1-27 - 1-28-22 BOC Planning Retreat

Home Browse Search

value can't be determined for someone based on the property owner's age, however, State statutes have methods of relief that can help elderly and disabled property owners 0105- 277.1). The elderly or disabled property tax exclusion is available if income is less than $31,900 for a married husband and wife, and they can receive up to a 50% exemption of the appraised value. For elderly it is 65 and older, for disabled it is totally or permanently disabled for the 50% exemption. $45,000 dollars can be exempted for veterans who are 100% disabled. People cannot double dip for extra exemptions. Tax relief amounts can change yearly and are tied to the cost of living. The Tax Department will be publishing a brochure with information about the appraisal process. Board of County Commisionera€TMs Retreat 01 2022.pptx LUNCH 11:30 A.M. - 12:00 P.M. AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT (ARPA) FUNDING - Lisa Minter/Jen Waterhouse American Rescue Plan Act - Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (CSLFRF) discussion Jen Waterhouse, Fiscal Recovery Manager, presented information summarizing the ARPA survey results. A link was placed on the website and social media platforms and paper copies were sent to Social Services, the Health Department and the Library. Also, a mass mailer was sent out for employee input. 197 responses were received so for. Citizens ranked the funding categories in order of importance with one being the most important. The most important was identified as public health. Disproportionately impacted communities ranked promoting healthy environments as a top priority. Of the people who responded to the survey, 51% lived and worked in Lee County and 42% have endured a financial hardship related to COVID-19. The primary target audience was ages 45-54. The target for income was low-income market, however the majority of the people who responded indicated having household incomes over$55k. In Lee County, the ARPA grant funds awarded are $11,999,847. The first grant ordinance adopted by the Board appropriated$90,000.00. An amendment to the ordinance was adopted for premium pay which brought the balance down to $11,520,930. Grant Ordinance 2 brought the balance down to $10,144,445. The Board also selected to do the standard allowance of$10,000,000 under the revenue loss provisions of the grant. Assistant County Manager/Finance Director Lisa Minter reviewed the ARPA ranking results of proposed projects submitted by Board members. Commissioner Carver said he has been working with OMI and the Salvation Army on the idea of a homeless shelter to coordinate resources in the county to address low income and homeless people. A lot of resources in the county work together to try to mitigate duplicating services and stimulate generating income. He said the idea is how do we address the homeless community by evaluating who they are, providing resources to retrain and following up with counseling to move them on. Commissioner Carver said the basic idea is that they are trying to take property OMI already owns to donate to the county and for the county to build the building and contract with the resources in the County to run the facility. The estimated price is $2.2 million for men, women and families and to provide space for other ministries to operate. Commissioner Sharpe noted that the largest percentage of homeless is in the City. Dr. Crumpton advised that he did not believe it was a good idea that the County get into the business of building buildings and leasing them out to organizations, and suggested the Board would be better off considering grants to organizations so it is a one-time expenditure. He acknowledged that there has not been an interest expressed by the overall board to get into this kind of business long-term. Last year the Manager was asked to come up with a five-year plan to lower the tax rate to 68 cents and this is something that could inhibit that. Dr Crumpton stated that the County has a policy that in the health and human service 8