Marion County Supervisor of Assessments Mark Miller has put together a program he hopes will educate residents on the property tax cycle.
Miller feels many residents don’t understand the system and available exemptions. He also wants to dispel misinformation that is circulating.
The program will be held on Thursday, August 22nd, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at the Bryan Bennett Library at 315 South Maple. After the presentation, Miller will answer general questions. He says questions about individual properties need to be addressed one-on-one at the assessor’s office where record information is available.
Miller says there are a total of nine exemptions available he wants to make sure everyone eligible is receiving. One of the exemptions is the homestead exemption. Miller notes it is possible to have the exemption on two properties if you are a second person on your parent’s tax bill.
Miller notes there is also confusion about the senior citizen exemption.
“I want them to understand, if you were even born on December 30, we go back to January 1. It’s one of those that doesn’t start January 1 of the following year,” Miller said. “I want to go more in-depth into the assessment freeze and how that works. We’re not freezing your taxes, we’re freezing your assessment, unless you add something to it. And if you go over 65,000 a year you lose it for that year, but later you can come back and get it.”
Miller says many also don’t understand the home improvement exemption.
“A lot of people get confused on that. They don’t really want us to know that they built that garage, but they don’t understand that when you tell us, you’re going to get four years of not paying property taxes on it. That’s an incentive put on by the state when they created this exemption, to encourage people to build.”
Miller also wants to make sure everyone who is eligible is getting the disability and veterans disability exemptions. He says all exemptions must be renewed each year. The Supervisor of the Assessments Office sends out the renewal forms every February.
The program will also include the assessment cycle, how your property value is determined, how property taxes are figured, as well as helpful hints.
Miller is planning to repeat the program in Centralia later in the year.
