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Resident urges city to publicize Homestead Exclusion tax credit; many qualifying households may not be enrolled
Summary
A local property owner told the council dozens of eligible households had not applied for the Homestead Exclusion property-tax credit, urging the city to improve outreach ahead of the March 1 deadline. The speaker said the credit is approximately $700 and that an easy application is available through the assessment office.
Bill Thomas, a Lebanon property owner and longtime advocate for homeownership programs, used public comment to urge the city to increase outreach for the Homestead Exclusion property-tax credit.
Thomas said the program provides a credit worth about $700 and that the application is quick to complete. He said he compiled a list of city properties assessed at $60,000 or less and identified roughly 148 households in that range that, to his knowledge, had not applied for the credit. Thomas asked the city to post clear information about the March 1 application deadline on the city website and in public locations, and to emphasize the $700 benefit in outreach materials.
A councilmember and staff responded that the assessment office and county website are resources for the application and that the city had publicized the program previously; Thomas said he had sought broader outreach last year and urged repeated efforts. He offered to leave a printed list of properties for council and staff to review.
Thomas framed his appeal as supporting homeownership in Lebanon and said increased outreach would help lower- and moderate-income families capture the credit. The council did not take formal action during the meeting; members thanked Thomas for raising awareness and indicated staff would continue public-information efforts.
