10-24-05 Regular Meeting of Fiscal Affairs Committee Minutes

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• Green, Shannon From: Alexander, Cynthia Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2005 10:44 AM To: Green, Shannon Subject: FW: Burleson: voters approves tax freeze for seniors by a landslide For audit committee. C Original Message Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 200510:30 AM Subject: Burleson: voters approves tax freeze for seniors by a landslide Tuesday, November 08, 2005 11/8 Burleson approves tax freeze for seniors Cleburne Times Review By Joy E. Cressler/Staff Writer In a landslide victory, proponents of the Burleson senior tax freeze won their bid for seniors to have their taxes frozen at 2005 levels. Unofficial but complete results of Tuesday's election showed 3,114 voters, or about 86 percent, saying yes to the tax freeze and 525 saying no, according to city spokeswoman Sheri Campbell-Husband. The official canvassing of the cote will take place at a special City Council meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. Voters were asked: "Should the total amount of ad valorem taxes paid annually to the City on the residence homesteads of persons 65 years of age or older or who are disabled be permanently frozen as provided by Article 8, Section 1-b(h) of the Texas Constitution?" Opponents of such tax freezes often complain that they shift the tax burden to younger residents, while supporters say the elderly and disabled often live on fixed incomes and cannot afford to pay rising levies. On Oct. 26, the City Council adopted an ordinance stipulating that the property tax exemption for the residential homesteads of individuals age 65 and older would be repealed, effective Jan. 1, if the tax freeze was adopted Tuesday. "Therefore, the results of today's election make the provisions of this ordinance applicable, and the City's current homestead exemption for seniors will be repealed beginning in the 2006 tax year," Campbell-Husband said in an a-mail.