We'll have to wait until Tuesday to find out for sure, but Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke is signaling his desire for a tax freeze for seniors.
He's not saying, but that could well be paired with a tax hike for most homeowners. Since it was announced this week that the county's quadrennial property assessment rose about 11 percent, instead of the city accepting an 11 percent "rollback" in taxes so there is no increase for most, he can ask that the assessment in the city be left where it was in 2016. That would mean a de facto tax rise for most homeowners.
A tax freeze for seniors, something that has been available for counties and municipalities to adopt since voters approved it statewide in 2006, makes sense. The law would freeze property tax rates for qualified seniors ages 65 and older the year they qualify. They would have to own their home and, in Hamilton County, have a household income of $38,720 or less.
Their property taxes, then, would remain the same as long as they live in their home. The freeze would not apply to home additions, other homes owned by participants and the stormwater fees assessed on residences.
Importantly, if a freeze is proposed and adopted, seniors would have to apply for it and prove their income and residential status annually.
It's not possible to gauge exactly how many Chattanoogans would be eligible, but Census records indicate 15.2 percent of the city's residents are ages 65 or older. However, many do not live in homes, and others earn over the maximum amount allowable. However, records show that while the city would be out any future tax increases from the qualified seniors, commercial and industrial properties - not eligible for the tax freeze - provide the city the majority of its property tax income.
Currently, 31 cities and 23 counties in the state - none in Hamilton County - have adopted a senior tax freeze. Hamilton County has said it will accept the tax "rollback" this year, but county officials have said in the past that a senior tax freeze should at least be on the table the next time the county chooses to raise property taxes.
Officials from both Signal Mountain and Lookout Mountain have said they will leave their tax rates at or about what they were last year and not accept the "rollback," which means homeowners there will pay more in taxes. Both municipalities are annually losing money from the gradually decreasing state Hall Tax and have chosen this way to help make it up.
As for Chattanooga, we'll know what Berke has in mind when he releases his budget recommendations Tuesday, but he told a senior citizens group earlier this week that "we recognize that many seniors face the double-barreled problem of rising prices without rising income."
We hope - with or without a tax increase by leaving the assessment rate the same as 2016 - that he'll implement a senior tax freeze.