Clay County updates implementation of SB190 senior property tax relief; staff detail applications, challenges

Clay County staff told the commission on Oct. 6 that implementation of SB190, the state'mandated senior real estate property tax relief program, is moving from the clerk'led phase to the collector'led phase and that staff are addressing operational anomalies before the next application cycle.

Deanna Jacobs of the county's administrative team said 17,875 applications were received and processed by the clerk'led team and temporary staff; of those, 17,141 applications are currently approved. Jacobs and collector'office staff described common denial reasons and operational challenges including duplicate filings, ownership changes after submission, late or incomplete paperwork, occupancy issues for newly built homes, multiple structures on a single parcel, split parcels, and unpaid taxes.

"Some of the denied applications were duplicates or due to a change in ownership," Jacobs said. Staff reported roughly 308 denied applications in the initial processing run and identified approximately 217 original parcels that changed ownership (including deaths and transfers) during review. County staff said they contacted 38 applicants with multiple structures on a parcel to determine whether the secondary structure constituted living quarters.

Jacobs said the county is adopting a practical approach to affidavits: an affidavit signed in the presence of county staff and certified in the county office will not require external notarization; mailed or scanned affidavits will still require a notary. "If you can make it in here and you can see our staff and sign the iPad or the tablet, we can say you're certifying right there in front of us," she said.

Staff emphasized that some example figures shown to the commission were estimates only. Jacobs presented a sample parcel to illustrate the program's effect: that parcel's assessed value rose from about $45,006.80 in 2020 to roughly $68,095 in 2025 (an increase of about $23,000). Using uncertified levy estimates, staff said the assessed-value increase would have raised that parcel's tax bill by roughly $2,600 absent SB190; enrollment under the program reduces the net increase, staff said, but they cautioned those numbers are illustrative and not certified.

Jacobs said staff are preparing software and manual-workarounds: the taxing-software vendor is still configuring the program and staff prepared extensive Excel worksheets as a fallback. The heavy administrative work is moving to the collector's office, and staff said they are documenting procedures and automations for future years.

Key operational timelines and instructions provided to the commission: - Applications and affidavits will be available Jan. 1 and accepted through March 31 (2026). - County staff plan to enable online parcel-number lookups and to allow fully online completion where possible. - County staff will provide in-person assistance and will not charge participating residents for county-provided notarization.

Commissioners praised staff for the volume of work and the program's public-facing materials. "This didn't just sort of fly together," one commissioner said, noting other jurisdictions had expressed admiration for Clay County's implementation. Commissioner Carpenter thanked staff for detailed work on technicalities and data presentation.

Staff asked the public to note that because of levy certification timing, some residents may still see higher tax bills in 2025 even if the program reduces the amount of the increase compared with not being enrolled; staff said they will spend time explaining individual bills to residents who inquire.