“Property tax/rent rebate applications are available” plus 1 more |
| Property tax/rent rebate applications are available Posted: 03 Mar 2011 06:49 AM PST Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-9) has announced that applications for this year's Property Tax / Rent Rebate Program are now available in his district offices. "The Property Tax and Rent Rebate program serves a vital need for many seniors and disabled citizens in Delaware and Chester counties," said Pileggi. "Some residents who may be eligible are not aware of the program, so I encourage constituents to visit or call one of my offices if they have any questions or need help completing an application." Eligible residents are those 65 or older, widows and widowers 50 or older, and those 18 or older who are disabled. Annual household income may not exceed $35,000, although only half of any Social Security income and Railroad Retirement benefits count towards that calculation. The Pennsylvania Property Tax / Rent Rebate program provides property tax relief or rent assistance of up to $650 for eligible Pennsylvanians. A supplemental payment of up to $325 may be available for residents who pay more than 15 percent of income on property taxes. Residents who received a property tax or rent rebate last year should automatically receive a renewal application form in the mail. Those forms have a unique bar code that allows the Department of Revenue to process them more quickly. Applications for the Property Tax / Rent Rebate Program are due June 30. Rebate checks will be mailed beginning July 1. Senator Pileggi has three district offices: 100 Evergreen Drive, Suite 113, Glen Mills, PA 19342, (610-358-5183); 415 Avenue of the States, Chester, PA 19013, (610-447-5845); and 305 Market St., Oxford, PA 19363, (610-932-2360). More information about state issues is available at Senator Pileggiís web site, www.SenatorPileggi.com. Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-9) has announced that applications for this year's Property Tax / Rent Rebate Program are now available in his district offices. "The Property Tax and Rent Rebate program serves a vital need for many seniors and disabled citizens in Delaware and Chester counties," said Pileggi. "Some residents who may be eligible are not aware of the program, so I encourage constituents to visit or call one of my offices if they have any questions or need help completing an application." Eligible residents are those 65 or older, widows and widowers 50 or older, and those 18 or older who are disabled. Annual household income may not exceed $35,000, although only half of any Social Security income and Railroad Retirement benefits count towards that calculation. The Pennsylvania Property Tax / Rent Rebate program provides property tax relief or rent assistance of up to $650 for eligible Pennsylvanians. A supplemental payment of up to $325 may be available for residents who pay more than 15 percent of income on property taxes. Residents who received a property tax or rent rebate last year should automatically receive a renewal application form in the mail. Those forms have a unique bar code that allows the Department of Revenue to process them more quickly. Applications for the Property Tax / Rent Rebate Program are due June 30. Rebate checks will be mailed beginning July 1. Senator Pileggi has three district offices: 100 Evergreen Drive, Suite 113, Glen Mills, PA 19342, (610-358-5183); 415 Avenue of the States, Chester, PA 19013, (610-447-5845); and 305 Market St., Oxford, PA 19363, (610-932-2360). More information about state issues is available at Senator Pileggiís web site, www.SenatorPileggi.com. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Low property tax levy bumps Grand Island out of receiving other funds Posted: 02 Mar 2011 10:46 PM PST Grand Island's city property tax levy is so low that it has bumped the city out of receiving an estimated $400,000 of financial help from the state. Certified public accountant Terry Galloway made the announcement Tuesday night to the Grand Island City Council during a report on the city's audit. Almquist, Maltzahn, Galloway and Luth, CPAs, performed the audit on the city's general fund as well as the city electric and water utilities. Galloway said Grand Island is not getting what's known as "municipal equalization" funds. "Normally, a city the size of Grand Island would get about $10 per person" of municipal equalization money, Galloway told the mayor and council.But being eligible for municipal equalization money means having a property tax levy that is at least as high as the statewide average for city property taxes. For Grand Island, that would require an overall tax levy of 36 cents, based on 29 cents per $100 of valuation for the city's general fund operations and 7 cents for the city's debt. Grand Island's overall property tax levy is 29 cents -- far below the 36-cent threshold. "Because we've held the levy down and the levy has been low for many years here, we haven't participated in municipal equalization," Galloway said. At the $10-per-person level, Grand Island could be receiving $430,000 a year in municipal equalization. Galloway estimated the amount could be as high as $500,000 a year. "Municipal equalization -- is that a new program of the state?" Mayor Jay Vavricek questioned. "Or has Grand Island never inquired about that?" "Once we dropped below the statewide average, we haven't participated in that state revenue for a few years," Galloway said. "What you're saying is the state provides support for municipalities that have a slightly higher property tax rate, and if you're lower than that, you get no assistance?" Vavricek questioned. "Is that what you're telling me?" "Correct," Galloway said. "The reason for that is they are saying the basis is you can raise your property taxes to your local taxpayers. Therefore, we're not going to give you state revenue for that. If you have room and you're below the statewide average, we're not going to give you support; you can put it on the taxpayers." Grand Island did receive municipal equalization through 2003-04, but that was the last year. The next year, the city dropped its property tax levy from 37 cents to 25 cents per $100 of valuation. "I think that's what triggered us to go below the leverage," said Mary Lou Brown, finance director and interim city administrator. That decrease in local property tax support for the city was authorized by the city council. A year later, when the council tried to maintain the 25-cent levy, Vavricek vetoed the levy down to 22.5 cents. He served his first term as mayor from 2002 to 2006. He ran unsuccessfully for the 3rd Congressional District seat before running for mayor again in 2010. He was sworn into office December 2010 for his second mayoral term. Gary Krumland, legal counsel for the League of Nebraska Municipalities, an association of most Nebraska cities and villages, said most cities and villages do receive municipal equalization. The Legislature created the municipal equalization fund in the late 1990s when it implemented levy lids and budget lids, he said. "A lot of smaller communities, because of the levy limits and things, had to reduce their property tax request quite a bit," Krumland said. "This was something put into the statutes to help those cities that had less ability to raise taxes because of the levy limits than others." A formula based on a city's population and valuation compared to other cities' populations and valuations determines the amount of municipal equalization received from year to year. "You are comparing one city's ability to raise property taxes versus another city's ability to raise property taxes," Krumland said. A city's property tax levy is another factor, he said. "If your levy is below average, you start losing your ability to get municipal equalization funds, and if it's very low, you don't get any at all," he said. Among the long list of Nebraska cities slated to get municipal equalization money this year, Bellevue is estimated to get $531,000, Broken Bow $183,000 and Central City $160,000, according to Nebraska Department of Revenue reports. Lincoln, Omaha and Grand Island are estimated to receive none -- so is Aurora. Krumland said larger cities often don't receive as much or none at all because they may have higher tax bases and more ability to raise taxes. All cities pay into the fund to create it, though, Krumland said. It's created from premiums paid to cities by insurance companies and the state administrative fees for collecting city sales taxes. This year, the fund will have an estimated $17.2 million, based on Department of Revenue reports, but more than $20 million would be needed to fully fund the program for all the eligible cities and villages, Krumland said. Galloway told the city council it may be wise to think about a property tax levy increase in order to become eligible for the municipal equalization funds. "If we would ask for a little bit more in the way of a levy, I think we can get twofold for the state revenue," Galloway said Tuesday night. "Maybe by even raising the levy by 1 cent, you may be able to get somewhere between $400,000 to $500,000 more of state revenue by just increasing that levy. "It could be a big impact -- two for one," Galloway said. "Those $400,000 to $500,000 will come back from the state and not local taxpayers." Brown estimated the equalization amount for Grand Island may be more in line with about $200,000. That's what the city had received historically. Grand Island also stands to lose some $350,000 of state aid to cities money. The Legislature gave second-round approval Wednesday to cutting $44 million of that aid statewide. The cut is part of Gov. Dave Heineman's budget-balancing plan in which the state needs to trim nearly $1 billion in spending. Many cities and counties, including Grand Island and Hall County, have objected to the cuts, saying they will force local government to make serious cuts in services or raise local taxes to keep services status quo. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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