Cole County approves online application tools, removes signature requirement for senior tax‑freeze applications

Cole County officials agreed to remove a required applicant signature from the county's senior property tax‑freeze application, approved online signing and storage tools, and authorized software and implementation services to manage the program's expected volume.

The commission voted to amend the application language to eliminate section 3, subsection c (the line requiring an authorized signature attesting to the truth of the application). Commissioners also approved purchasing a DocuSign package for online, fillable applications and added licenses and capture tools for the county's document management system (referred to in discussion as "Therefore" or the county's document repository).

Why it matters: the changes are intended to reduce barriers for older homeowners and to make the program scalable. County staff described a combination of an online submission option, a staffed in‑person assistance schedule and a process to import and securely store submitted packets so reviewers can process and track applications without excessive manual entry.

What the commission approved and next steps - Amendment to application: The commission agreed to remove a signature requirement in the application (described in discussion as "section 3, subsection c") so applicants will not be required to sign that specific attestation line. The application will retain space for a second signature line that can be relabeled as a witness or as a line for an authorized representative ("by power of attorney," "by personal representative," "by attorney in fact") and staff…