If the Hamilton County Commission doesn't believe it should hit up county residents for a 40-cent property tax increase for schools, no compelling reason exists for it to freeze property taxes for some of the county's senior citizens.
Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Rick Smith recently advocated for the property tax hike to pay for higher teacher salaries, art and language classes in elementary schools and various other improvements for the schools. The idea went over like a lead balloon with the county commissioners.
If the superintendent were to be successful in bending the minds of commissioners to a tax rise, then freezing senior property taxes might be in order. Most seniors, after all, are on a limited income, do not have children in public schools and often are forced to spend their money on doctor bills and prescription drugs.
The mechanism for such a freeze exists. A 2006 bill in the state legislature amended the state Constitution to allow for it, and the 2007 Property Tax Freeze Act authorized that counties could vote on the freeze for some seniors.
The provision would be open to seniors who own their principal place of residence in a participating county and/or city, are 65 years of age or older by the end of the year in which their application is filed, and have an income from all sources that does not exceed the county income limit ($38,070 in Hamilton County in 2015) established for that tax year.
Whatever they pay the first year they qualify would remain their tax rate unless improvements on the home increase its value or until they sell their home and purchase another.
Seniors who do not own their home -- a majority of seniors in the county -- would not qualify.
The proposal for the property tax freeze, suggested by Commissioner Joe Graham, was referred to the commission's legal committee for discussion next week after its agenda session.
The commission last discussed such a tax freeze, or tax relief for seniors, in 2009 but could not muster the votes to go ahead.
No one wants a tax increase, and all home-owning seniors would probably love a tax freeze, but it's an idea whose time has not yet come.