Sohn: It's long past time for senior property tax freeze

Staff Photo by Robin Rudd - Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke and council member Ken Smith answer questions from Kitty Hilliard and other citizens concerning the effect of property taxes on seniors at the North River Civic Center on Wednesday.
Staff Photo by Robin Rudd - Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke and council member Ken Smith answer questions from Kitty Hilliard and other citizens concerning the effect of property taxes on seniors at the North River Civic Center on Wednesday.

It has only taken 10 years, but finally some local government officials have begun talking about something that will truly help citizens.

Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke and at least one City Council member are suggesting a property tax freeze for senior citizen homeowners living on low and moderate incomes.

The tax freeze would allow those 65 and older who own their home and have an annual household income of $38,720 or less to freeze their current property tax bill on their primary residences as long as they live in their homes. The freeze would not apply to home additions or other houses owned by seniors, and the stormwater fees would be exempt from the freeze. Wealthier seniors would not qualify for the tax freeze.

The proposal comes as Berke plans to unveil to the council on Tuesday his budget recommendations. It's a budget that likely means a tax increase for most property owners, so he's voicing support for the concept of protecting senior homeowners on fixed incomes.

Though a number of other cities - and counties - in Tennessee already offer such tax freezes for seniors, Chattanooga would be the first government body in Hamilton County to take up the idea.

The talk comes just as Hamilton County has made its latest legally required property reappraisals and many homeowners in the county saw their assessments increase more than they expected - due primarily to the rising worth of Chattanooga and Hamilton County land and homes.

Under Tennessee law, increasing property values alone cannot be used to give a city or county a windfall or de facto tax revenue hike, so cities and counties must roll back their tax rates accordingly. However, elected officials can specifically vote to keep their tax rate the same without making a rollback or increase their tax rates. Without a rollback, whatever they vote on is a de facto tax increase.

Usually, and understandably, the folks most vocal against proposed increases in property taxes are senior citizens on fixed incomes. And all to often, that derails support for tax increase talk about things like better schools or better roads or improved services. So if seniors can be made to feel safer and protected from tax increases that might force them to sell their homes, it might be easier for politicians to suggest and pass much-needed boosts.

That's why Chattanooga leaders are talking about becoming the first city in Hamilton County to implement such a tax freeze, although 31 other cities and 23 other counties in Tennessee have adopted such freeze measures since Tennessee voters gave cities and counties the right to do so in November 2006. A year later, the Tennessee General Assembly approved an authorization act that included income limits, which vary by county.

It begs the question, of course, why Hamilton County - where our schools sorely need more revenue - remains among the counties that have not given our seniors (and our students) a break.

In Hamilton County, the only time the question has gotten any real discussion was during the 2016 race for property assessor, when the Democratic candidate Mark Siedlecki campaigned on it. He was defeated by Republican and then-County Commissioner Marty Haynes, who said all residents - not just seniors - have benefited from a freeze on property tax rates since the county's last increase in 2007.

That assumes you believe our county benefits from having 60 percent of third-graders who can't read at grade level. That assumes you believe Hamilton County businesses and employers benefit from having 62 percent of high school graduates who are not job-ready.

Our former property assessor, Bill Bennett, had rained on the idea of a senior tax freeze by saying it would be hard to estimate the program's impact on tax revenues, because of the qualifying limitations like income.

That was then and still is baloney. All we have to do is look at the neighboring counties that have been thoughtful of their citizens. Bradley County adopted the senior tax freeze, which cost it less than two-tenths of 1 percent of its real property tax revenues in 2015, records show.

In Southeast Tennessee, Bradley has been joined in offering seniors a break by Bledsoe, Franklin and Coffee counties, as well as the cities of Crossville, Manchester and Tullahoma.

Hamilton County officials should stop hiding behind feint and ignorance.

It's time.

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