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Council advances ordinance to clear back city property taxes for historically exempt church
Summary
The administration committee moved Bill 5 of 2026 — an ordinance to forgive 2024–2025 city real estate taxes, penalties and liens for a historically exempt church property — to the legislative agenda after Solicitor Grover explained the property’s late exemption paperwork and legal rationale.
The City Council’s administration committee voted to place Bill 5 of 2026 on the next legislative agenda, a proposed ordinance to forgive and strike off city real estate taxes and related charges for certain historically tax‑exempt properties for tax years 2024 and 2025.
Solicitor Grover told the committee the measure covers a property now identified as the Church of the Pentecost (formerly Redeemer Community Church on Cameron Street), which had applied for tax‑exempt status but did not respond to county assessment notices and so was assessed for 2024 and 2025. "They had put in their application for exemption, but had not reached out to us until we got the notice from the county," Grover said, explaining the city has handled similar cases by exempting assessed taxes to prevent a three‑year delinquency from triggering a tax sale.
The solicitation generated questions from council members about which property types qualify for exemption. Grover summarized constitutionally authorized exemptions — government property in public use, many hospitals, churches and publicly funded senior centers — and noted common limits such as portions used as a pastor’s private residence not being exempt. He also cautioned against mandatory, automatic review requirements in ordinance language that could create legal uncertainty later: "If you mandate by ordinance review period and administration has changed, there'd be a question of whether the taxes are now legally in place," Grover said.
After the discussion, President Hill moved to add Bill 5 to the council's legislative agenda for a formal vote at the next session. The committee recorded no further amendments during the work session; the ordinance will return for formal consideration at the legislative session specified by the council.
The matter will appear on the council's legislative agenda for a formal vote; the council did not adopt the ordinance at the work session.
