Laserfiche WebLink
<br />• <br />Green, Shannon <br />From: Alexander, Cynthia <br />Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2005 3:18 PM <br />To: Green, Shannon <br />Subject: FW: Burleson: voters to consider tax freeze for elderly and disabled <br />For audit committee <br />Original Message <br />Sent: Thursday, October 13, 2005 6:21 AM <br />Subject: Burleson: voters to consider tax freeze for elderly and disabled <br />Posted on Thu, Oct. Y3, 2005 <br />Burleson voters to consider tax freeze <br />By Elizabeth Campbell <br />Star-Telegram Staff Writer <br />BURLESON -Voters will decide next month whether to freeze property taxes for <br />residents 65 and older and the disabled. <br />Early voting begins Oct. 24 and ends Nov. 4. The special election is Nov. 8. <br />If taxes are frozen, officials estimated that Burleson could lose $8.5 million to X12.9 <br />million in property tax revenue in the next 15 years, based on a 4 percent growth rate. <br />"If we see a larger growth rate, the loss will be even more,"said Burleson spokeswoman <br />Sheri Campbell-Husband. <br />To offset some of the losses, the City Council is expected to vote tonight to rescind the <br />X22,500 homestead exemption currently in place for senior citizens and the disabled, <br />but only if voters approve the tax freeze. People who already have the exemption would <br />beep it. Currently, 1, 725 residents receive the homestead exemption. Burleson's <br />population is more than 28,000. <br />R.D. Scott, 72, who retired as the Burleson school district's maintenance and operations <br />director in 1999, said he went before the council requesting the tax freeze. <br />"I talked to the mayor about it, and we didn't want to see a petition, so it is on the <br />ballot,"he said. <br />Scott questioned the city's projections of how much revenue would be lost if taxes are <br />frozen. <br />Since Burleson is growing, new businesses and homes are being built, and the city will <br />