Harlingen to consider seniors tax break

HARLINGEN — Harlingen is the only city in Cameron County that does not have a property tax break for senior citizens and disabled residents, according to the Cameron Appraisal District.

Other cities have a tax ceiling which freezes property value for residents age 65 and older and those who are disabled, Mary Solis, senior clerk for the exemptions department at the appraisal district, said.

But Harlingen could be joining this group soon as city commissioners weigh the idea of a tax ceiling.

“They are doing it (the tax ceiling) in other nearby cities. But Harlingen does not have this and I think it’s a very important thing,” Connie Salas, board chairwoman for the city’s Senior Citizens Advisory Committee, said.

Salas said that when the committee was formed in August 2010, “the members started asking questions and one of the most important questions was, why is it that in Harlingen senior citizens do not have some type of relief for their taxes?”

District 1 City Commissioner Danny Castillo said this is an important benefit that Harlingen should offer its senior citizens and disabled residents, and city commissioners Robert Leftwich and Jerry Prepejchal agreed at last week’s City Commission meeting.

“I’d been approached by residents in District 1 about this issue when I was campaigning,” Castillo said. “This has been an issue they had been trying to get to the forefront for some time. I thought it was high time we actually move forward and formally adopt this.”

City Manager Carlos Yerena said the property of senior citizens and disabled residents account for about 9 percent of the city’s taxable property value.

If the city adopts the tax ceiling, it would take effect in 2013.

Yerena said the city would lose about $75,000 in property taxes for 2013 alone. But he estimates the city would make up for this loss with an increase in sales tax and in commercial and residential property taxes.

Leftwich said Friday that the tax ceiling is one of the initiatives he and Prepejchal hoped to accomplish when they initiated the Senior Citizens Advisory Committee.

“In terms of the way the economy is going with inflation and the costs of goods and services with insurance and medicine, this is not going offset those pressures. But it is a good step to help them to afford those things without having to worry about paying more taxes as they get into their senior years,” Leftwich said. “It is a good step, and is just part of what we need to do.”

Castillo pointed out that Harlingen is a certified retirement community.

“Harlingen should adopt it (tax ceiling) as a marketing tool to attract more permanent residents. It is not about losing the money, it is important because it is the right thing to do.”