Retirees urge council to ask state legislators not to cut ad valorem property tax revenue

Summary

Terry Wood and John Keane of the Retired Employees Association urged the Rules Committee to ask the delegation to avoid drastic changes to ad valorem property taxes, saying local services and pensions depend on that revenue; they asked the council to pass a resolution communicating that concern to state lawmakers.

Representatives of the Retired Employees Association asked the Rules Committee on Feb. 17 to urge the city’s state delegation to avoid drastic reductions or structural changes to ad valorem property taxes.

Terry Wood, the association’s president, told committee members that ad valorem revenue supports local services, including police, fire and parks, and funds contributions to pension plans. "When they get over there, they see that [property tax] as a source of money," Wood said, warning that removing or drastically altering that revenue source would shift costs to local governments.

John Keane, the association’s immediate past president, asked the committee to consider asking the full council to pass a resolution asking legislators to "stop, look, and listen" before proposing measures that could eliminate recurring local revenue without identifying alternate revenue sources.

Committee members thanked the speakers; no formal motion on a council resolution was recorded during the meeting.