Consultants Jeff Rau of Incertile and Adam of Wilcox told the Town Council of Westville that state legislation called Senate Enrolled Act 1 (SEA 1) will change how homestead deductions, business personal property exemptions and local income taxes are calculated, and that those changes are likely to reduce the town’s property tax base.

SEA 1 will phase in changes to the homestead standard deduction and the supplemental homestead deduction. Consultants noted the current standard homestead deduction is $48,000 and that the supplemental homestead deduction is moving from about 37.5% toward roughly 66.7% over the phase‑in. Rau said, “we're gonna see a reduction in property tax revenue as a result of the senate enrolled act 1.” The consultants explained that lower taxable assessed values, if levies are held constant, will raise tax rates and push more households up against the state’s circuit‑breaker caps (1% for most homesteads, 2% for certain other property types), which further reduces revenue available to the town.

The law also changes business personal property treatment, removing a current 30% taxable floor for new equipment placed in service and expanding a de minimis exemption threshold that is $80,000 now, remains $80,000 in 2026 and rises to $2,000,000 in 2027. The consultants warned those provisions will reduce tax revenue collected from businesses over time.

On income tax, Rau and Adam said the state is eliminating the current county‑collected local income tax (commonly called “LIT”) and, for municipalities with population at least 3,500, giving towns the option to adopt their own municipal income tax. The consultants said the maximum municipal rate a town may adopt is 1.2%; Adam noted communities will vary in whether a locally adopted rate replaces lost county distributions. “Every community has a little different makeup... so in some cases there's winners, in other cases there's losers,” Adam said.

Rau and Adam repeatedly emphasized uncertainty: the Legislative Services Agency (LSA) and the Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF) have produced early estimates, but local outcomes will depend on parcel‑level values, which units of government still must model. Town staff were told to expect substantial modeling work at the parcel and fund level to refine revenue forecasts.

What happens next: consultants said staff will build parcel‑by‑parcel scenarios and update the council as more reliable DLGF/LSA numbers and implementation guidance arrive. The analysis will inform whether Westville would preserve revenue by adopting a local income tax and at what rate, or whether other adjustments to budgets and services will be needed.

The discussion was informational only; no ordinance, rate adoption or vote occurred at the meeting.