Dr. Casavant said. “It’s a stealth tax increase for all the rest of the people.”

Dr. Casavant has expressed opposition to both a freeze and a proposal to match a state tax relief program. He said the freeze “invites a lot of game playing,” with younger taxpayers possibly putting their homes in their elderly relatives’ names to take advantage of the potential tax savings.

He also said it would benefit only seniors who own homes, and he noted that benefits would be based solely on income, not assets.

The freeze would be for seniors who make $32,890 or less in 2008. Under the proposal, seniors would pay no more property tax than they did this year, even in the event of a tax increase or a reassessment.

The relief plan would provide seniors with a 50 percent match to a state property rebate. Seniors over 65 who make $24,790 or less would be eligible for that plan.

Commissioners Bill Hullander and Greg Beck said they would just like to set a date and vote the freeze and the relief plan up or down.

“It’s time that we do something with it,” Mr. Hullander said.

Mr. Beck also asked for more information about what the freeze actually would do, saying he needed to know to better inform his constituents.

Commissioner Larry Henry agreed that the freeze proposal is difficult to grasp.

“It’s really hard to explain,” he said. “I don’t even know if I understand it.”

Finance Committee Chairman Curtis Adams has held one public meeting about the tax freeze and the tax relief match. Several other commissioners have been planning meetings, but Mr. Henry questioned whether they would help.

“We could have 100 community meetings between now and the time that we vote and we might still not understand it,” he said.

Dr. Casavant said he probably would be among the 80 percent of Tennessee voters who approved giving counties the authority to freeze taxes at current levels if he was eligible. But he argued many who are eligible don’t understand the program.

“To me, it’s pandering to a certain age group that doesn’t understand what the potential benefit could be and how it’s going to be enacted,” he said.

Karin Miller, spokeswoman for AARP Tennessee, said her group hasn’t seen that level of confusion.

“We haven’t heard of any confusion among folks in the 30 jurisdictions that already have approved property tax freezes,” she said. “But we’re happy to clarify that this simply locks in the annual property tax rates that low-income seniors pay, protecting them from future increases.”

Commission Chairman Jim Coppinger asked that the commission’s Finance Committee meet on the freeze and relief proposals.

“We’re not setting a timeline on it,” he said. “Just moving forward.”