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Ballot Proposal Puts On Hold Tax Break Plans For Seniors

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By Jim  Konkoly | Highlands Today

Published: December 18, 2007

SEBRING – Bud and Hilda Speaks, ages 85 and 84, will celebrate their 66th wedding anniversary on Feb. 13.

Working part-time now as janitors at the Sebring Hills Clubhouse, they would like to see the county commissioners raise the "Save Our Seniors" property tax break.

"That'd be great," Hilda said.

"Yes, it would be nice," said her husband, who married her the year before he went off to fight in World War II and lost his hearing, in battles in Germany, while serving as an Army machine gunner.

Bud, though, a retired Ohio steelworker, said he wouldn't want the entire $50,000 property tax exemption allowed by the Florida Constitution for low-income seniors – if that would take critically needed money away from the schools.

In addition to their four children, he and Hilda also have nine grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.
As one of the five Highlands County commissioners, Guy Maxcy said he would like to give county residents like the Speakses a higher tax break for being low-income seniors.

To qualify for this tax break, which voters passed statewide 10 years ago as the Save Our Seniors Amendment, a homeowner has to be 65 or older and have a total household income of $23,600 per year or lower. Many thousands of Highlands County's retired homeowners fall into that category.

Until the Florida Legislature's special session a year ago, counties could set this low-income senior tax exemption anywhere from zero to $25,000. Then, in that special session, the legislators raised the maximum for this tax break to $50,0000 off taxable property value.

Highlands Gives Only One/Tenth

Highlands County gives low-income senior citizens just $5,000 for this property tax exemption. That is only only one-tenth of the $50,000 they could give.

Back in June, when he was the chairman of the five-member Board of Highlands County Commissioners, Maxcy said he wanted to raise the low-income seniors tax break. At that time, Maxcy said it should definitely go up. The only question to be settled, he said, was how much to increase it. He guessed that the county could raise it to somewhere between $25,000 and the maximum $50,0000, which some counties give.

But, then the state Legislature put its many-pronged, tax-change issue on the Jan . 29 presidential primary election ballot. Because of that state tax issue, Maxcy said, the county commissioners can't act on raising the low-income senior-citizen tax break until they know whether voters will pass or defeat the state issue.

"Those are the folks who need our help," Maxcy said, referring to low-income, senior homeowners. "I would think the people of Highlands County would want us to take a look at raising it (low-income senior tax break).

"But," he added, "we have to see what the voters are going to do on Jan. 29 on the state (tax-change) issue."

Maxcy said he isn't happy with the Legislature, because its actions often hurt county governments and their ability to give low-income seniors a bigger tax reduction.

Legislature 'Firing Missiles' At County

"The Legislature keeps firing missiles, of potential revenue cuts for the counties, at us," he said. "And we may have another incoming missile from them hitting us after the vote on Jan. 29."

About the prospects of the commissioners raising the low-income senior property tax exemption, Maxcy said, "We need to do everything we can to help those folks. I would like to raise this exemption.
"But I think a prudent business man or woman would need to look and see what the damage, if any, is going to be, depending on what the voters do on Jan. 29."

Highlands County Administrator Carl Cool is six months away from his retirement after a 32-year career in county government –– the last 16 years as the county's top executive and highest paid employee.

"They (commissioners) could do more than the $5,000," Cool said Monday when asked about the low-income, senior-homeowner tax break.

"I'm not being asked to make a recommendation," he added. "But if I was asked to make a recommendation, I would recommend, don't raise it until you know how the vote goes on Jan. 29."
If voters approve the Legislature's tax initiative, Cool said, Highlands County government could face revenue cuts of several million dollars per year.

'A Tax Shift, Not a Tax Reduction'

"People are calling it (state tax issue on the Jan. 29 ballot) a tax reduction, but it's not a tax reduction, it's a tax shift," Cool added.

"It's really tax shifting, not tax reduction, because it would mean lower taxes on some properties," Cool said. "If that happens, it also would have a tendency to possibly raise taxes for other properties."
After visiting relatives in Highlands County on vacations for many years, Bud and Hilda Speaks moved here for good, to the Sebring Hills subdivision, 28 years ago.

They've been retired Highlands County homeowners since 1978, when Bud took early retirement, though he has continued working part time, off and on as needs be.

While Bud said raising the low-income, senior-citizen homeowner tax exemption from $5,000 to $50,000 would help him and his wife, he added, "The thing of it is, we don't complain about our property taxes, because they're about half of what we paid in Ohio."

Even so, his wife said, "Any chance to save a dollar, it helps."

Lost Much of His Pension

She pointed out that most of his steelworker's pension was taken away from them in the late 1980s when National Steel, which handled Bud's pension from the Weirton Steel Co., declared bankruptcy.
"We lost all of his life insurance and all of the health insurance," Hilda said.

"And all of our hospitalization, too," Bud added.

Bud and Hilda said they don't mind working part-time, and are happy to be getting ready to celebrate their 66th anniversary in seven weeks.

"We got married on Friday the 13th, the 13th day of February in 1942," Bud said.
Why didn't they wait one more day, and get married on Valentine's Day?

"Oh, we were young," Hilda said. "I was 18 and he was 19. When you're that age, who cares what date?"

At that time, Bud was working at Weirton Steel, in Weirton, W. Va., just across the Ohio River from their home in Steubenville, Ohio. He shoveled coal to fire the boiler of a steam crane, and he was just months away from going into the Army and off to fight in the war.

Now on limited and fixed income, the Speakses said they wouldn't mind paying a little less on their property taxes – especially having 21 grandchildren and great grandchildren with Christmas coming up.

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