By Patrick Adrian
[email protected]
CLAREMONT — In a report to the Claremont City Council this week, the ad hoc finance committee recommended increasing the city’s tax credits to disabled veterans from $125 to $250 and expanding income limits for elderly residents to qualify for tax exemptions, but advised against several council proposals to raise them higher.
On Dec. 11, the city council will consider expanding the income limits to qualify for elderly tax exemptions and the amount in tax credits allotted to city veterans. The discussion is a continuation from an Oct. 23 meeting, where interim city assessor Steve Hamilton recommended increasing the income and asset limits for elderly tax exemptions to put them closer in pace with the rising cost of living.
Hamilton recommended increasing the income and asset limits to qualify by 6.52% across the board. This would increase the eligibility income limit for individuals from the current ceiling of $22,000 to $23,400, and for married couples from $29,000 to $30,900.
It would also increase the assets limit for both individuals and couples from $60,000 to $63,900.
Several councilors expressed interest in raising the eligibility limits even higher, as the city has not raised the limits in three years.
Pope recommended that the finance committee consider raising the individual income limit to $25,000, the couples limit to $35,000 and the assets limit to $65,000.
The council also said they would like to increase the city’s veteran tax credits from the current amount of $125 to $500.
Finance committee recommends smaller tax credit increase
The finance committee said it reviewed the proposals during two meetings on Oct. 30 and Nov. 8 at the Claremont Savings Bank Community Center. At the time, the committee included Mayor Charlene Lovett and Assistant Mayor Alan Damren.
The third committee seat had been vacant since June 15, when former councilor Jeremy Zullo resigned from the council.
City Finance Director Mary Walter attended both meetings and City Manager Ed Morris attended the meeting on Nov. 9. Walter and Morris both told the Eagle Times that their only role is to assist the councilors with requested financial information.
In their report to the council, the finance committee agreed that the city’s present veterans tax credit amount of $125 was “an embarrassment and much too low.” However, it was calculated that the proposed increase from $125 to $500 would have an impact of 23 cents on the tax rate.
The committee instead recommended increasing the tax credit to $250 and evaluate the tax effects of this change for future council review.
“A discussion item for the 2020 city council will be to analyze the effects of these changes and seek to increase the veterans tax credit at that time to $500,” the report states.
Elderly and disabled tax exemptions
With one exception, the finance committee recommended Hamilton’s proposed increases of 6.52%, rather than the higher increases proposed by Councilor Pope.
The only of Pope’s recommendations that the committee supported was an increase of the elderly assets limit for married couples from the current $60,000 to $65,000. In Pope’s proposal, that increase would have applied to both individuals and married couples.
The recommendations under consideration would not increase the amount of taxes exempted, only the income and asset limits to qualify for an exemption.
Additionally, Hamilton told the council on Oct. 23 that increasing the limits is not intended to increase the number of residents who qualify, but keep residents who have qualified in the past from losing eligibility due to inflation.
Kristen Kenniston joins the finance committee
On Wednesday, the council approved Councilor Kristen Kenniston to take over the vacant third seat on the finance committee. Kenniston is an outgoing councilor whose last day of service is Dec. 31.
Councilors voiced their concern on Wednesday that Lovett and Damren held two committee meetings without filling the third seat, which had been vacant since June.
With Kenniston’s addition, the committee has all seats filled for likely one to two meetings this year.
A new member — who will be sworn in January 2020 — will be appointed to the committee.
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