Sussex County Council voted to adopt two ordinances updating local property tax-exemption rules for senior citizens and for disabled persons to preserve the relative tax benefit after a countywide reassessment.

Finance director Miss Jennings told the council the changes adjust the local exemption from $12,500 of assessed value to $229,000 "to make it very similar to what happens this year," and align the residency and income rules between the two programs. "The goal of both of the ordinances is just to make sure that everybody that qualifies for the programs today qualifies them tomorrow when the reassessment takes in effect," Jennings said.

The nut graf: County reassessments raised assessed values for many properties; council and staff said the local exemptions needed numeric updates so recipients receive comparable tax relief. Jennings said about 818 property owners used the senior exemption when she presented the measures during introduction and that applications had since increased to about 840.

The ordinances change the exemption amount used to reduce taxable assessment from $12,500 to $229,000, lengthen the residency requirement for the local senior exemption from three years to five, and align income limits and residency requirements across the senior and disability programs. The ordinance for disabled persons also clarifies application procedures and excludes pension income directly related to an applicant’s disability when calculating eligibility.

Jennings clarified the updates do not affect the state’s 65-and-older program or the separate 100%-disabled veterans exemption: "I want to be clear that these changes do not impact the state 65 program," she said, and noted about 25,000 properties participate in the state senior program while roughly 350 properties enroll in the 100%-disabled veteran exemption.

Council members asked clarifying questions about how exemptions apply when a property deed lists two owners and about the proportional treatment when only one spouse is eligible. Jennings explained that if only one qualifying owner appears on the deed the exemption applies to 50% of the property; if both qualifying owners are on the deed the full property is exempt as provided by the local ordinance language.

Formal action: Council members moved to adopt each ordinance separately. The senior exemption ordinance was moved by Council member Lloyd and seconded by Miss Gruenbaum; the vote was recorded as yes by Council members McCarron, Lloyd, Grenfell and Riley and the motion carried. The disabled-persons ordinance was moved by Council member Riley and seconded by Miss Gruenbaum; the motion carried with an affirmative roll call.

What the council did not do: The council did not change state programs or the separate veteran exemptions; those remain under state authority. Staff also noted applicants may use the county website to file for the programs.

Next steps and practical effect: The ordinances update local code (chapter 103 taxation) to the new assessed-value thresholds and residency and income provisions; qualified property owners who meet the updated criteria will see their taxable assessment reduced by the updated exemption amounts when the reassessment is applied.