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Committee releases resolution urging counties to study property tax relief options for seniors
Summary
The House Administration Committee voted to release House Resolution 18, which asks New Castle, Kent and Sussex counties to study options such as property-tax freezes for seniors after recent reassessments; county leaders warned of legal, operational and fiscal obstacles.
Representative Tracey Moore introduced House Resolution 18, asking New Castle, Kent and Sussex counties to study the feasibility of implementing property-tax freeze options or other measures to ease recent reassessment-related increases for Delaware seniors. Moore said her office has received numerous constituent calls, citing one constituent whose 87-year-old mother’s tax bill rose 167% after reassessment. "Keeping seniors in our homes is very important to me," Moore said, describing the resolution as suggestory rather than mandatory.
Committee members pressed Moore on the resolution’s scope and impacts. Vice chair Ozinski and others said school districts would likely face the largest fiscal effects and urged the counties to coordinate with school officials and the reassessment committee. Representative Dukes reported a joint letter from leadership of all three counties expressing concern that the proposal, as drafted, raises legal and operational challenges and could require additional staffing.
Lincoln Willis of the Delaware Association of Counties, in in-person comment, summarized the counties’ position, listing three areas of concern from the counties’ letter: legal limitations, operational feasibility and fiscal and policy impacts. Willis said county leaders were open to further discussion but currently viewed HR 18 as not workable in its present form.
After debate, Vice chair Ozinski moved to release the resolution from committee on its intent; the motion was seconded and passed by roll call, with Chair Harris, Vice chair Ozinski and Speaker Minor Brown voting yes and Representatives Dukes and Spiegelman voting no. The committee recorded that written public comments submitted within 24 hours would be included in the public record.
The committee’s action releases HR 18 for further consideration in the House; proponents urged county engagement and targeted approaches, while county representatives and some members warned of operational and fiscal consequences and asked that school districts and the reassessment committee be included in follow-up discussions.
